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Body found in rural Kumamoto believed to be missing teen girl | The Japan Times
A body found on a mountain in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, may be that of a high school student missing since early May, police said, reporting that aut

Regarding the Kumamoto City -- San Antonio relationship:
"'We have a 26 year-old relationship with Kumamoto of Japan which has enabled us to build mutual trust between the two cities–a vital ingredient for successful business development,' says Dowlatshahi. 'The [Japanese] companies contribute significantly to our local economy through job creation and increased productivity.'”
http://cities-today.com/2014/05/sister-city-partnerships-can-play-new-role-global-economy/
How sister city partnerships can play a new role in a global economy - Cities Today
Jonathan Ballantine reveals how sister city partnerships are being increasingly used to forge strategic trade and economic ties

OMG. I hope the girl is OK.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140606p2a00m0na005000c.html
Police suspect foul play in Kumamoto girl's disappearance - 毎日新聞
KUMAMOTO -- A third-year female student at a Kumamoto prefectural high school went missing May 4 and...

This is an article that I think I've introduced before. It's a about the lifting of the ban on international sales of Kumamon goods, which starts tomorrow, on June 9th. I was reminded about this when I found the following Japanese announcement in an RSS feed I subscribe to:
http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/169/kumamon-export2.html
It's about how to apply to use Kumomon overseas but I was completely unable to find any analogous information in English.
I happen to have a meeting with the Lieutenant Governor of Kumamoto tomorrow. The topic set last week is the prefecture's use of the internet. I think this is another item for the agenda.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-05-24/kumamon-mascot-character-is-coming-to-america/.74775
Kumamon Mascot Character Is Coming To America
Japan's #1 prefectural mascot takes on the world!

You can use this to bone up on your Kumamoto-ben. How many Kumamoto-isms can you recognize?
http://youtu.be/ilLk5k48dG4
くまもと よかとこ 来てはいよ byもっこすファイヤー
吉本興業100周年プロジェクト「あなたの街に"住みます"プロジェクト」で、 熊本県住みます芸人として熊本を拠点に活動しているもっこすファイヤーが 作詞・作曲した、オリジナル熊本ソングです。 毎日22時から生配信中！！！ 「もっこすファイヤーのYNN（よしもと・ネタ・ネットワーク）熊本チャンネル」 http://w...

I like this song and all of the dancers in Kumamoto!
http://youtu.be/JYWRIfU5zgM
HAPPY "MOKKOSU KUMAMOTO" Ver.
【HAPPY旋風、熊本初上陸！】 ※※※早く見せんね！の声にお応えして、予定よりちょっと早くリリース！！※※※ ＝＝＝＝＝ ファレル・ウィリアムス『HAPPY』 熊本の街なかを中心に、地元らしい映像満載！ マチの顔の方たちをはじめ、著名人、アナウンサーさん、テレビ局さん、キッズダンサー、車掌さん、武将隊、シティプ...

7-Elevens look to capitalize on Taiwanese women's love for Kumamoto mascot - AJW by The Asahi...
KUMAMOTO--As a goodwill ambassador, the prefecture’s popular bear-like mascot Kumamon is quite the charmer, even winning the hearts of Taiwanese women.

Kumamoto City "relies solely on groundwater, which comes from water deposits in aquifers consisting of volcanic rocks formed from Mount Aso’s eruption between 90,000 to 260,000 years ago."
http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/life-health/57549-clean-water-technology-japan-philippines
Fresh, clean water? Japan has technology that PH can use
If the Philippines has dense forests and properly maintained rice paddies, then it has the keys for groundwater recharge

You can rent a Beer Gar Den(sha) between July 1st and September 30th this year.
交通局からのお知らせ(一覧)　/　熊本市交通局ホームページ
　７月１日（火）から９月３０日（火）まで、熊本の夏の風物詩「貸切ビアガー電」を今年も運行いたします。ひと時の車窓からの風景をぜひお楽しみください。

Gakuendai will hold its annual Japanese-language speech contest for foreign students this Saturday.

Mayor Koyama will not run for re-election. He says he will continue his career as a politician but is being vague about his future plans.
http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/national/article/92230
熊本市の幸山政史市長は２日午後、市役所で記者会見を開き、１２月の任期満了に伴う市長選について「立候補しない決断をし...

I also have a page called "Kumamoto Links":
http://www2.kumagaku.ac.jp/teacher/~masden/links.html
KUMAMOTO LINKS
Comprehensive website with information including links and pamphlets on tourism, business, schools/studies within Kumamoto Prefecture for the rest of the Asia region.

The Kumamon craze continues . . .
(Thanks to Reno for notification.)
http://akihabaranews.com/2014/05/26/article-en/japan-airlines-air-kumamon-flight-meal-full-kumamoto-goodies-1475151130
Japan Airlines - Air Kumamon - In-flight meal full of Kumamoto goodies

Here's another article about Kumamon going international:
http://akihabaranews.com/2014/05/26/article-en/kumamons-burden-going-international-and-we-know-secret-1195785850
Kumamon's Burden: Going International (AND WE KNOW THE SECRET)

"After years of acting as a popular icon nationwide in Japan, the Kumamoto Prefecture's bear mascot Kumamon is finally making his international debut! Earlier this week, Kumamon's PR department announced that starting in June of 2014 they would be lifting the bad on international sales of Kumamon goods. "
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-05-24/kumamon-mascot-character-is-coming-to-america/.74775
Kumamon Mascot Character Is Coming To America
Japan's #1 prefectural mascot takes on the world!

"Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii from Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Okinawa and Yamaguchi prefectures after 1868. Hawaiian King David Kalakaua traveled to Japan in 1881 to visit the Meiji emperor and invited Japan to send settlers to work on Hawaii’s agricultural plantations. In 1885, Jiro Nakamura was the first Japanese consul in Hawaii, the first diplomatic representative from any nation other than the U.S., to be posted in the Kingdom of Hawaii."
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-features/about-town-5-24-14
King Kalakaua was not merely interested in the labor of Japanese immigrants. Another motivation with offsetting American influence and avoiding a U.S. takeover:
"He sought a closer relationship with Japan, in part, to offset the growing influence of the U.S., when he proposed a marriage alliance between his niece, Princess Ka`iulani, and the Emperor’s nephew, Komatsu."
http://www.hawaii.edu/news/docs/japanese-in-hawaii.pdf
About Town | 5-24-14
Fairchild awarded FOLK scholarship

"The study covered some 850 swamp sites of about 110,000 hectares, including the Kushiro wetlands on Hokkaido and the Oze marshland, which stretches over Fukushima, Gunma and Niigata prefectures on Honshu.
It also covered around 1,300 sites classified as mud flats, totaling 50,000 hectares and including the Fujimae tidal flat in Aichi Prefecture on Honshu and the Ariake Sea, bordered by Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures on Kyushu."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/23/national/japan-neglecting-wetlands-ministry/#.U4BcARZbmc8
Japan neglecting wetlands: ministry | The Japan Times
Japan's wetlands and mudlands produce an economic value of ¥1.4 trillion to ¥1.6 trillion a year in terms of water purification and food supply,

". . . looking for a qualified English teacher. Must be a native English speaker. The job is at an eikaiwa near Hikari no Mori Youme Town in Kusunoki."
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages/12876

The Tour of Lotus Root with Mustard - with Mokkosu Fire

We had a discussion about this on the Kumamoto-i mailing list after this article came out:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/search/messages?query=microaggression
Yes, I can use chopsticks: the everyday 'microaggressions' that grind us down | The Japan Times
Have you ever noticed how many interpersonal interactions in Japan are like "speed dates" of set questions? For example, the taxi drivers who have the odd