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This article presents a pretty good summary of the issues covered and not covered by the Minamata Convention that was agreed upon here in October:
http://phys.org/news/2013-01-mercury-treaty-geneva-countries.html#inlRlv
Groundbreaking mercury treaty adopted by 140 countries (Update)
More than 140 countries agreed Saturday on a ground-breaking treaty to rein in the use and emission of health-hazardous mercury, the UN said, but environmental activists lamented it did not go far enough.

The link to the flier seems to be broken. Still, those of you who are interested can contact the center about this event.
http://www.kicjapan.com/islam-life-seminar
Islam & Life Seminar
Kumamoto City International center (KIF) and Kumamoto Islamic Center (KIC) are arranging a brief seminar about "Islam and Life" at February 12th, Sunday from 13.00 to 16.30 pm. We welcome all our f...

Of course, Kumamon was on hand, but not this winner this time.
"Yurukyara-cute and often cuddly mascots representing cities and prefectures from throughout Japan and abroad Saturday set a Guinness world record for the largest gathering of mascot characters when 376 of them gathered at a park in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture."
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000821920
http://youtu.be/yz-daXBGGB0
ゆるキャラグランプリ2013　1位は栃木・佐野市の「さのまる」(13/11/24)
4回目となる「ゆるキャラサミット」が、埼玉・羽生市で開かれた。今回のゆるキャラグランプリで1位となったのは、栃木・佐野市の「さのまる」だった。 http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00258433.html

This might be of interest to American readers:
http://www.npr.org/2013/11/24/247006322/expatriots-make-do-or-do-without-for-thanksgiving?ft=1&f=1008
Expatriates Make Do Or Do Without For Thanksgiving
Host Rachel Martin catches up with Americans who've spent the Thanksgiving holiday far from home.

Here's an article about Kumamon and Gov. Kabashima in Boston.

I'm posting this here because it includes a quote from Shigetoshi Takeuchi, a lawyer with the Kumamoto Bar Association. Though it may not be of special interest to the international community in Kumamoto, I think the potential passage of this law is a very important issue in Japan right now:
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201311230044
Survey: Majority of Japanese outraged over state secrets protection bill - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
A majority of Japanese view the state secrets protection bill that the Abe administration is trying to ram through the Lower House with distrust and anger, according to a government survey.

I don't really know what to make of this because I can't figure out Mr. Green's connection to Kumamoto. Still, I thought I'd go ahead and post this just the same.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013KumamotoJPNAdamGreen/11TopNetworkerAwardNagano/prweb11320796.htm
Kumamoto Japan Based "Xocai" #1 International Liaison Adam Green Receives "Top Networker Award"...
(PRWEB) November 23, 2013 -- MXI Corp's, Adam Green, receives "Top Networker Award" from his peers in Nagano.

Kuma shochu is basically distilled sake. Like sake, it's make from rice. Actually, a form of sake is produced first, and then that is distilled to make the shochu. In this case, "Kuma" refers to the Hitoyoshi area (the kanji [球磨] are different from that of "Kuma" in Kumamoto [熊]). Hitoyoshi is famous for its rice shochu -- Kuma shochu.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000791665
Yunomae’s bountiful forest: Kuma shochu makers get back to nature - The Japan News
YUNOMAE, Kumamoto—Shochu made from sweet potatoes sounds great, but I was eager to sip some good, tasty rice shochu. That’s why I traveled to Yunomae, the home of Kuma shochu.

I haven't been able to do anything to help with this worthy effort. I'm sure, though, that the conference in March will be a success!
https://www.facebook.com/ftic.kumamoto
第8回フェアトレードタウン国際会議／8th International Fair Trade Towns Conference in Kumamoto
2014年3月28日～30日にかけて行われる「第8回フェアトレードタウン国際会議」の公式Facebookページです。 This is a official page of '8th Fairtrade International Conference in Kumamoto'

Kumamoto International Friendship Festival this weekend
From the post:
"If you are free this Sunday, November 24, the Kumamoto International Friendship Festival is happening from 11 to 5pm at the Kengun Shopping district (健軍商店街）in Kumamoto City. There will be food, performances, face painting, and booths of all sorts. Kumamon will make an appearance at 12:30. For those of you who were at Kumamoto Orientation and met Sakai-san and the other jolly women who demonstrated the Otemoyan dance, they will be performing at 3pm on stage. Come say hi!"
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/kumamoto-jet/DwXk0rnGewQ/gyTRFxmqq2cJ
(I posted this from my individual Facebook account first so I am reposting this as "Kumamoto International.")
Google Groups

I saw something on TV about manhole covers in Japan. Here's an example from Kumamoto. I think I'll pay more attention to this from now on.
http://wiki.chakuriki.net/index.php/ファイル:Kumamoto_Manhole.jpg
ファイル:Kumamoto Manhole.jpg - chakuwiki
過去の版のファイルを表示するには、表示したい版の日付/時刻をクリックしてください。

Though Kumamoto seems to have been spared thus far (thankfully), nearby Nagasaki and Oita have been sites of anti-foreign hate speech demonstrations.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201311070011
Hate speech protests spreading to smaller cities around Japan - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
Hate rallies mostly targeted at ethnic Koreans living in Japan have spread beyond Tokyo and Osaka to smaller regional cities over the past six months or so.

RKK's report about Kumamon visiting Harvard and other points in Boston.
http://youtu.be/Ey8ATxFgdos

According to the article that accompanies the picture, Kumamoto Prefecture cooperated in the development of this car.
Here's something I found about the history of Honda in Kumamoto:
"The Kumamoto factory was built in 1974 as part of Honda’s efforts to modernize their production facilities. The CB650 production occured at this plant. Today, Kumamoto is the site of Honda’s newest facility which will consolidate motorcycle manufacturing in one plant, taking on production from the plant in Hamamatsu and the plant in Marysville, Ohio, USA."
http://www.sohc4.net/honda-factories/
http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/11/honda-unveils-new-small-sized-electric-car/
Honda Unveils New Small Sized Electric Car «
Honda unveils the MC-β as its newest micro-size electric vehicle for field testing in Japan.

Mitsubishi Electric to Build New Engineering Facility in Kumamoto - HispanicBusiness.com
ENP Newswire - 23 October 2013 Release date- 22102013 - TOKYO - Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it will construct a new engineering facility in Kikuchi, Kumamoto Prefecture of southern Japan to accelerate development of liquid crystal display technologies and devic...

The Myokensai festival in Yatsushiro starts on the 23rd.
http://www.myouken.com
熊本県八代市　国重要無形民俗文化財　八代妙見祭

Don't ask a police officer to give you directions if you don't have your residency card:
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/11/17/393870/Taiwan-couple.htm
Taiwan couple claims mistreatment in Japan
A Taiwanese couple studying in Japan has accused Japanese police of mistreating them during a probe into their failure to carry ID papers while going out for lunch.

Here's a guide (alas, in Japanese, but it should be better than nothing) to winter illumination displays in the Kumamoto area: downtown Kumamoto, Aso Farmland, and the Saishunkan complex:
http://xmas.walkerplus.com/list/ar1043/
熊本県のクリスマスイベント・イルミネーション情報 | クリスマス特集2013 - Walkerplus
【熊本県のクリスマスイベント・イルミネーション情報です。】Walkerplusの“クリスマス特集2013”ではクリスマスイベント情報とともに、全国約500ヶ所のイルミネーションスポットを大紹介！編集部のおすすめイルミネーションや人気ランキングの他、写真一覧から見たいイルミを探せる機能などイルミネーション情報が満載！

I know it's a bit early, but a friend was asking about when the major fireworks shows will be held next year. I think many of the dates have yet to be set but the information about 2013 on this page should give a general indication of what to expect in 2014:
http://www.kumamotonavi.jp/hanabi2013/
2013 熊本県内の花火大会情報

This is related to the Minamata Convention. Reading this article made me wonder if I have any amalgam fillings. As far as I can figure out at this point, amalgam (which contains mercury) has been used in Japan and, though reduction has been called for, has not yet been banned. It might be a good idea to double check before you have a cavity filled.
http://news.yahoo.com/industry-leader-censors-stories-written-dental-news-reporters-124900284.html
Industry Leader Censors Stories Written by Dental News Reporters
Company pressures publications to remove articles about health hazards of mercury-based dental products WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dentsply International, one of the world's largest manufacturers of mercury-based dental products, has pressured mainstream dental industry pub...