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Harvard Degree: The Political Economy of Kumamon
Kumamon, Japan’s favorite bear-like mascot, this week made his American debut at Harvard University, where he was joined by his biggest fan and advocate, Governor Ikuo Kabashima of Kumamoto Prefecture.

Japan’s most-popular mascot bear Kumamon visits Boston
Kumamon, Japan’s most popular mascot, visited Boston and Harvard this week. The cuddly bear is the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region, which is in the southwestern part of Japan. The Governor of Kumamoto accompanied the costumed critter and gave a lecture at Harvard on “The…

Kumamon goes to Harvard!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/13/national/kumamon-governor-tickle-the-ivies/#.UoWai5FblEw
Kumamon, governor tickle the ivies
Kumamoto Gov. Ikuo Kabashima on Tuesday took Kumamon to Harvard to give a lecture at one of America's most prestigious universities on how the cuddly black bear mascot has helped ...

Free calligraphy class for foreigners. Contact contact Midori Kai ([email protected]) for more information.

Footpaths in Misato-machi. If you like walking to rural / natural areas, this may be for you.
http://youtu.be/qdfm86F-CfU
ドラマチック！美里町 ～フットパスの魅力～　Fantastic! Misato Town.　-Intriguing FootPath-
自然豊かな美里町に、多くの観光客が押し寄せている小さな集落があります。 そこには、熊本県民も驚きの風景と温かいおもてなしがありました。 今回は、美里町で、今人気を集めている「フットパス」の魅力をご紹介します。 Fantastic! Misato Town. -Intriguing FootPath- In nat...

UN News - UN agency welcomes US ratification of treaty to tackle mercury pollution
The United Nations environment agency today welcomed the ratification by the United States of the Minamata Convention, which seeks to bring down emissions and releases of mercury.

Though the government shutdown prevented their participation in the meeting, the U.S. has signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/11/217295.htm
United States Joins Minamata Convention on Mercury

This exhibition of the works of Kiyoshi Yamashita will continue at the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art until December 15. For information about Kyoshi Yamashita please see the Wikipedia article about him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyoshi_Yamashita

The Japanese details about the exhibition can be found here:

http://www.museum.pref.kumamoto.jp/event_cal/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=10&id=23&trk_kbn=2

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation : Mitsubishi Electric to Build New Engineering Facility in...
Note that the releases are accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice. The new engineering facility will strengthen the... | octobre 22, 2013

Here's a movie about Kumamon's missing checks (which have been found since the making of this video):
http://youtu.be/GMJD6piRwUA
くまモンのほっぺがなくなった！？ THE MOVIE

Here's something about the history of Kumamoto. From around noon on July 1 of 1945 into the following night 154 B29 bombers dropped 1107.4 tons of bombs on Kumamoto City. According to this page, 469 died, 552, were injured, 11,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, directly affecting about 43,000 people. The pink areas you see on the map were burned. If you go to the page linked to here you can see an aerial image of the result of the bombing. Kumamoto was also bombed on August 10th, the day after the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.
Looking at the map of the burned areas can help you understand why so few parts of Kumamoto have buildings that were put up before 1945.
I recently read an essay by HARADA Masazumi describing his experience in the bombing, which killed his mother.
http://www.city.kumamoto.kumamoto.jp/content/web/asp/kiji_detail.asp?ID=2662&mid=1&LS=132
[ 熊本大空襲と平和の誓い ]　詳細記事 / 熊本市ホームページ

The explanation is in Japanese but, if you like the video I introduced a little while ago . . .
http://youtu.be/VgfeI_zC5f0
Making of "Water Rock" - 日本語
オリジナルのビデオ: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd_HVCLQ_gc

Mr. Castro is the mayor of San Antonio, Kumamoto's sister city.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Castro-in-Japan-with-S-A-delegation-4940823.php
Castro in Japan with S.A. delegation
“I took the opportunity on behalf of San Antonio to thank him for Toyota's tremendous investment in San Antonio,†Castro said by phone. At that commemoration, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the first 10 years were tough, noting recalls of Toyota vehicles, natural disasters and the recessio…

Kumamoto is known for, and proud of, its fantastic water resources. It also has a Sony semiconductor plant, which may have been part of what occasioned the production of this video in here. Have a look and a listen on a rainy day!
http://youtu.be/7y_T0ZGsF-k
Water Rock
The riverhead area in Kumamoto, Kyushu is renowned for its high quality of pure natural water. We created a music video kind of a TV Commercial by syncing th...

Govt panel overturns rejected Minamata recognition case - The Japan News
Kumamoto Prefecture’s decision to reject a 65-year-old man’s application for recognition as a sufferer of Minamata disease has been overturned by a third-party panel set up by the government, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

Kumamoto's "Mori no Kuma-san" rice voted "No. 1 in Japan"
http://youtu.be/K75wHsw985Y
熊本のお米が日本一　～『森のくまさん』が生まれるまで～　Kumamoto Rice is Number One in Japan
くまもとのお米「森のくまさん」が、日本穀物検定協会が実施する平成２４年産「米の食味ランキング」で、日本一に輝きました。 「森のくまさん」は、熊本県農業研究センターで約８年の歳月をかけて開発され、熊本県のみで生産される、熊本のオリジナル品種。 今回は、熊本の大自然とさまざまな人々の情熱によって生み出される日本一おい...

A new edition of "THE YOKA" is out:
THE YOKA
Autumn 2013
Design by Zachary Johnson
Ringside by Zack Kraushar
Experiencing Racial Differences in Japan by Adele Jackson-Gibson
The UN Comes to Kumamoto by Erik Smith
Out in Japan by Zachary Jack Johnson
My "Oh No" Moments by Melissa Barcellos
California Kawaura Dreaming by Erin Dillon
http://kumamotojet.com
or
http://kumamotojet.com/documents/Yoka_Autumn2013.pdf
KumamotoJET - Home

This newspaper article (which came out before the royal visit) is still worth looking at because it brings attention to the sad history of the isolation of leprosy (Hansen's disease) patients in Kumamoto (as well as the Minamata disease tragedy). For more detailed information about the history of leprosy in Japan and the importance role Kumamoto played in that history see
http://www.clg.niigata-u.ac.jp/~miyasaka/hansen/leprosypolicy.html
http://japandailypress.com/japans-imperial-couple-to-visit-minamata-disease-site-and-kumamoto-leprosy-sanitarium-2438444/
Japan’s imperial couple to visit Minamata disease site and Kumamoto leprosy sanitarium
Japan’s imperial couple, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, is set schedules to visit two historical places in Kumamoto Prefecture this month, places that are associated with past government poli...

PHOTO: Kumamon performs for visiting imperial couple - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were entertained by Kumamoto Prefecture's popular bear-like mascot Kumamon on a visit to southern Japan.

Japan’s Favorite Bear Entertains Royal Couple
Japan's most beloved bear got an extra helping of celebrity adulation Monday by entertaining the emperor and empress on their visit to Kumamoto the prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu.