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MSUB extends cooperative agreement with Japanese university
Montana State University Billings and Japan’s Prefectural University of Kumamoto (PUK) extended by three years on Monday a long-running agreement that includes exchange student programs, immersive language programs and faculty

Mie, the team that defeated Kumamoto's Johoku, came very close to winning the tournament.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/08/25/baseball/osaka-toin-captures-koshien-title/#.U_viGUuyu0w
Osaka Toin captures Koshien title | The Japan Times
Osaka Toin defeated Mie 4-3 in the final to win the prestigious national high school championship on Monday. Osaka Toin trailed 3-2 in the seventh inning,

The Redback Spider is a species from Australia that has established itself in Japan. The first one was found in Kumamoto last year in Tsuruhada (the northern part of Kumamoto City). This article reports that an additional 42 spiders and eggs have been found in that area recently. The city is advising wearing gloves when working in areas that spiders are likely to inhabit. For more information about the spider in English, see
Deadly red-back spider spreads across Japan
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201210180001
and
Redback Spider, Latrodectus hasselti
http://australianmuseum.net.au/redback-spider
To find the city's warning (in Japanese) go to
http://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=3057
http://mainichi.jp/area/kumamoto/news/m20140823ddlk43040310000c.html
セアカゴケグモ:熊本市北区に　４２匹と卵確認　／熊本 - 毎日新聞
　熊本市は２２日、同市北区鶴羽田１の住宅街で特定外来生物のセアカゴケグモ４２匹と卵のう４３個を見つけ...

Kumamon takes the ALS ice bucket challenge . . .
http://youtu.be/3FHCsNqTK0E
くまモン ALS アイス バケツ チャレンジ

Here's an invitation to play flag football from the KumAJET page:
"On September 15th (public holiday) there is a flag football tournament just north of Kumamoto city. It's a relaxed day playing against a JHS team and a few other teams. If you would like to join us or, have 5 players to start a team, I can supply more details.
We also play in the Kyushu tournaments traveling to other prefectures which is a good opportunity to see the sights."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/45261511655/permalink/10152379945941656/

This article begins with a few paragraphs about the Kumamoto Castle Marathon.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/marathons-gain-traction/1324416.html
Marathons gain traction in sports vacations - Channel NewsAsia
More Singaporeans are signing up for travel packages that include running a marathon.

Hi! I'm sharing this in the hope that more people will see it this way.

I received a question about how to order cheap tickets through Jetstar. (The 99 yen tickets, by the way, are gone -- at least between Tokyo and Kumamoto but there are still relatively inexpensive seats available for some dates.) I went to the Jetstar website and found that the only way to find any tickets between Kumamoto and other points in Japan is to go to the Japanese website:
http://www.jetstar.com/jp/ja/home
I illustrated my feeling about this asymmetry between English and Japanese by adding a little comment to the screen shot I took of the English search page on the Jetstar site.

The Asahi editorial cites Kumamoto's "preventive evacuations" as a model for the nation. When the call to evacuate came out in July, I didn't realize that they were part of a new program.
====== start quote ======
Kumamoto Prefecture in the last fiscal year launched a new disaster response program focused on “preventive evacuations,” which can be instructive for other local governments.
The prefectural government developed the program after heavy downpours in the early morning hours caused casualties in July 2012.
Under the program, when heavy nighttime rainfall is expected, local governments set up evacuation sites in the evening and call for voluntary evacuations.
When Typhoon No. 8 struck Japan in July, some 5,000 people in Kumamoto Prefecture actually took shelter under the program. Even if an evacuation later turns out to have been unnecessary, such actions are meaningful because they make people more conscious of the risks.
To boost our own safety during natural disasters, we should do what we can during normal times.
====== end quote ======
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201408220027
EDITORIAL: Hiroshima landslides show need to review disaster response plans - AJW by The Asahi...
Massive landslides caused by heavy rainfall engulfed wide areas in northern parts of Hiroshima, leaving dozens of people dead or missing.

RKK's evening news show included a segment about halal food in Kumamoto last month. The prefecture is interested in slaughtering meat in accord with Islamic practices so that it can be certified as halal. Part of the segment was filmed at this store near Kumamoto University.
SISWAHYU HALAL FOOD
Japan, 熊本県熊本市中央区黒髪5丁目8-22
+81 96-343-7568
http://www.siswahyu.com/warungindonesia/index.php

This, of course, is about the disaster in Hiroshima but I think there is an indirect connection to discussions we've had on this page. When a major typhoon threatened to dump a lot of rain on Kumamoto in July, some of the evacuation orders were seen as overreactions. As I pointed at the time (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages/12956), predicting exactly where a landslide or flood will occur in time to evacuate potential victims is not a simple matter. Sadly, in this case, the evacuation advisories came too late. The typhoon season is far from over this year so I think it's wise to bear in mind that heavy rain and strong winds can indeed be very dangerous -- especially if you live in a vulnerable area.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/08/21/national/hiroshima-slide-alert-said-tardy-toll-hits-39-search-missing-seven-continues/
Hiroshima slide alert said tardy; toll hits 39 as search for missing seven continues | The Japan...
The landslides and flooding triggered by torrential rain overnight Wednesday that engulfed residential areas in Hiroshima so far have left 39 people confir

99 seats on each flight will be sold for 99 yen (about 1 dollar U.S.).
http://zipanguflyer.blogspot.jp/2014/08/jetstar-to-launch-kumamoto-in-october.html
ZipanguFlyer: Jetstar to launch Kumamoto in October with three routes.

Kumamoto's Johoku lost to Mie yesterday. The score was 7-5.
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/news/20140820/hig14082013490014-n1.html
　第９６回全国高校野球選手権大会第１０日第３試合（三重７－５城北、２０日、甲子園）三重が点の取り合いとなった一戦を７－５で制し、４６年ぶりのベスト８進出を決めた。城北（熊本）は、三回まで６点リードされ、八回には１点差まで迫る粘りを見せたものの、あと一歩届かなかった。

Here's another nice Kumamoto-related blog.
http://gdjapan.blogspot.jp
Danielle and Graham in Japan

This blog has lots of nice posts about Kumamoto.
http://www.trangsformation.com
Live a Great Story Today ©

Osprey use has been very controversial in Okinawa and other parts of Japan because of noise and safety concerns.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140818p2g00m0dm045000c.html
Japan-U.S. joint drills to be held in Kumamoto, Osprey use possible - 毎日新聞
KUMAMOTO, Japan (Kyodo) -- The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force and U.S. Marine Corps plan to cond...

Here's a link to an article about the celebration of Lafcadio Hearn (who spent part of his career in Kumamoto) in Greece:
"It was a marvellous night for a romance on the Ionian island of Lefkada in Greece recently as more than 1,000 people gathered after a glorious sunset in the outdoor Open Theatre looking out onto a beautiful blue lagoon to savour a magical performance by a leading puppet theatre from Kumamoto in Japan."
http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/celebrating-lafcadio-hearn-1.1899523
Celebrating Lafcadio Hearn
An Irishman’s Diary about a protean literary genius and traveller

This link will take you to information about くらしのにほんごくらぶ. "Kurashi" means "living" or "daily life" so the idea is to help non-Japanese who live in Kumamoto to learn practical Japanese they can use in daily life. There are many volunteers who help tutor. So, as I understand it, you can get individual help with specific issues you might face. If any readers of this post have participated, please share your experiences here.
日本人の皆さんへ
ボランティアができます。興味があれば、国際事情団に問い合わせてみてください。
[email protected]
===== from the web page =====　
　日本語が分からずに困っていることありませんか？
　もう少し日本語が出来たらなぁとか思っている方いませんか？
　　そんな方、私たちと一緒に、おしゃべりを通して日本の習慣や生===== end quote =====
http://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/event/event_detail.asp?1=1&kiji_id=7322&LC=j&yy=2014&mm=8&id=2&PageType=cal
Kumamoto International Foundation

Kumamoto's Johoku won their first game.
http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/news/20140816/hig14081610380015-n1.html
　第９６回全国高校野球選手権大会第６日第２試合（城北－東海大望洋、１６日、甲子園）城北（熊本）は先発の安武、大西らの継投で失点を最小限にとどめたい。打線は当たっている４番楢原にいい形で回せるか。東海大望洋（千葉）は千葉大会の準決勝、決勝で２桁得点と打線は強力で１年生ながら５番捕手の峯尾に注目。速球が武器の先発・原田と制球のいい宇津木が二枚看板。

Kyushu has been called Japan's "silicon island."
"Sony Semiconductor Corp.’s Kikuyo plant in Kumamoto Prefecture is also forgoing the holiday to meet smartphone-driven demand for its image sensors."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/08/15/business/corporate-business/chip-makers-skip-summer-break-to-meet-smartphone-demand/
Chip makers skip summer break to meet smartphone demand | The Japan Times
While much of Japan relaxes during the Bon summer holiday period, its top semiconductor makers are keeping their factories running to meet fierce demand fr