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"More than 300 visitors came to stricken Kumamoto Castle here to view the first sunrise of the year. When the sun appeared in the cloudless sky behind the damaged castle and bathed the area in a brilliant light, gleeful shouts erupted from the spectators."
Pasted by Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201701020040.html
Spirits lifted in Kumamoto with prayers made for a peaceful 2017：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--People impacted by the devastating earthquakes in the prefecture last year marked a welcom

A note from the Kumamoto International culinary desk: A friend of mine from Gokanosho (五家荘, a village between Yatushiro and Yabe), which is famous for yuzu (ゆず - a citrus similar to a lemon), recently visited and gave us a bottle of Yuzukosyou (ゆずこしゅう), a paste made from three ingredients: yuzu peel, red pepper, and salt - and it is absolutely the most delicious condiment I've ever tasted! The flavor is both strong and subtle. Looked up their Website, and they do Internet sales ー it costs about 700 yen but is worth much more, culinaryesquely (and, yes, I did just make up that word). There's also a green sauce made using Japanese pepper (sansyou, 山椒) that I'm dying to try. Let me know if you have any questions. - William
http://www.gokanosyo.jp/products
http://www.gokanosyo.jp/

First of all, best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2017. 2016 was a busy year for this page. The quake more than doubled our readership but, of course, I would have preferred the quiet of a normal year. This year, I hope that we will be able to focus on innocuous news and information about events, etc. If our readership flatlines or even declines because Kumamoto is just too darn safe and peaceful to be interesting, that will be just fine with me.
Speaking of innocuous news items, Kumamon is starting a cafe in Shanghai! Yipee! ;)
-- Kirk
Cafe themed on Kumamoto Pref. mascot 'Kumamon' to open in Shanghai - The Mainichi
A cafe featuring Kumamoto Prefecture's beloved bear mascot

Here's an article about a site of historical importance that is located in northern Kumamoto.
"The Mitsui Miike Coal Mine, one of several UNESCO registered Meiji Industrial Revolution Sites since 2015. While the central role of the coal industry in Japan’s industrialisation was stressed through the world heritage registration process, the close relationship between pre-war industrialisation and development of the modern penal system, and the use of prison labor, has been less acknowledged. In Miike, use of convict laborers from the nearby Miike shūjikan (central correctional institution) was indispensable for the operation of the coal mine during the early Meiji period."
The article also discusses the use of labor from Yoron, now part of Kagoshima. I have seen a documentary that includes testimony that the treatment of people from Yoron was worse than that of the convicts because the people from Yoron were not considered to be Japanese. I think the depth of discrimination against people from Okinawa is an important clue to understanding how Okinawa came to be the site of U.S. bases. (Of course, it's complicated and its not only about Okinawans not being seen as fully Japanese . . . )
-- Kirk
http://apjjf.org//2017/01/Miyamoto.html
Convict Labor and Its Commemoration: the Mitsui Miike Coal Mine Experience¹ | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
The Miike Coal Mine, extending across Omuta and Arao in Kyushu, was an engine for economic growth in Japan until the nation’s defeat in World War II. In 1873, the Meiji government introduced convict labor in the mine. This arrangement continued after the government handed the mine over to a private…

MEXET has allocated 300 million yen for studies on main Kumamoto faults headed by researchers from Kushu and Kumamoto Universities. Expected to continue for three years through 2018, their initial report was just released.
The report points out that both the Hinagu (日奈久断層帯) and Futagawa (布田川断層帯) faults can be divided into three sections. However, only the northern sections of each fault ruptured in the quakes. Research thus focuses on determining how much strain and distortion has been loaded to the central and southern fault sections. Also, whether the Futagawa fault continues through Aso caldera - suspected but never measured - is under study. In addition to geological measurements, reviews of ancient literature are being conducted to search for historical evidence of past quakes so as to discern patterns.
The blue lines in the map show ruptured sections; red, those unruptured and thus of concern. The major aim is to recalculate quake probabilities over the next 30 years. - William
https://this.kiji.is/187379978482515969?c=92619697908483575
断層の未活動区間調査　九大や熊大、次の地震に備え - 熊本日日新聞
　熊本地震を起こした日奈久断層帯と布田川断層帯のうち、今回は活動せず地殻にひずみがたまったままとみられる区間の総合的な活断層調査に、九州大や熊本大などのグループが着手した。過去の地震の活動周期を調べて次の地震に備え、地元自治体などに調査結果...

Kumamoto shares a sad history of discrimination against Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients (including former patients who are now disease free). Kumamoto was also the site of a ground-breaking legal decision that put an end to forced isolation.
-- Kirk
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20161226/p2a/00m/0na/016000c
83-year-old seeks retrial for fellow Hansen's disease patient executed over 1952 killing - The Mainichi
Some 64 years ago, in a village in the mountains of Kumamoto Prefecture, a terrible crime was committed that would claim two lives: one, a survey-taker, murdered in that mountain settlement; the other, a man with Hansen's disease accused of the killing, and later put to death.

"Wi-Fi services can provide stable internet access. It proved to be effective in confirming people’s safety at evacuation centers and other purposes in the wake of the Kumamoto Earthquake in April."
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003427402
-- Kirk
30,000 new Wi-Fi spots planned in public spaces / Benefits envisioned for tourism, disasters
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to install free Wi-Fi hotspots in about 30,000 locations across the nation by 2020, including public schools, parks run by municipalities and museums, it has been learned.

Here's an article about the bird flu situation:
"The agriculture ministry and other sources said there has been no report of human bird flu infection through the consumption of poultry meat or eggs in Japan."
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003428243
-- Kirk
7th bird flu case at Kumamoto farm
KUMAMOTO (Jiji Press) — An outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza has been confirmed at a poultry farm in Nankan in Kumamoto Prefecture, the prefectural government said Tuesday.

"While the prefectural police headquarters' Inspection Department has stated that no criminal cases have been fabricated, the department is questioning the officer on suspicion of fabricating and using sealed official documents and destroying evidence."
I heard something similar on RKK news: "A police officer fabricated evidence but only in cases where the guilt of the accused was clear." The police seem to be trying to convince the public that, although an officer fabricated evidence, there's no reason to take another look at the prosecutions the prints became part of. Personally, I'm reluctant to take the police department's word on this one.
-- Kirk
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20161228/p2a/00m/0na/009000c
Kumamoto police officer suspected of misusing fingerprints in reports - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- A criminal identification officer at Kumamoto-Kita Police Station is suspected of forging several investigation reports using fingerprints previously taken within the police station, according to an announcement by Kumamoto Prefectural Police on Dec. 27.

"The Kumamoto Earthquake that claimed 50 lives was selected as this year’s top domestic news story by The Yomiuri Shimbun readers. The Yomiuri Shimbun has asked its readers to choose the 10-top domestic news stories of the year annually since 1947. A total of 14,593 votes from Japan and abroad were submitted this year. The 10-top international news stories of the year will be published in The Japan News on Thursday."
-- Posted by Kirk
Top 10 Domestic Stories of 2016 / Quakes in Kumamoto head the year
The Kumamoto Earthquake that claimed 50 lives was selected as this year’s top domestic news story by The Yomiuri Shimbun readers. The Yomiuri Shimbun has asked its readers to choose the 10-top domestic news stories of the year annually since 1947. A total of 14,593 votes from Japan and abroad were s...

Though this article doesn't mention it, Shodai (as in Shodai-yaki, the kind of pottery made near Tamana) is from Kumamoto.
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2016/12/26/sumo/basho-reports/tamawashi-shodai-promoted-sekiwake-new-year-basho/
Tamawashi, Shodai promoted to sekiwake for New Year Basho | The Japan Times
Tamawashi and Shodai were promoted to sumo's sekiwake rank for January's New Year Grand Sumo Tournament it was announced on Monday, and the contrast betwee

Fascinating is how words bloom depending on their importance to a particular society. Just as Japanese contains an astonishing number of words for rice, English does for cows. Below is a list of Japanese words for "knife." A general rule is that if it ends with "丁" (chō), it is for cooking, but if it ends in "刀" (katana, tō), it is not.
ナイフis the most general term, but often refers to a bladed object used as a weapon; it is often also referred to as 刃物 (hamono).
小刀 (kogatana) is a utility knife.
包丁 (hōchō) is a knife used for cooking.
鮪包丁(Maguro bōchō) - my favorite - these are very long knives to fillet tuna.
短刀 (tantō) were the short swords that samurai carried.
手術刀, also called メス, are scalpels used for surgery.
Numerous other terms exist in Japanese to define precise composition and purposes of knives. Wikipedia has a somewhat exhaustive list. - William
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cutlery
Japanese cutlery - Wikipedia
There are a number of different types of Japanese kitchen knives. The most commonly used types in the Japanese kitchen are the deba bocho (fish filleting), the santoku hocho (all-purpose utility knife), the nakiri bocho and usuba hocho (Japanese vegetable knives), and the tako hiki and yanagi ba (sa...

This is a bit complicated, so please pay attention. In 1921, some French artists, probably because absinthe was in and total warfare out (both cases would prove temporary, but those are different stories), decided to found a new country which they dubbed "la République de Montmartre." Flash forward some 94 years later and - hey! - it still exists! Though not an actual country, they like to play so, with elected officials and traditional dress; actually, they are a philanthropic organization aiding children and artists.
Anyway, the reason i bring this up is that Kumamon was yesterday made an honorary citizen of la République de Montmartre, joining anthropologist Aoki Tamotsu (青木保) and Hyogo Prefecture governor Ido Toshizou (井戸敏三) as the only Japanese to have received that honor. Apparently, it was bestowed due to Kumamon's contribution to French cutlery. (Seriously. That's what the article said.)
Admit it: Who among us would not want to share a bottle of absinthe with Kumamon? - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161227004.xhtml
くまモンが名誉市民に　仏民間文化組織が任命－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

In more medical news, Kumamoto Prefecture has announced collaboration with the Self Defense Force (SDF) for transportation of patients during the winter. Particularly due to worries over icy roads, necessary transportation of patients from the Aso Medical Center will by conducted by SDF helicopters at night, when medical helicopters are prohibited from flying. More info is at the link. - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161226005.xhtml
阿蘇地域の夜間急患、陸自ヘリで搬送へ－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

Kumamoto Shimin Byoin ("citizen's hospital") was heavily damaged in the quakes; all patients were transferred out, and the facility was closed. Recovery is proceeding, though, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Growing Care Unit (GCU) reopened on 12/26 with the admission of five-month old Ichigi-chan, whose parents had heretofore had to drive four hours to a facility in Kurume. The NICU currently has space for 18 infants and the GCU 24. - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161226004.xhtml
新生児集中治療室病棟が再開　熊本市民病院－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

Our friend Mitch Hons has begun what is called the Kumamoto Earthquake Experience Project (KEEP) to record memories of those who experienced the Kumamoto quakes for reference by future generations. Your contributions are welcome. More info can be found at their site. - William
https://kumadaiquake.wordpress.com/
Kumamoto Earthquake Experience Project (KEEP)
Recording the experiences of the Kumamoto earthquakes for future generations

Bird flu (H5) has been discovered in Nankan, northern Kumamoto. About 50 chickens have died. According, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, the prefecture has decided to cull about 107,000 chickens within a 10 kilometer radius of the farm where the disease was discovered. The article doesn't say anything about the possibility of spread to humans but I assume that this aggressive response will significantly reduce that danger.
-- Kirk

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20161227/k10010821041000.html
熊本・南関町でも 鳥インフルでニワトリ処分始まる | NHKニュース
熊本県南関町の養鶏場で２６日、ニワトリが相次いで死んでいるのが見つかり、県が行った詳しい検査で「Ｈ５型」の鳥インフルエンザウイルスが検出され…

Good news from Franck of Michi No Eki Aso:
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/denku_franck2711/56286192.html
Two roads are finally reopening in the area! - Michi No Eki Aso
Hello everyone ! Bonjour ! There is a lot of changes concerning the road situation in Aso area. As I told you in this bl...

I just learned about a deal on Amakusa Airlines that has just ended. Even though the promotion is over, I think I'll go ahead an post about it. Maybe something similar will be done next year.
The following Facebook post from Amakusa Airlines features a YouTube video report about the promotion:
https://www.facebook.com/mizoka.atr42/posts/1364809326876304
The deal was that, during the month before Christmas, anyone in a Santa suit could fly from Fukuoka to Amakusa for just 3,000 yen. The "3" in 3,000 was decided upon because "Santa" starts with "san."
Here's the official announcement in Japanese:
https://www.amx.co.jp/news/n_20161101_362.html
Though I'm sure that there was no intent to exclude foreigners, this deal seems to have been announced in Japanese but not on the English side of the site.
-- Kirk

I've written several times about how to avoid getting gouged for cell phone service by major providers such as AU, Docomo, and SoftBank:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1131066736966757
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1157172877689476
The issue is not unique to Kumamoto but I think it should be of particular interest to foreign residents, especially people who will not be here for the full two-year contract period that the major companies insist upon and/or people who have an unlocked ("sim free") phone and only need a provider.
I'm writing again today because I've had some experience with UQ, which the "SIM-Only Mobile Providers in Japan" page describes as follows:
"Not to be confused with U-Mobile, UQ Mobile resells Au's service, which makes sense since KDDI is a key shareholder."
http://www.mondaiji.com/blog/japan/general/10240-sim-only-mobile-providers-in-japan
Here's a UQ page in English:
http://www.uqwimax.jp/english/customers/
At any rate, we chose UQ because we had been using AU and had the impression (perhaps mistaken impression) that things would go more smoothly if we used an AU-related company. What I would like to report is that I found the support staff to be polite and helpful, but also poorly trained and not-well versed in how to make different phones work with their system. I'll avoid going into detail but it took over a week, with many hours on the phone and lots of going back and forth between the local shop to figure out what SIM card would work on our phone. Perhaps some of the confusion stemmed from our not buying the phone directly through UQ. Nonetheless, we bought a phone (an AU iPhone 6s) that the company had authorized on their web page. After going back and forth with support staff about problems related to the SIM card, I went back and read some fine print on the companies web site. There I found the answer to the issue and wound up having to teach the answer to the support staff.
I wanted to share this experience because, though I still believe that more people would benefit from avoiding the big three providers (AU, Docomo, and SoftBank), I've learned that it can be hard for consumers who buy a phone separately and then try to get it to work with a cheap provider like UQ. If you are going to do something like this you will first need to research your phone purchase and what services you can and cannot expect (is tethering possible, does the phone need to be unlocked, etc) very carefully.
I'd also like to make a comment about Japan's vaunted service culture. In general, I would agree that people in stores and in call centers who respond to inquiries and requests for help are very polite and that they try to be helpful. Still, truly good service in a technical field requires knowledge and expertise. In this area, I found UQ to be sorely lacking -- and this problem seems to be systemic because I spoke with many different representatives who could not provide the correct answer regarding the SIM card required in our case, even after checking with superiors. It reminded my of a very computer-savy student who came to Kumamoto several years ago. In a class discussion about Japan's service culture, he was very critical because of his experience at electronics stores. Perhaps a language barrier was part of the problem but his main complaint was that the staff didn't seem to know much about what they were selling. He would have preferred a surly nerd with bad hygiene, but who really knew his stuff to a polite but clueless part-time worker. During my experience with UQ, I too would have preferred a gruff geek with the right answers. ;)
http://www.uqwimax.jp/lp/uqm/01/
UQコミュニケーションズ｜UQ WiMAX,UQ mobile｜超高速モバイルインターネットのWiMAX2+,格安スマホ,格安SIM
UQコミュニケーションズの公式ホームページ。超高速モバイルネットのWiMAX2+、格安スマホ・格安SIMのUQmobileを提供