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Jikei Hospital (the hospital that has been operating the so-called "baby post") in Kumamoto City is in the news again:
"In fiscal 2013, there were 131 such children, compared to 199 in fiscal 2012 and 153 in fiscal 2011. By prefecture, Osaka had the largest number with 120, followed by Tokyo with 102 and Saitama with 48. All 26 cases in Kumamoto Prefecture were children left at a foster care facility for abandoned newborns at Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto City."
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001385627
483 children abandoned in last 3 years, survey shows - The Japan News
Nearly 500 children have been found abandoned or neglected by their parents in the three years through March this year, according to a nationwide survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Hi! I posted a message about becoming a host family for foreign students at Kumamoto Gakuen University but I have deleted it because the university would like students who are currently enrolled to apply -- not the general public. Sorry for the misinformation.

Japan's results in the World Cup soccer tournament have been disappointing but, according to this article, a school in Kumamoto has played an important role in raising the level of soccer in Japan in recent years. I'm not familiar with this academy. Do any of you know what school the article is referring to?
"Academies at Fukushima, Kumamoto and Osaka have helped forge a Japanese football identity and help prime talents flourish. Japan finished fourth at the last Olympics and are reigning continental champions at senior and under-23 level. By seamlessly slotting one age group with another, they are achieving holistic growth."
https://sg.sports.yahoo.com/news/japan-growth-stunted-lack-competition-asia-071500590.html
Japan growth stunted by lack of competition in Asia
COMMENT: The Asian champions have come up woefully short so far in the World Cup leaving many questions to answer, not least their stress-free qualification campaign

28-year-old man arrested over theft of 300 high school girl uniforms
Police in Kumamoto said Tuesday they have arrested a 28-year-old part-time worker for stealing 300 high school girl uniforms. According…

'Presents from Eiji Mitooka: Designs to Make People and Cities Happier' | The Japan Times
Through his train designs and station-building plans for Japan Rail's Kyushu Line, industrial designer Eiji Mitooka has won multiple awards for work that h

I'm not sure if this event will actually be bilingual but Kumustaka (Association for Living Together with Migrants) has prepared announcements in both Japanese and English:
http://www.geocities.jp/kumustaka85/intro.html
(Click on the link to find the Japanese flier.)
At the following location
http://ameblo.jp/mumuco-in-kumamoto/entry-11872293489.html
I found the following Japanese and English text:
Announcement form Kumustaka-Association for Living Together with Migrant.
7月6日1時半から4時半までくまもと県民交流館パレア10階会議室7で
Kumustaka will host
人種・民族差別をなくすためのシンポジウム
Symposium to Stop Racism
を行いますグー
on July 6, 1:30pm-4:30pm at Kumamoto Kenmin Koryukan Parea, 10the Floor Conference Room 7
日本は1995年に人種差別撤廃条約に加入し、日本政府も人種差別をなくすための政策をとることが義務づけられています。　（義務づけられてなくてもやるべきですが。。。）
Japan joined the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1995, which obligates the Japanese government to adopt policies to fight against racism. (well, they better do so even without the obligation...)
しかし、現在在日コリアンや外国人をターゲットとするヘイトスピーチが大きな問題となっています。
（在特会とか。。。）
However, hate speech targeting foreigners, especially Korean Japanese, has become a big problem in this past few years. (such as Zai Toku Kai)
ヘイトスピーチとは何なのか、なぜ現在ヘイトスピーチが問題になっているのか、諸外国ではヘイトスピーチはどのように取りつかわれているのか、どうしたらこの問題を解決できるのか、などなどを、
We will discuss what is hate speech, why it is a big problem right now, how other countries are dealing it, how we can stop it, etc, etc
ターゲットとなっている在日コリアンの立場からみたヘイトスピーチについての講演や、ドイツや日本でのヘイトスピーチ問題についての報告を踏まえ、参加者と共に考えるシンポジウムです。
We'll have a lecture on hate speech from the perspective of Korean Japanese, and reports on hate speech in Germany and Japan.
参加無料のイベントです。ぜひ参加して、よりより社会をめざして一緒に考えましょう！
Admission is free. Please join us and think how we can make a better society together!

Starting on the 28th at the Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto:
"The Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto is pleased to present the exhibition, Presents from Eiji Mitooka: Designs to Make People and Cities Happier. Eiji Mitooka is an internationally acclaimed designer, well-known for designing 'Kyushu Shinkansen' and 'Seven Stars in Kyushu.'"
Click on the link for details in English:
http://www.camk.or.jp/english/exhibition/mitooka/index.html
Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto
Exhibition Image"Eiji Mitooka Happy Railway Designs Exhibition"JR Kyushu Hall (JR Hakata City 9F etc.)(2012 Dec 2nd- 2013 Jan 14th )

Research conducted by a team from Kumamoto has been cited in this article about the "Oishinbo" controversy:
"A team from Kumamoto Gakuen University led by Nakachi Shigeharu in Nov. 2012 investigated nose bleeding and other illness among the people living in Futaba-machi adjacent to Fukushima dai-ichi and Marumori-machi 60 km north west north of Fukushima dai-ichi, and compared the data to those for people living in Kinomoto-cho in Shiga prefecture 600 km west of Fukushima dai-ichi. The odds ratio of nose bleeding among the people living in Futaba- and Marumori-machi were 3.5 and 3.8, respectively. This indicates that nose bleeding incidence was significantly higher (by 3 to 4 times) in towns close to Fukushima Dai-ichi compared to that in a place far from it. Other symptoms including headache, dizziness, nausea and fatigue were also high among people living in Futaba-machi."
http://japanfocus.org/-Ei_ichiro-OCHIAI/4138
The Manga “Oishinbo” Controversy: Radiation and Nose Bleeding in the Wake of 3.11 :: JapanFocus
APJis a reader-supported journal Tax deductible Contributions welcome via Pay Pal or credit card. If you would like to support the Journal, please do so here. The Asia-Pacific Journal is available free to all. Your support allows us to improve our service in a new era of conflict in the Asia-Pacific…

I've started a Facebook page for the International Education Office at Kumamoto Gakuen University. Most of the announcements will probably be in Japanese but, if you're interested, check it out from time to time.
熊本学園大学における国際教育・国際交流に関する情報を発信します。

On May 26th, during their 7AM show, NHK aired a piece on the International Clinic Tojinmachi in Fukuoka:
http://www.internationalclinic.org
I'm pretty sure that someone wrote a testimonial about how good this doctor is on Kumamoto-i but all I could find was this message that I had posted:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages/11923
What I saw on TV was very impressive. Dr. Ronald Schlemper seems to speak many languages easily and to take the time to really listen to patients. The clinic is a long way from Kumamoto but, depending on your circumstances, some of you may want to make the trip.
By the way, though some of the information is now dated, there is a lot of information about English-speaking doctors in this area that can be found in the Kumamoto-i archives:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages

Nicholas Hall (sp?) was interviewed by RKK a while back. He talked about what he hopes to be doing 10 years from now (this is a regular segment on the evening news). If you're our there, Nicholas, first, please forgive any spelling mistakes, and second, if you don't have a copy of the video and would like to have one, let me know.

Heavy rains sometimes produce mudslides. One such mudslide caused a train to be derailed today in neighboring Kagoshima:
http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/108230.php
15 injured as sightseeing train derails in Kagoshima
A sightseeing train derailed in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Saturday morning, injuring 15 passengers.

The rain is very light in Kumamoto City right now but there are heavy rain warnings for other parts of Kumamoto, including the Aso area:
http://www.anshin.pref.kumamoto.jp/rireki/saigai/430000.html
This information came to me through an e-mail service which, unfortunately, is only available in Japanese.
I have some more information in English in the "Weather" section of my "Kumamoto Links" page:
http://www2.kumagaku.ac.jp/teacher/~masden/links.html#weather
The following page put out by the national government seems to have the best information in English:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/349_table.html
This information agrees with what I got in Japanese in that there are no warnings or advisories for Kumamoto City but heavy rain is predicted for most of the surrounding areas.
Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any e-mail warning system in English. As far as I can tell, you just have to go look at the page if you are worried about the situation. Please write a comment here if you know of a better way to get this kind of information.

Jessica shared this blog entry on the page. Thanks Jessica! I hope more of you will share blog posts about things you've done, experiences you've had, etc. in Kumamoto.
By the way, the topic of getting a driver's license has come up many times over the years on the "Kumamoto-i" mailing list, which preceded this page and is still functioning:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages
If you search there with words like "driver" or "license" etc., you'll find lots more collective wisdom. After all, getting from Point A to Point B is a pretty common issue for people who move here from other countries.
Jessica And Rob's Adventure : Getting a Driver's License in Kumamoto

Here's another item from the Kumamoto JET group:
6 Day Intensive Japanese Course for Beginners
Date 【First Term】 June 28th (Sat)〜June 30th (Mon)　3 days
【Second Term】July 5th (Sat)〜July 7th (Mon)　3 days
9:30a.m.-4:30p.m. (Lunch break from 12:30p.m. to 1:30p.m.)
You need not take both terms at once; it is possible to take only the first or second term (3 days).
However, only those who have taken both terms (6-days) will receive a certificate.
◉Place　　 Kumamoto City International Center (3rd floor Study room1)
◉Applicants Non-Japanese persons with minimal Japanese ability
◉Fee　 1,000 yen (class materials fee)
◉Capacity　10 people
◉Application By phone or in person at the Kumamoto City International Center
[Phone: +81-96-359-4995 E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp) ]
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/kumamoto-jet/eS-hifprbdg/QgS74bdH1zUJ
Google Groups

"The Hinokuni Matsuri is one of Kumamoto's biggest festivals. One of the main events in the Hinokuni Matsuri is the Otemoyan Dance (おてもやん総おどり). Dozens of groups crowd the main streets in downtown Kumamoto and dance to traditional music blasting from loudspeakers. Some of the groups really take the dance seriously, and practice for weeks leading up to the festival."
Click on the link to read more . . .
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/kumamoto-jet/PjYg-fR4_fI/8wVSARgN_qUJ
Google Groups

I wrote earlier about Chinese reports that surface-to-surface missiles intended to defend Japanese territory from Chinese incursions would be placed in Kumamoto:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/657328894340546
This article from Japan's conservative Sankei Newspaper confirms that the missiles will be stored at the Kengun base in Kumamoto City.
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/news/140615/plc14061506300003-n1.htm
陸自、新型地対艦ミサイルを熊本に集中配備　南西防衛を強化
　陸上自衛隊が、南西方面での中国による離島侵攻に備え、最新鋭の「地対艦誘導弾（ＳＳＭ）」を九州に集中配備することが１４日、分かった。平成２８年度から初めて一線の部隊に配備する発射機１６両をすべて、熊本県・健軍（けんぐん）駐屯地の第５地対艦ミサイル連隊に置く。沖縄県・先島諸島などの離島が奪われそうになれば輸送艦で迅速に緊急展開する態勢も整え、沖縄周辺での演習に積極投入する。

Here's a post from Charmaine Minami:
"For anyone who is planning a visit to Kurokawa Onsen or is interested in outdoor hot spring bathing,please take a look at my new blog (semi-official for the Kurokawa Onsen Ryokan Association). There is also a link at the top of the main page to a recently-published (much-needed!) English map of Kurokawa Onsen. Many of the events/activities I`ll be writing about,such as Onsen-hopping and Bar-hopping are suitable for day-trippers to Kurokawa and Ryokan guests alike. (Bear with me a bit as I`m new to blogging...starting to get the hang of it a bit more now....)"
Thanks Charmaine!
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/10152592863710555
kurokawa onsen news

I posted this earlier. This post is a reminder:
South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka to speak in Kumamoto on June 18 at 11AM, Contemporary Art Museum of Kumamoto. According to the subtitle of the talk, she will speak about her role in the struggle to overcome apartheid. Ms. Chaka sang at Nelson Mandela's funeral and has performed for many famous people: "Throughout her illustrious career Chaka Chaka has met people like Nelson Mandela (singing at his 85th birthday party), the Queen and Oprah Winfrey. Chaka Chaka's continuing legacy as "Princess of Africa" is a testament to her connection to everyday people as well as royalty. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Chaka_Chaka
In the quick look I took at the Japanese announcement, I could not find any information about the language of the talk, but I assume she will be speaking in English with consecutive Japanese translation.
http://smilestation.blogzine.jp/blog/2014/06/post_423d.html
SMILE Station: ユニセフ協会イベント　東アフリカ地域ユニセフ親善大使、ＧＡＶＩ親善大使イボンフ・チャカチャカ氏講演会のお知らせ

I have no idea at this point whether or not this report is credible:
"Q: There are reports that Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force recently deployed surface-to-ship missiles (SSM) in Okinawa's Miyako Island, and plans to deploy SSMs in Kumamoto Prefecture in 2016. Some media reports believe that these moves are meant to deal with China's possible attack against Japan's southwest outlying islands. What is China's response to that?
A: Japan's moves in the military and security fields will have complex impacts on the regional security environment. Therefore, Japan should give responsible statements as to its true intentions behind these moves. China adheres to the diplomatic principle of good-neighborliness and friendliness and the national defense policy that is defensive in nature. In the meantime, we will take firm and effective actions to respond to changes in the security landscape and safeguard our national territorial sovereignty."
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1165908.shtml
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on June 16, 2014
A: It is good to see that the second round of presidential voting in Afghanistan run to a smooth ending. We welcome and congratulate Afghanistan on that. As a friendly neighbor, China respects the choice made by the Afghan people and wishes to see an amicable Afghanistan that enjoys unity, stability…