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I'm sure everyone who experienced the earthquake here can sympathize with what the people of central Italy are going though now.
-- Kirk
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/24/europe/gallery/italy-earthquake/
Earthquake strikes central Italy: Images
Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.Earthquake strikes central ItalyUpdated 10:23 AM ET, Wed August 24, 2016 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: Earthquake strikes central ItalyRescuers...

Nebuta are very colorful images - paintings, sculptures, etc. - of scowling samurai most closely associated with Aomori and were designated a National Cultural Asset in 1980. The origin of the word is unclear and is generally written in hiragana, although one kanji set has it as "佞武多", which would translate as "obsequience to many warriors," an attitude clearly sensible to adopt back when there were many warriors who could legally cut off your head if they felt like it.
To aid Kumamoto restoration, Sendai, Aomori and Akita Prefectures have assembled a group of their Nebuta sculptures for display at Ninomaru Park on September (wow - September already?!) 3rd from 7:00 - 9:00 PM and 4th from 12:00 - 2:00 PM. The event is free of charge, but donations for Kumamoto recovery will be welcome. Tip o' the hat to AnneMarie. - William
http://fukkou-nebuta.jp/

My favorite typhoon info service, the US military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center, seems to have been privatized and is thus no longer available without subscription. Searching for options, I found another site which superimposes animation of expected routes on Google maps. It's fun! Typhoon 10 is taking a very unusual course, meandering southwest off the east coast of Kyushu - typhoons in that are generally move northeast. Enjoy the site, and keep an eye on this lil' guy. - Willian http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/digital-typhoon/forecast/google-maps/index.html.en
Digital Typhoon: Typhoon Track Forecast (on Google Maps) - Real-time Information and Forecast on Location and Intensity
[How to read the map] The color of markers on the track is explained in symbols of typhoon track charts, and the number of markers for the forecast represents the period of forecast. A blue circle represents a probability circle, in which the center of the typhoon is expected to be observed at the t...

Soon after the April 14th earthquake hit, the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) issued warnings about possible "aftershocks of 6-lower or greater." This was technically correct but the word "aftershock" may have caused people to assume that the worst was over. Of course, we know now that the worst was yet to come and that some people lost their lives because they returned to their damaged homes. After considering the issue, the JMA has decided to avoid using the word "aftershock" in similar situations in the future and to warn about more quakes "of similar or greater intensity" instead.
As far as I can see, this change in policy has not yet been reported in English-language media. The image you see is a page from a pdf issued by the JMA:
http://www.jishin.go.jp/main/yosoku_info/gaiyo.pdf
-- Kirk

I heard something interesting about Shugakukan today: None of their players are from Kumamoto; they are all at Shugakukan on 「野球留学」 (yakyu ryugaku -- studying away from home to play baseball). Shugakukan is not the only school to recruit outstanding talent from other prefectures but it is an extreme case because all of the players it has registered to play in the Koshien (I believe the total is 18) are from other prefectures. Kinda makes you wonder what rooting for the "home team" means after all, doesn't it? In Japanese see
https://news.nifty.com/article/item/neta/12189-152002/
Photo source:
http://www.asahi.com/articles/photo/AS20160820002068.html
-- Kirk

According to this item from TBS News, we've had more than 2000 Level 1 or higher quakes since April 14th. This is more activity than has been recorded for any similar quake since such record keeping began. On the whole, however, the frequency and intensity of the quakes is declining. Click on the link to see the Japanese news video:
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2849580.html
-- Kirk

It was a fairly close game, but Shugakkan (or "Syugakukan," as they spell it on their web page) lost 3-4 in the semifinals.

Shugakkan faces Minami Hokkaido at about 12:30 tomorrow (Saturday) in the Koshien semifinals.
-- Kirk
http://www9.nhk.or.jp/koushien/

Kumamoto quake death toll reaches 80
KUMAMOTO (Jiji Press) — The death toll from a series of powerful earthquakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture in April has reached 80, including 25 people who died from indirect causes.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the inaccurate claim that Japanese law requires all foreigners (not just those traveling without an address in Japan) to submit their passports for copying when staying at a hotel. As reported on Debito.org, the Nikkei Asian Review has "corrected" their article. I put the word "corrected" in quotation marks because, as one of the readers of Debito.org pointed out, the Nikkei Asian Review merely deleted the incorrect passage; they did not issue a correction statement.
I wonder how they got it wrong in the first place. My suspicion is that the police are, either intentionally or unintentionally, misrepresenting the law.
I also know from my experience managing this page that articles of this kind get most of their traffic immediately after they are issued. So, merely deleting the offending passage does very little to correct the misunderstanding that was created. Perhaps I need write to them again . . . sigh . . .
-- Kirk
http://www.debito.org/?p=14149
debito.org » Blog Archive » Nikkei Asian Review wrongly reports “Japanese law requires hotels to check and keep copies of foreigners’ passports”. Corrected after protest, but misreported text still proliferates
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Fireworks in Aso (Uchinomaki) Saturday. See the blog for details:
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/denku_franck2711/56148214.html
-- Kirk
P.S. English is followed by French:
"La période d'Obon est maintenant terminée est comme prévu de nombreux visiteurs se sont arrêtés à Michi no Eki Aso."
Aso summer festival - Michi No Eki Aso
Hello everyone ! Bonjour ! Obon is now over and as predicted many tourists came to visit us at Michi no Eki Aso. It is s...

This is a nice article about a good deed that hasn't been forgotten -- even after 233 years!
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201608180012.html
Centuries-old natural disaster unites Gunma with Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun
TSUMAGOI, Gunma Prefecture--In 1783, Mount Asamayama in Gunma Prefecture blew its top, killing more

Hikaru Yamato was taken home today. All along, his father had been saying that he just wanted to bring him home. In a comment I saw on TV today, he said that he felt some relief now that his son was home. I'm glad the family has gotten some closure.
-- Kirk
Site from which photo was taken:
http://www.sankei.com/west/photos/160818/wst1608180082-p1.html

I've already posted about this but I don't think I've posted this particular article. Earlier post on this topic can be found here
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1101026463304118
and here
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1103737533033011
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201608140018.html
DNA testing identifies last missing person in Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--The body recovered from a car buried under sand and rocks has been identified as that of H

Demolition of the Uto Shiyakusho (city hall building) has begun. I saw one TV show about a robot-like device that was sent into the building to explore and take pictures of the damage; no one has been able to enter the building since the quakes due to safety concerns. I'm not sure what their plan is in regard to all of the important official documents in the building.
Japanese video report:
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2848026.html
-- Kirk

Shugakkan beat Ibaragi Prefecture's Sojo Gakuin 4 - 1. This means that they will play in one of the semifinal games on Saturday. On TV I heard that this is the first time in 20 years that a school from Kumamoto has made it to the semifinals.
-- Kirk

Though I haven't been able to find any mention of this in English language media, parts of Kumamoto have again been designated as "disaster with extreme severity" (激甚災害) areas. This time, the designation is for areas hit hardest in the heavy rains of June and July. To read about the designation in response the earthquakes go to
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1025249570881808
To see a web page in Japanese containing a video about the latest designation go to
https://news.nifty.com/article/domestic/government/12198-66110/
-- Kirk

Kumamoto lantern festival casts a glowing, dream-like scene：The Asahi Shimbun
YAMAGA, Kumamoto Prefecture--Even a series of massive earthquakes this spring could not put out the

The number of people who have seen the exhibition of French art at the Prefectural Art Museum has passed the 10,000 mark, according to a Kumanichi article. The museum does not have anything in English or French about the exhibit but you can use the translate function on the the Chrome web browser to get more information in the language of your choice from the following page:
http://www.museum.pref.kumamoto.jp/event_cal/pub/Detail.aspx?c_id=10&id=87&type=top&trk_kbn=N
The image you see with this post, by the way, is of a painting by Paul Gauguin that is on display.
-- Kirk
P.S. Here's a link to the article about the 10,000th visitor that I saw on the Kumanichi Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/KUMANICHIs/photos/a.438935026193855.1073741828.438505469570144/1113065055447512/?type=3&theater
展覧会 / 熊本県立美術館

Kumamoto quakes raise fears over restart at Ikata nuclear plant | The Japan Times
People living near Shikoku Electric Power Co.'s Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture fear a repeat of the Fukushima disaster, especially after devastati