Posts

Kirk here with an Asahi.com article that covers more-or-less the same territory as my post yesterday about the president of Sojo University. One thing in this article that I didn't mention yesterday was that "he (President Nakayama) said he took the chairman’s post at the organization in 2011, when it was established, because he was asked to do so by a former Kumamoto city assembly member." I wonder who that former city assembly membeter might be and how they might have been connected to the project.
Here's the URL of the post I made yesterday. If links to the online Bunshun article:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02JdD5kMGh9wNuNjdtCouQPTrHMZZiefhi8yKP2eSjMkrDXKSSs14nEXAKy2z5yWA8l
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14702234
Kishida denies Unification Church ties after magazine report | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Aug. 24 again denied having any relations with the Unification Church after a weekly magazine reported that one of his key supporters did.

Kirk here with a notice from Yukiko Kaikita about an online (Zoom) event that will be held on Sunday. I'll share her English announcment and then put the Japanese text she sent me at the end of this message. (The event will be held in Japanese. このイベントは日本語で行われます。)
---------
The following lecture will be held online (free of charge) regarding the incident of a Vietnamese technical intern trainee, Linh.
This is a case in which it is questioned whether the act of mourning for a family member’s death constitutes "abandonment."
People have different religious views, and like Linh’s case, various circumstances may limit what you can do for the funeral. We think it is very dangerous for the judiciary to unilaterally decide that it is not a funeral.
I think this is a very important theme now that the relationship between religion and politics is drawing attention. Please join us.
# Linh is innocent
#Not Guilty for Linh
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Title: “To what extent should the criminal law intervene in the death of a family member?”
Date: August 28 (Sun) 14:00-
Location: Online (ZOOM)
Participation fee: Free
Application: Please apply from the inquiry page on the 来迎院HP.
http://www.raikouin.or.jp/

Please write 「participate in the study session on the 28th」in the remarks column of the page.
Thank you.
http://www.raikouin.or.jp/contact/?fbclid=IwAR3DorWtQsbRxTe7cne0CKekIwcVNRRELPbih9ykXFR64dFEb5mbkr4y2kI
【勉強会のご案内】
ベトナム人技能実習生リンさんの事件について、オンライン（無料）で下記の講演会を開催致します。
ベトナム人技能実習生リンさんの事件は、家族を弔った行為が「遺棄」にあたるかが問われている事件です。
人の宗教観はいろいろです。
また、様々な状況から、弔いのためにできることが限られてしまうこともありえます。
にもかかわらず、司法が一方的に、弔いではないと判断してしまうことはとても危ういことではないでしょうか。
宗教と政治の関係が注目される今、とても重要なテーマだと思います。ぜひご参加ください。
#リンさんは無罪
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
「家族の死に対する刑法の介入をどこまで許すのか」
日時：8月28日（日）14:00～
場所：オンライン（ZOOM）
参加費：無料
お申し込み：来迎院HPの問合せページからお申込みください。
※ 備考欄に「28日の勉強会参加希望」と ご記入いただきますよう、お願いします。
http://www.raikouin.or.jp/contact/
こちらのURLから直接お問合せページに入れますので、どうぞご利用ください。
技能実習制度についてのご報告です。
現在、法務省と厚労省が、妊娠実習生の不当な扱い（強制帰国や強制中断、中絶の強要など）の実態調査を始めました。ようやくですが、大きな一歩です。
リンさんの事件から、妊娠した実習生の不当な扱いが大きく報道されるようになりました。
リンさんは現在も最高裁に上告中です。まだ、棄却されていません。審議中ということです。
死体遺棄していないのに、死体遺棄罪で逮捕されたリンさんの事件を、判例にしてはいけません。
リンさんの無罪は、女性の妊娠に関する自己決定権の問題でもあります。リンさんの無罪に向けて、サポートを宜しくお願いします

Kirk here with a screenshot of some survey results published in the Kumanichi (see URL below). According to the survey about half of the foreign "trainees" (jisshusei) and students (ryugakusei) in Kumamoto plan or hope to work in Kumamoto after their trainee or study period ends. Less than a quarter plan to return to their home country. I'm not sure how this compares to other prefectures but it makes sense to me -- Kumamoto is a nice place to live and work.
P.S. I got this link from Ms. Yukiko Kaikita. I'll be sharing more information from her about an event related to trainees soon.
https://nordot.app/928068046420164608?fbclid=IwAR0VoquS2rCwb_r8rBaIKOpYxcWEQG8sf30ZLjHH_OEtIYu8dG9BAGpYe30

William That was some thunder storm last night! Lightning is rare in my hometown of Los Angeles, so I love it, but it used to terrify my dog so much that he'd hide under my daughter's bed, shivering for hours even after a storm had passed. It occurred to me that there might be a photo of the castle with lightning, and yes, there was: this rather spooky one. It is attributed to this blog: https://blog.goo.ne.jp/fuhkan/e/0b2421f85ed023898b758803dd6d625b

Kirk here with a Unification Church (Toitsu Kyokai) update. The gentleman pictured is NAKAYAMA Mineo, president of Sojo University. It seems that Nakayama-sensei has also been the Chair of "Kumamoto Citizens Promoting the Building of a Tunnel Between Japan and Korea" (日韓トンネル推進熊本県民会議). According to the Bungei Shunjun article, this project was proposed by Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church. The length of the tunnel would be about 200 kilometers, of which 500 meters have already been dug.
Nakayama-sensei's association with a Moonie project is political news because he is also the head of a local group to support KISHIDA Fumio, our current Prime Minister. Mr. Kishida has said that he has no connection to the Moonies so even indirect connections like this become news.
Today, Mr. Kishida's explanation regarding his support group in Kumamoto was national news. Nakayama-sensei says that he was unaware of the connection. Perhaps so. My response is: Have you heard of Google?
By the way, Nakayama-sensei held a press conference today, obviously in response to the Bungei Shunjun article. He is no longer associated with the tunnel project.
Actually, I have more to report about other local connections with the Moonies but I'll have to save that for other days.
岸田首相の後援会長が「統一教会関連団体の議長」問題　首相が統一教会との関係を否定、会長は議長を辞任 | 文春オンライン
岸田文雄首相（65）は8月24日、オンラインで記者団の取材に対して、「週刊文春」が報じた統一教会（現・世界平和統一家庭連合）との関係について、「旧統一教会との関係はありません」と改めて否定した。「週刊…

William Tatsudayama was created by tectonic uplift, apparent when hiking: its clay composition is so slippery gravel must be poured on paths. Mt Kimpo, conversely, is a dormant volcano (yes! it could erupt again! imagine that!) composed of granite; the stone used to create the castle walls was quarried there, leaving a large pit called Ishigamiyama kōen (石神山公園, photo below) which is filled with water but completely fenced. Even I wouldn't swim there: too dangerous, but the views of the city are nice. It's a scenic, short hike from the street car.
North of the Mt Kimpo, in Tamana, is a spring called Oda no Maru no Ike (尾田の丸池), which used to be a popular swimming spot for the youngsters until their raucousness ruined it all for everyone, as you can see from the sign. There is a foot bath, though, and probably if you're super quiet, you can swim in the pond.
It is connected, springwise, with Kusamakura Onsen, which deserves its own post, so I'll write about it later.
Kakutaxi has more photos and info: https://tinyurl.com/vwzseypu

Kirk here with something for sword fans and/or history buffs and/or gamers. First here are my sources:
https://kumanichi.com/articles/767778
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/歌仙兼定
https://www.gematsu.com/2021/11/touken-ranbu-warriors-kasen-kanesada-trailer
The lower half of the image I'm sharing shows a Japanese sword, owned and used by members of the Hosokawa family, that is currently on display at the Prefectural Art Museum. It's called Kasen Kanesada. Apparently, the Hosokawa's were not always nice guys. The Kumanichi and Wikipedia articles say that HOSOKAWA Tadaoki used the sword on 6 (or perhaps 36) retainers (today that would be "employees") with whom he was dissatisfied. The Wikipedia article says something about the policies or projects of the domain "not progressing" well enough. Sounds to me like Tadaoki was a bad boss. "Tadaoki, you can take this job and . . . ahhhhhh . . . gasp." At any rate, Kasen (歌仙) refers to some kind of poetry that comes in sets of 6 (or 36?) -- hence it's a euphemistic way of referring to the number of people that Tadaoki used the sword on. Kanasada is the name of the guy who made the sword in the Muromachi Period (sometime between 1336 to 1573 -- I don't have a more exact date).
Now, the thing is that this sword is quite popular with young folks -- despite its grusome history. That's because Kasen Kanesada is also a character in a game. It would seem that this pop culture notoriety has something to do with the Prefectural Art Museum declaring that they may limit the numbers who may enter to gaze at the blade:
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/site/museum/147503.html

William An uh-oh moment. Most are probably familiar with the lovely springs and banana trees behind the City Library in Suizenji-Ezuko.
"Kumamoto Prefecture announced on the 23rd that it will receive a donation of a children's library designed by world-famous architect Tadao Ando (80). It will be built on the grounds of Suizenji-Ezuko Park in Kumamoto City. It is planned to be located on the south side of the prefectural library....construction is planned on prefectural land within the grounds of Ezuko Park." Yes. Many concerns. But: "'We will proceed with the project while gaining the understanding of local residents so as not to damage the natural environment and scenery."'
The article goes on to say that Mr. Ando has a deep connection with Kumamoto, having designed the JR Kumamoto Station building and the Prefectural Decorated Tumulus Museum in Yamaga City and assures, "'We will build it in a place blessed with nature with a nearby stream. We want to make it a space where you can enjoy reading even outside.'"
This will either end in triumph or a tragedy, because we're dealing with this:
(article at Kumanichi: https://kumanichi.com/articles/767986)

William There's a council in Kumamoto made up of representatives of labor and management whose recommendations almost inevitably turn into law. The council has recommended a ¥32 rise in the minimum wage to ¥853 which, if applied by the Labor Bureau, would be the largest raise ever, a full ¥2 higher than is standard. There is no national minimum wage in Japan; all are set by prefecture. By comparison, the minimum wage in California is $14, almost twice as high, though individual cities can (and often do) set higher rates; that in Los Angeles is $16.04, or about ¥2,123. The US federal minimum wage is $7.25, unchanged since 2009 and currently worth about ¥984.
NHK Japanese: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/kumamoto/20220809/5000016578.html
An English article regarding the Central Minimum Wage Council is here: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220801/p2a/00m/0bu/004000c
熊本県の最低賃金３２円引き上げで答申 ８５３円に｜NHK 熊本県のニュース
熊本県の最低賃金について、県内の労使の代表者などでつくる審議会は時給を３２円引き上げて８５３円とする答申をまとめ、熊本労働局に提出しました…

Kirk here sharing something that is related to Japan's "foreign trainee" issue. It's not about something that happened in Kumamoto but the basic issue of problems with the trainee (jisshuusei; 実習生) program is a topic we've discussed on this page. The article includes a link to a shocking video of highly abusive treatment of a "trainee" from Vietnam that occurred in Okayama.
By the way, I've been meaning to post about a seminar I attended on the case Ms. Le Thi Thuy Linh, the Kumamoto resident who is appealing her conviction for "abandoning" her two stillborn babies to Japan's Supreme Court. There's no direct connection to the Okayama case, but it may be another opportunity to observe the extent to which Vietnamese trainees can or cannot get justice in Japan. At any rate, I'll try to post my report about the seminar soon.
Visible Minorities: Reforming Japan's Dickensian Foreign Trainee Program - SNA Japan
News Item: video footage surfaced in 2020 of a Vietnamese “trainee” being physically abused by Japanese co-workers at a construction company in Okayama Prefecture, resulting in injuries including broken ribs and a broken tooth.

William Kyuden (Kyushu Denryoku, our electricity utility) runs two nuclear power plants (genshiryokuhatsudensho, 原子力発電所) in Kyushu: Genkai (玄海原子力発電所), west of Fukuoka City and closer to Tsushima than to Kumamoto; and Sendai ( 川内原子力発電所), south of Akune in Kagoshima. Their website gives current reactor status: https://www.kyuden.co.jp/nuclear_index.html
Kagoshima is well-known for its unique pronunciation. The further south one travels, the more non-intuitive it becomes, which is why Miyagi Sendai (仙台), the team which won the national baseball championship, makes sense, but all one's training insists that 川内 should be pronounced "Kawachi," as it sensibly is in Kumamoto (different kanji: 河内.）
Kagoshima Sendai (as it is often called for differentiation) has some gorgeous beaches which nobody visits due to its isolation. Some have fantastic rock formations. A road trip is recommended; best would be to bring a tent or ryokan money and make it a two-day trip.
I drove by once and thought I'd take the local road past the nuclear reactor. It is beautiful: Rolling, grassy hills with small, windbeaten trees. It wasn't long before I realized I was being followed. Security is very tight, and I suppose a lone foreigner driving slowly and stopping frequently attracted attention. I was never stopped, though. The area is worth a visit.

Kirk here following William's lead by writing about Kumamoto's own yokai, Amabie:
"According to a legend, the mermaid-like yokai emerged from the sea off the Higo domain, now Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in Japan's Edo period and told locals that they should draw a picture of it and show this to others in the event of a plague."
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020041300499/
Even though William has written about Amabie several times already (you can find the posts with the page's search function), I didn't take a special interest in the yokai at the time. I'm prompted to post about it today because I just heard an old podcast about yokai that talks about, among other things, how Amabie have become a "thing" since the start of the pandemic. If you like podcasts, check it out:
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/return-of-the-yokai/
Return of the Yokai - 99% Invisible
One of the cool parts about moving to a new city or a new state or a new country is that you notice all the fascinating things about a place that is just normal for people who have been there for a long time.  When Chris Carlier moved from England to Japan in 2002, there

Kirk here with some Kumamon news. I looked but couldn't find the complete list of the new images.
New official images show beloved Japanese mascot Kumamon making the most of the summer - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- The Kumamoto Prefectural Government has unveiled 29 new illustrations and logos featuring the prefecture's rotund bear mascot Kumamon.

William Shirakawa is quite diverse despite its short length, from its silent birth in the springs of Aso to its broad flow into Ariake Sea. A delightful area many overlook is its passage through Nishihara Mura, where a beautiful waterfall, Shiroito ("White Thread"), cascades 20 meters down volcanic rock hundreds of thousands of years old.
Volcanic columns formed when lava cooled and solidified are apparent. The waterfall has been selected as one of the 100 best waters in Kumamoto Prefecture. Heavily forested, the spot is an oasis from summer heat, is not too far from the city, and embodies the three symbols of Kumamoto: red, from lava; green, from forest; and blue, from water. A pool at the fall's foot allows for a dip, though be considerate of photographers.
NOTE: Douglas Bruce comments below on the course of the river following the falls: it is the "Taki river which flows into the Kiyama river. The Kiyama river becomes the Futa river for a short stretch and then retakes the name of Kiyama river. The Kiyama river flows on into the Kaze river, which passes the southern end of Ezu lake. Finally the Kaze river joins the Midorikawa and then flows into the Ariake sea." Thank you, Douglas.
This useful site contains many photos and videos of the area:
https://nishiharakanko.com/shiraitonotaki/

Japan urges its young people to drink more to boost economy
The government's tax agency is encouraging a new generation of alcohol drinkers.

William The crayfish might hold a record for record number of names (crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mudbugs, baybugs, yabbies). I was fortunate to have an elementary school friend whose mother was Cajun - straight from Louisiana! - and the crawdads we caught in the creek she put into a tank for a few days, feeding them with cornstarch to clean out their inners, and then: Oh, my!
The species is known in Japanese as "zarigani." I asked my wife why, and she didn't know; my etymological dictionaries provided no help. Perhaps "zari" is related to "jari," so "gravel crab." While Japan has a few native species living in Tohoku, all those in Kumamoto are descendants of those imported from America in the 1930s in what turned out to be a misguided effort to provide income for farmers: though most locals love ocean crustaceans, they recoil at crayfish as they are associated with water filth, which is not true: crayfish only thrive in fresh water and help maintain its state by consuming decomposing matter.
They abound in Lake Ezu, where they're caught by children and either tortured on site or taken home or to school science class, but never eaten. Photo courtesy of Kumamoto YMCA.
They are delicious. If you go hunting (most bodies of water with mud banks should harbor them) and get lucky, here is a good recipe: https://louisianafishfry.com/recipes/official-crawfish-boil-recipe/

Kirk here with a question about the future of this page. Recently, I've enjoyed posts on the "Engrish in Japan" group. Anyone can publish posts to this group but they are all moderated. I recently tried to publish a photo I had taken of some rather strange English I saw in the Asahi Shimbun but it wasn't accepted. That's OK because my post would have been a bit different from typical posts in that group and I think the editots just want to keep a tight focus. But, thinking about "Engrish in Japan" made me consider whether this page should be more like that group.
Things have been pretty peaceful here recently so part of me also thinks that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" may be the best policy. Still, I wonder if any of you have any thoughts or preferences one way or the other.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EngrishInJapan

Kirk here with some information about free COVID-19 antigen test kits available in Kumamoto.
The situation is pretty confusing because Kumamoto City and Kumamoto Prefecture have separate programs with completely different rules. Moreover, they don't refer to each other on their web pages so I had to do some detective work to figure out that there are actually two completely different programs. In regard to the city's program here's a page in English (machine translation):
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/hpKiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=43827&class_set_id=2&class_id=128
The original Japanese is here:
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpKiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=43827&class_set_id=2&class_id=128
For this one, you need to be between 16 and 39 years of age and have symptoms.
Here's a translation of the prefecture's page:
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp.e.qp.hp.transer.com/soshiki/30/120272.html
And the original Japanese:
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/120272.html
For this one, you must NOT have symptoms (go figure) but there's basically no age limit.
Both of the English translations are pretty awful so I'd recommend going to the Japanese and manually checking the content with DeepL:
https://www.deepl.com/translator
I think both the city and the prefecture are pretty darn lame when it comes to promoting new programs in a way that people can understand. I saw a TV segment on RKK about few people taking advantage of the city's new program:
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkk/129420
This made me hesitate to even post about this (the linguist hurdle compound confusion and difficulty) but I thought some people might want a heads up about the new system.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/05/national/antigen-test-kits-explainer/
How to self-test for COVID in Japan, and which antigen kits to use
Two kinds of antigen test kits are available, but most municipalities only accept those identified as being for medical use. Here's a guide on where and how to get them.

Kirk with an inquiry about an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist (otorhinolaryngologist or 耳鼻科 [jibika] in Japanese). There seems to be an ENT specialist in Kumamoto who studied at the University of Michigan and speaks English quite well. Does anyone know who that might be?
P.S. The photo is just a generic jibika image from the web -- this is not the guy.

(Douglas) It is interesting to see the latest headlines from Japan being shown on the BBC news.
I guess some of you will be taking part in the campaign! 😃
Japan urges its young people to drink more to boost economy
The government's tax agency is encouraging a new generation of alcohol drinkers.