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This is a little letter to the editor I wrote and that was published in the Kumanichi (Kumamoto's local newspaper) on May 3rd. I wound up submitting this little missive after I wrote the following post about Kumamoto dialect:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1026806274059471
One of the examples of Kumamoto dialect being used to express pride in Kumamoto and determination to rebuild that I quoted in my Facebook post was the title of this section of the newspaper: Dogyanka shiyou!
In my submission, I wrote about my experience on this page. Specifically, I wrote that, in Japan, we foreigners (along with children, the elderly, persons with handicaps, etc) are usually classified as "saigai jakusha" (persons that are disadvantaged in an disaster) because many of us face linguistic challenges, particularly if we have not been here a long time. Be that as it may, however, I pointed out that there have been many more expressions of interest in volunteering and donating than pleas for help. Of course, pleas for help are fine -- when you need help you should say so. But, it's simply a fact that expressions of concern and of interest in doing something to help were for more common than inquiries about getting assistance.
One of the things I've noticed over the years that I've been managing this page and the mailing list that preceded it is that there are lots of non-Japanese that have left Kumamoto but remember it fondly and follow the messages posted here just to stay in touch with a place they have come to love. And that was the last line of my letter: I wanted people in Kumamoto to know that there are a lot of people all over the world who care about Kumamoto and the people that live here.
-- Kirk

And for those of us in the classroom, this article provided some good nuggets about how to deal with things once classes resume. I found quite a few good takeaways here. Having asked a psychology professor what resources or processes might be available to students once classes got started, his response was, "Return to normal as quickly as possible." There is a new normal for students now, so returning to something that no longer exists is impossible. -Jackie
Teaching in Times of Crisis | Center for Teaching | Vanderbilt University
Teaching in Times of Crisis. Originally written in 2001 by CFT staff Revised and updated in April 2013 by Nancy Chick, CFT Assistant Director Whether local, national, or international in scope, times of crisis can have a significant impact on the college classroom. The students need not be directly…

For anyone who thinks that they, or a loved one, might be experiencing the after-effects of earthquake-related trauma, even if it isn't necessarily PTSD, may find the following article of some use. Kay (and I) also recommend the book "The Body Keeps the Score." Most often, symptoms will start surfacing 3-6 weeks after the traumatic event. -Jackie
Ask a Counselor: how do we recognize and cope with trauma?
Recently, I was Skyping with a client overseas who wanted to talk with me about symptoms of burnout and spiritual dryness. As she told me about a particular experience, I said, “That was real…

This is a follow up to my last post about evacuation information. One of the key points that I want to make to the prefecture is that the first step in making information more accessible to foreigners is making it easier for Japanese people to understand. A good case in point is the flooding that occurred in Joso City in Ibaragi Prefecture last year. To read an article about that in English (focusing particularly on the difficulties that foreigners had getting information) see the following:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/17/national/social-issues/foreign-joso-flood-victims-hit-citys-monolingual-response/
It was not just foreigners who didn't get the information they needed. The third image shows a rescue being conducted in the Misaka area of Joso City. This area did not receive an evacuation notice until it was too late. The first two images are from a television program called 真相報道 バンキシャ! (Shinso Hodo Bankisha) that was aired on the 13th of September last year. The first image shows how information is issued via text. This is currently exactly the same as the situation in Kumamoto and probably the rest of Japan -- notices are issued via text but not in map form. The second image shows how the TV station used a map to determine what areas had received evacuation notices and what areas had not. When the TV reporters plotted the locations on the map, it becomes clear that the spot marked with an X should have received an evacuation notice. When I saw this, I had two thoughts:
1) If the information had been issued on a map, residents might have understood that, even though their area had not received an official notice, they were in danger;
2) Putting the information in map form might have helped with officials realized that they had forgotten to issue a notice for the Misaka area.
I hope I can use this information to convince the prefecture to take steps to improve the way they put out information on the internet. Doing so should help foreigners and non-foreigners alike.
http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2144186372635717701

The post I made a few minutes ago about the rain prompted me to check for evacuation notices. The first image you see is from e-mail notifications I have received. The first message says that evacuation orders (not recommendations, orders) were issued for persons in Minami Aso at 10:50 AM. The other two messages say that persons in Uki and Uto have been recommended to evacuate. Persons in areas that are vulnerable to mud slides should pay particular attention to such notices.
The second image gives the details for the evacuation order issued in Minami Aso.
In the future, I will try to get the prefecture to improve the system to make it more accessible to foreigners (and even if you understand Japanese, the current system has several problems that need to be fixed). In the meantime, the best source of information available through the internet is e-mail. You can sign up for e-mail notifications such as I received here:
https://www.anshin.pref.kumamoto.jp/now.html
Unfortunately, the interface is in Japanese and the messages will come in Japanese. Even if you don't understand Japanese, however, you may be able to make some sense of the information using Google Translate and other such tools.
The prefecture also has a page that is an index of the current evacuation notices that have been sent out via e-mail:
https://www.anshin.pref.kumamoto.jp/osirase/index.cgi?type=1001
Unfortunately, the way this page is set up makes it impossible to run it through Google Translate automatically. Moreover, as the third image shows, the order of the information is, well, mechakucha (a mess).
As I think I have written in the past, in addition to current notification methods, I think the prefecture needs to establish a map-based system that visually shows people where current evacuation notices have been issued and to color code them to show the level (order, recommendation, watch, etc).
-- KIrk

The link at the end of this post is to a post on Kumamoto City's Facebook page about unscrupulous merchants attempting to take advantage of people hit by the quake (trying to entice consumers into agreements to have their homes repaired at exorbitant prices, etc). Actually, I received a robocall from one such merchant. I found the robocall to be particularly irritating because
1) robocalls (automated, prerecorded calls) force ordinary people to drop what the are doing to answer the phone without spending the valuable time of flesh-and-blood employees (in other words, their time is precious but our time is free)
2) one never really knows where the robocall has come from (no viable call-back number, no way to verify legitimacy)
In this case, I pushed "1" on my phone indicating that I was interested. Of course, I wasn't but I wanted to file a formal complaint about the practice and thought I might be able to do so if I could get a live human being on the phone and get him or her to give me a viable contact number.
Then I called the city's consumer office (消費者センター). Sadly, I learned that there was nothing I could do. In Japan, shady businesses are permitted to robocall thousands of people, interrupt what they are doing, and leave them no clear way of contacting and/or complaining to or about the company responsible for the robocall. Even more sadly, the person who took my call at the city's consumer office didn't seem to fully understand what was problematic about the current system. When she said "just hang up," I had to explain that that was not the point. The point in my mind is that the current system that allows unscrupulous companies to take advantage of consumers with impunity. She seemed to understand this after I explained it to her but I wondered why I, the consumer, had to explain that to her, the consumer issues specialist.
A day later, someone from company called me from a mobile phone. I asked for a company phone number but couldn't get one. This confirmed my suspicions about the shadiness of the business but I had already been told by the Kumamoto City representative that nothing could be done so I told the guy why I was displeased and left it at that.
It's good that the city, prefecture, and national government have hotlines for consumers who have been taken advantage of. It would be even better, though, if they would fix the system and take away the unfair advantages that shady businesses have been allowed.
https://www.facebook.com/KumamotoCity/photos/pcb.1120819334607588/1120818681274320/?type=3&theater

Helping kids avoid PTSD and recovery from the stresses of the quakes and life as evacuees is really important topic. This is one of many ways that adults are trying to help kids cope.
-- KIrk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201605080010.html
Instructors help Kumamoto kids dance away quake stress：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Sports instructors are touring evacuation shelters here to help children relieve stress an

As I wrote earlier today, I've been trying to collate media coverage of Kumamoto International or media coverage that Kumamoto International played a role in (e.g. helping foreign media find people to interview). As I looked through old posts I thought "The CBC contacted us. Did they ever publish anything?" That led me to find this video. It features interviews with Taylor Blades, Kay Schultz, and Anna Fast. I don't know if Kumamoto International played a role in this but, well, who cares! (Anna Fast used be in a class I taught. I'm so happy to see her on TV looking well!) If any of you happen to know of any other CBC coverage featuring friends in Kumamoto (or yourself), please let me know.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/667268675979
--- Kirk
P.S. If any of the three young women feature here would like to have a permanent copy to keep (you know, something to show to kids or grandchildren some day) let me know. I've recorded it from the web and can send it to you as a memento.

The article points out that the capacity of Kumamoto University’s Institute of Resource Development and Analysis to produce genetically modified mice for domestic and overseas research institutes has been impaired.
"Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka, professor at Kyoto University, has asked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to extend state support to the Kumamoto institute. State-affiliated research institute Riken is considering giving researchers at the Kumamoto institute access to its gene analysis equipment."
http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002931669
Kumamoto quakes cause negative effects on medical research
KUMAMOTO (Jiji Press) — A string of powerful earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture and nearby areas since last month have started to have negative effects on medical research, with a major production base for genetically modified mice being damaged.

As a result of the earthquakes, Kumamoto International has shown up in foreign and domestic media several times. I've been meaning to put together a little "Kumamoto International in the news" post, with links to all such instances but I just noticed that I don't seem to have written anything about the TV3 (New Zealand) coverage of the magnitude 7.3 quake that occurred on the 16th, which featured interviews with fellow editor William Baerg and yours truly. At this point, the video is probably only of interest to William and I and a few family members but, nonetheless, here it is.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/world/magnitude-71-quake-strikes-japan-2016041605
Magnitude 7.3 quake strikes Japan
Two powerful earthquakes a day apart have shaken southwestern Japan killing at least 29 people trapping many others beneath flattened homes and sending thousands of residents to seek refuge in gymnasiums and hotel lobbies

News from our friends at the International Center via the JET Program:
Sakai-san and Takahashi-san are available to take calls in English and offer assistance to foreigners in Kumamoto affected by the quakes. They have tarps, storage/cleaning supplies, and other goods, so please give them a call at 096-359-2020.
They stress that no place is too far for them to go to, so please don't hesitate to contact them!!

William here with two "Show me the money!" themed articles from the Kumanichi.
First, a bit about government compensation for property damage. As the chart at the link shows, areas designated Standard Disaster leave victims shouldering between 30 and 50% of recovery costs, while those designated Large-Scale Disaster, as Kumamoto has been, require victims to shoulder between 10 and 30%. However, given the scale, the Kumamoto government is in negotiations with the Central Government to enact a special law which would eliminate deductibles, with the Central Government providing full compensation. The article contains few details but notes, "Kumamoto Prefecture has asked the Central Government to raise subsidy rates and expand them to areas not included under original provisions to cover the full amount of the local share. As recovery is expected to take much time, affected local governments hope to create an environment conducive to reducing business anxiety regarding financial aspects of restoration."
However, this would be of little help to people such as 81-year old Murakami-san of Uchinomaki, Aso. Eligibility for disaster relief depends upon the issuance of a "Risai Shoumei" (罹災証明, "affliction certificate") by local governments. These are divided into four types, with compensation levels determined by type: 「全壊」「大規模半壊」「半壊」「一部損壊」"completely destroyed," "large-scale partial destruction," "partially destroyed," and "some damage." Murakami-san's predicament is that, while his house was judged to be in the latter, least-severe category, subsidence has left his property over a meter below the bordering road, which not only prevents access to the property but leaves it in great danger of flooding, as the photograph at the link will attest. The article notes that government officials are aware of this loophole as several other Kumamoto residents are facing similar circumstances and are working to provide a solution. Let's hope they do before rainy season.
The first link is to Murakami-san's predicament; the second to the special law.
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160508017.xhtml
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160509003.xhtml

Good news for Kyushu's tourism industry . . .
http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/116187.php
Luxury sleeper train Seven Stars rolls again in quake-hit Kyushu
Kyushu Railway is resuming tours on a luxury sleeper train following last month's deadly earthquakes in southern Japan, which closed part of the route.

The other day I posted about an organization called Plan Japan and their efforts to help children recover from the emotional trauma and stress caused by the quakes:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1030851050321660
The beginning of the video shows part of a djemba (African drum) performance I described in that message. If you would like to invite Plan Japan to hold a performance in your local school, please click on the link to my original post.
上のリンクをクリックしていただければ、近所の小学校へに来てもらう手続きに関する説明があります。
-- Kirk
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/videonews/fnn?a=20160506-00000932-fnn-soci
熊本地震　避難所となっている学校で授業再開に向けた動き加速（フジテレビ系（FNN）） - Yahoo!ニュース
熊本地震、避難生活の厳しい現実の一方で、避難所となっている学校では来週からの授業 - Yahoo!ニュース(フジテレビ系（FNN）)

" . . . along the western slope of Mount Tawara, the earth had shifted vertically as much as 1.5 meters."
This description of how part of Mt Tawara had risen by 1.5 meters reminded me of Charles Darwin's observations after the 1835 Chile quake:
"Darwin spent the next weeks investigating the effects of the earthquake. He found that rocks lined with recent marine shells were now elevated above the tide. The island of Santa Maria was raised an average of about 3 meters (9 feet)."
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/01/vanwyhe.quake.chile.darwin/
I remember learning about this several years ago. My respect for Darwin grew when I realized that he had not only been a revolutionary thinker in the field for biology but in geology as well. His observations helped confirm that "mountain chains were not created by sudden immense catastrophes, but grew almost imperceptibly, the product of thousands of successive uplifts over almost endless geological time." Pretty smart guy! :)
To read Darwin's account of the 1835 quake, go to
http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/faculty/RWA/research/current_research/chile-m-88-earthquake-page/darwins-description-of-the-.html
-- Kirk
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160428/p2a/00m/0na/013000c
April 16 Kumamoto quake shifted earth horizontally, vertically: researchers - The Mainichi
There are two types of fault lines running parallel to each other through the badly quake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture village of Nishihara, a research team led by Tohoku University seismology professor Shinji Toda has confirmed.

"On Wednesday, the prefectural government announced 31,025 homes had been totally wrecked or badly damaged by the earthquakes. At the end of April, the prefectural government unveiled a plan to provide 4,200 temporary housing units, a figure based on an estimate that 8,000 homes had been destroyed or badly damaged. With the high likelihood that the figure will now be insufficient, the prefectural government is carefully examining how many units are needed and will consider constructing more."
http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/kumamoto-earthquake-temporary-housing-running-late-short
Kumamoto Earthquake: Temporary housing running late, short
KUMAMOTO - Three weeks after deadly earthquakes battered Kumamoto Prefecture and other parts of Kyushu, demand for temporary housing looks likely to outstrip supply. Recent surveys have revealed that the tremors destroyed or badly damaged about four times more homes than initially estimated. Further...

My own university, Kumamoto Gakuen University, accepted disable evacuees. I need to ask, though, to find out if that was part of the original plan or if the decision to do so was made after the quakes hit. As I wrote before, the International Center was not intended to be an evacuation site but became one as a response to conditions after the quakes. It's hard to foresee everything but the author of the article writes that officials in Kumamoto could have paid better attention to the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/05/08/voices/media-show-kumamoto-woefully-ill-prepared-disabled-evacuees/
Media show Kumamoto was woefully ill-prepared for disabled evacuees | The Japan Times
It was heartening to see newspapers focusing on the difficulties disabled people face when disaster strikes, but far less heartening to hear what they had to say about the facts on the ground in Kumamoto.

In this post, I'd like to introduce two articles about support for people with disabilities. In addition to the article about people with dementia that you see below, I'd also like to recommend "Media show Kumamoto was woefully ill-prepared for disabled evacuees" by Michael Gillan Peckitt, the author of an e-book about his life as disabled foreigner in Japan:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/05/08/voices/media-show-kumamoto-woefully-ill-prepared-disabled-evacuees/
In this article, Mr. Peckitt argues that officials in Kumamoto should have paid better attention to the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 regarding emergency care for disabled people.
My own university, Kumamoto Gakuen University, accepted disable evacuees. I need to ask, though, to find out if that was part of the original plan or if the decision to do so was made after the quakes hit and other centers were found to be ill-prepared. As I wrote before, the International Center was not intended to be an evacuation site for foreign residents but became one as a response to conditions after the quakes. It's hard to foresee everything but Mr. Peckitt's argument that the preparation should have been better makes sense to me.
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/05/08/voices/media-show-kumamoto-woefully-ill-prepared-disabled-evacuees/
http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002915560
Kumamoto struggles to deal with dementia / Lack of personnel, support prevents better care
The problems of caring for elderly people with dementia in the area affected by the Kumamoto Earthquake are increasingly coming to the fore, as a shortage of personnel and support systems are hindering efforts to provide adequate care. We visited evacuation centers where elderly people with dementia...

Joe Tomei here. This article from the Asahi Shimbun has director Isao Yukisada, who is from Minami Aso, talking about his film Beautiful People which was filmed in Kumamoto last October. He says the film is an answer to "Kusamakura", a famous short story by Natsume Soseki set in Kumamoto.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201605070017.html
Film director thankful for pre-quake scenes of Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun
Movie director Isao Yukisada will always be thankful he filmed scenes for his latest release, “Beaut

The photo is of one elder-care facility that has been rendered unusable by the quakes.
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/06/national/elder-care-facilities-swamped-by-quake-evacuees-in-kumamoto/
Elder-care facilities swamped by quake evacuees in Kumamoto | The Japan Times
Facilities that care for senior citizens are finding it difficult to stay open in areas damaged by the strong earthquakes in Kyushu last month. Most of the