Posts

Here's Wikipedia page and article about former Olympic long-distance runner Akemi Matsuno, who was elected to the Upper House from Kumamoto "as a Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) candidate in the proportional representation system." Though the article quotes her as saying that she wants "to tell the LDP: You’re wrong,” the Japanese Wikipedia page about her says she's in favor of changing Article 9 (renunciation of war) in the constitution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akemi_Matsuno
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14667017
Gossip YouTuber, comedian and an athlete win seats in Upper House | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
While many lawmakers in Japan rely on inherited political support networks for their electoral success, a group of fresh yet familiar faces used their star status to clinch victory on July 10.

Liz here. I have been following all the informative posts and comments on the horrific assassination here, and reluctantly keeping up on covid, so I thought a post about tranquility and natural beauty might be appreciated . This is the lotus season and if you are looking for a slightly isolated spot to enjoy both a stroll around a large historically interesting temple , (with lots of statues and its own wikipedia page) , and a photo session at their modest lotus pond (which also has water lilies), then Kawashiri’s Daiji Zen Temple is the place for you. I don’t know if they have resumed their Sunday morning zazen sessions, but if you are
interested in joining them on a regular basis you should call (or have a Japanese friend call for you if you don’t speak Japanese.) The pond is behind the temple buildings and the area there is a bit unkempt at the moment. Try to get there before 10, as
the blossoms begin closing up later in the morning. Slather on your bug repellent, be prepared to be serenaded by cicadas and some very vociferous crows(so much for tranquility!), but above all be respectful of the wildlife and the temple.
link to the temple wikipedia page here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiji-ji_

Kirk here with another installment of my ever-popular COVID-19 series. (Yipee! More COVID-19 news! ;) ) Numbers of infections are continuing to increase in Kumamoto. Yesterday there were 2561 new infections in the prefecture, a new record. And, as the following image shows, Kumamoto is now number 3 in Japan terms of new infections per 10,000 residents with an average of 703.56.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/data/#latest-weeks-card

Atsuko. Hello goat fans. The goats are back. It seems that they are hired by JR staff again this year.
Today, I passed under Nishi-Kumamoto station and meet two goats, one white and one black. I pass this way every day and the goats were scared of people and hiding in the back, so it looks like they have just started working.
A mother and son seemed happy to see the goats.I hope they will continue to graze a lot and share smiles and happiness with the residents this summer as JR employees this year also!ଘ(੭ˊ꒳​ˋ)੭✧
Their work 2021
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5542243505849036&id=123734781033296
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5916351248438258&id=123734781033296

Kirk here with a follow-up regarding the Unification Church and Abe's assassination. I'll include a more direct connection to Kumamoto (my own encounter with the Moonies while living here) in this post but first I'll start with the national context.
The Japanese article I'm linking to shows a lawyer named Hiroshi WATANABE, of the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales. This group of about 300 lawyers complained to Abe last year that the video message he sent to the group formerly known as the Unification Church (統一教会) lends credibility to them and thereby helps them continue to bilk people of their money.
https://www.stopreikan.com/kogi_moshiire/shiryo_20210917.htm
A brief English-language account of the press conference can be found here:
Lawyers Rap Unification Church over Abe Shooter's Family
https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2022071201114
Unfortunately, the English article doesn't have much data. The Japanese is far better in that regard. In short, the Japanese article explains how the Moonies use religion to sell stuff. Mr. Watanabe claims that sales or loses to clients (I'm not exactly sure which or how this figure was calculated) amounted to about 330,000,000 yen last year alone (over 2 million US). Individuals are duped into buying as much as 30,000,000 yen worth of goods (over 200,000 US), he says.
An article in today's Asahi Shimbun says that in the last 35 years, 34,537 complaints have been registered with Japan's various local consumer centers (消費者センター) regarding losses to the group totaling about 123,700,000,000 yen (about 900 million U.S.).
A victim who participated in the lawyer's press conference said that while she could never condone such a brutal murder, she understood the anger directed at Abe for supporting and praising the leadership of this group.
In this context, I cannot condone how the police and elements of the Japanese media have tried to present the assailant's anger at Abe as mere confusion. Here's how NHK quoted the police:
"The police see the motive as a one-sided delusion and are investigating when and why he changed his target (from the religious organization to Mr. Abe)."
警察当局は、一方的な思い込みから安倍元総理大臣を襲撃したとみて対象を変更した時期など詳しいいきさつを調べています。
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220711/k10013712111000.html
It would seem that the police and NHK are more interested in protecting the legacy of Mr. Abe than they are in protecting ordinary people from the Moonies.
Finally, I'd like to report my own experience here in Kumamoto. Perhaps a decade or so ago, a young women came to the door of our house soliciting donations for something. My recollection about what she said the project was is a bit fuzzy now but I clearly remember that, after I declined and she left, I Googled the name of the organization she said she was from and found a Wikipedia article saying that it was a group affiliated with (or a cover for) the Unification Church. Being the a--hole that I am, I tried to get in her face about this. When I found her, supported by a man (a handler?), at another house, I yelled out "統一教会です。気をつけてください！" ("It's the Unification Church. Be careful!"). Again, being a natural a__hole, I stubbornly kept repeating my warning every few seconds or so. The handler (or whatever his role was) looked decidedly displeased with my activity but they finally got in a car and left the neighborhood. Good riddance.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/96b36f6cf3a6636b33be904b8f811078fac4ab5a
全国霊感商法対策弁護士連絡会が会見 旧統一教会2世信者の苦悩、政治家との関係が明らかに（日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL） - Yahoo!ニュース
　安倍晋三元首相が8日、奈良市で街頭演説中に銃撃され死亡した事件。逮捕された山上徹也容疑者（41）の母親は1998年ごろから、世界平和統一家庭連合（旧統一教会）の正会員で、2002年に自己破産してい

Kirk here with more COVID-19 news. The numbers were up nationally and paricularly in this part of Japan. Nationally, it's been several months since the total for the country was at this level (76,011) or higher. And as you can see in the image, many prefectures in the western part of the country set new records today. The number of new infections in Kumamoto was 2,333.
【国内感染】新型コロナ 23人死亡 7万6011人感染 (12日18:45) | NHK
【NHK】12日はこれまでに全国で76011人の感染が発表されています。全国の感染者の発表が7万人を超えるのは、ことし3月3日以来…

William I've only met my neurologist a few times, but when I asked her for some powerful sleeping pills (I've been up 24/7 since my wife's been absent with cancer), the nurse came through. I then made my way home in an hour fine, and have zero memory of the subsequent six hours - the first sleep I'd had in three days! Clearly, this is a temporary thing until things calm down, but, wow, if you're in need of a good sleep but can't seem to get it, this is very beneficial. Living abroad, being in an international marriage, being separated from one's homeland may quickly lead to psychiatric or psychological issues. Though we are obviously not medical professionals, we can point you to where help is available 24 hours a day. PM any of us, any time. You are not alone.

Kirk here. I hope I can be forgiven for writing about something that pertains to Japan as a whole and is only relevant to Kumamoto in the sense that Kumamoto is part of Japan. I'll try to keep such deviations from the main theme of this page to a minimum.
Last night on NHK and on TBS (and I assume on other major networks as well) anouncers explained that Abe's assassin was angry about Abe's alledged involvement with a "religious organization" (宗教団体) but did not name the organization. Today I looked at the Asahi Shimbun (Japaneses version) but their converage was the same -- mentioining some religious organization but not giving the name of the cult and not explaining whether or not Abe actually had any connection to it. In fact, at least one TV report said that police were claiming that the connection to the religious organization with something that the assailant "imagined" (思い込み). I just searched and such an explanation came up write away:
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/aa21d4a85c2a5a2afb03e11ce0e667c036bf45f2
"奈良県警は山上容疑者が、安倍氏はこの団体に近いと思い込み、一方的に強い殺意を抱いていた疑いが強いとみて詳細な動機を調べている。"
This, however, is extremely misleading. In fact, as a bit of searching on the internet quickly reveals, the "religious organization" is the Unified Church (so-called "Moonies"; 統一教会) and Abe's connection to it is far from "imagined."
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-tetsuya-yamagami-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/
New details emerge about the man who assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe
---- start quote ----
There are also ties between both Mr. Abe and the LDP and the Unification Church, which quickly became a trending topic on Japanese social media Saturday. Many commenters resurfaced clips of a speech Mr. Abe gave at an event organized by the group last year, alongside former U.S. President Donald Trump and Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
Now officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the church was founded by South Korean pastor Sun Myung Moon in 1954 and is known for cultivating ties with conservative politicians around the world. The group has had links to the LDP dating back decades, including to Mr. Abe’s father, former Japanese foreign minister Shintaro Abe.
---- end quote ----
Of course, I am appalled by the horrific murder and do not, by any means, wish to suggest that there was good reason for the attack. In addition, I can understand avoiding the publication of the attacker's complaint against Abe and thereby doing his bidding and also encouraging others to undertake henious crimes to publicize their grievances. But, at the same time, I have serious reservations about keeping the public in the dark -- or even seriously misleading the public with words like "imagined" -- about what has actually transpired.
One more point is that the self-censorship that concerns me seems to have started long before the attack. So, I think it's difficult to justify it only as a response to a horrific murder. It would seem that refraining from discussing Abe's connection to the Moonies is a long-standing policy -- not merely a response to extreme circumstances.
Any thoughts?
New details emerge about the man who assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe
Tetsuya Yamagami shot and killed Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun while the politician was giving a speech in Nara. He told police he had also hoped to kill a leader in an unnamed religious group

William When it comes to sports, Kumamoto is the perennial runner-up: SO close, but do you remember? (It took our most famous athlete, Shizo Kanekure, 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20 seconds to complete his marathon.) And who was victorious when Satsuma and Edo trampled? - actually, we didn't care: it was planting season. The whole "The Last Samurai" stuff happened HERE (look up Tabaruzaka: https://tinyurl.com/ycxb7uvu). We didn't even get a credit.
But one thing we do have is Fujisakidai Baseball Stadium. Built on what was Kato Shrine until things got all nationalistic and the shrine was moved closer to the castle, the stadium has (in my opinion) the best ambience of any in the world: It retains its 300-year old camphor trees (apparently, Kato Kiyomasa was fond of them as their leaves provided food for horses and their wood fuel - this is why Kumamoto Castle is known as the camphor castle - 銀杏城（ぎんなんじょ).
Even if you abhor baseball (as I do) and have no interest in high school sports (as I don't), you might want to drop by for a game, if not just for the history. Admire the camphor trees so carefully let be around the perimeter.
Update: Our friend Michael Rupp has noted that camphor are kusunoki (the Totoro tree) and ginkgo biloba are ginnan (the ones that turn yellow on Gakuen Dai and at the Kencho).

Kirk here with a belated bit of information about the new subvariant behind the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. If you'd like to hear an audio report on what makes the BA.5 strain different, check out the NPR link:
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/1110577348/a-new-covid-subvariant-is-now-dominant-in-the-u-s-heres-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14658353
P.S. Here's a more recent article about the situation in Japan:
BA.5 Omicron to Be Dominant Strain in Japan by End-July
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2022070800844/
BA.5 subvariant leads resurgence in new COVID-19 cases in Japan | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
Novel coronavirus infections have continued to increase around Japan since health protocols were eased, a resurgence that prompted the Tokyo metropolitan government to raise its alert level for the spread of the virus.

William While not exactly located in Kumamoto, Nagasaki has sent some heavy stuff our way, mostly thanks to the Unzen volcano. In 1792, the mountain collapsed, creating a "bathtub effect" in which tidal waves bounced between the two coasts. It has been estimated as one of the deadliest tidal waves in history.
It also created a whole lotta islands, and in Japanese, a "whole lotta" goes up to 99 (think of the American "These go to 11"). Out of the detritus emerged "Kujuku Shima" - "99 Islands." (That's likely an imprecise figure, but let's stick with 99 - and it's not to be confused with other locations whose island number also deserves the moniker of "99".)
If you're looking for an inexpensive summer vacation, the ferry from Kumamoto New Port to Shimabara (https://www.kyusho-ferry.co.jp/world/index_en.html) is affordable and worth the price in itself. Bring bread for the seagulls and a floatation device such as a raft or Morrey Boogie which you hopefully won't need until you get there.

Kirk here with a quote from a news article from 1994:
"A suspected right-wing extremist fired a shot yards away from former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa yesterday in apparent protest over Mr. Hosokowa's open apologies for Japan's actions in World War II."
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-05-31-1994151053-story.html
I was reminded of the attempted assassination (?) of former Prime Minister Hosokawa, a man with deep, deep roots in Kumamoto, while watching TV coverage of today's horrifying assassination of former Primer Minister Abe. All in all, Japan is a pretty safe country but, at the same time, it is also true that there's a history of attacks on politicians and journalists. :(

William "Nihon Ichi" (日本一 - "Best in Japan") is something you'll come across often here, from kittens to cabbages. But one where you won't go wrong is what's colloquially known as "3333 Steps" (it's more; I've counted). Built in 1988 to access the Misakain Temple, the granite of pain is formally known as "shakainmisakayūhodō" (釈迦院御坂遊歩道), and you can't really say you're from Kumamoto until you've climbed it. (I left my sunglasses at the temple once so did it twice in one day.)
Kumanichi reports that a former bank employee, Yasuhiro Kukita, likely obsessed with numbers, has achieved the "climbing" 7777 times at the age of 77 on July 7 (which is 7/7).
If you've time and knees, don't miss the view: Ariake Sea and Yatsushiro Sea simultaneously.

William Volcanoes fall into that bucketlist "iffy" category: on one hand, wouldn't it be cool to climb one? - but on the other, dying in pyroclastic flow, akin to jumping into a pool filled with lighted charcoal, would be unpleasant. (I've climbed both Unzen and Sakurajima - seems that timing, totally out of one's control, is key.)
Unzen is in the news due to a movie regarding two volcanologists who died while doing what volcanologists do. Called "Fire of Love," its title is as ill-chosen as that pair's decision to venture up that day. Japan Today has a writeup: https://japantoday.com/category/entertainment/a-celebrity-volcanologist-couple-who-died-in-japan-spotlighted-in-new-documentary
Unzen was created by graben crustal faulting. Push the flesh of your forearm together to see how this works: the middle creates a valley while the edges create ridges. Debris blocks magma from the valley, causing the magma to emerge on either side. The result is Ariake Sea flanked with volcanoes (let's not forget that Kimpo is DORMANT, not extinct).
Volcano nerds might enjoy this study: https://earth-planets-space.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40623-016-0550-x

Kirk hee with some "insights" about the kinds of posts that get big responses on this page:
Posts having to do with springs, mountains and volcanos have all gotten all over 1,000 pairs of eyeballs recently, significantly above average for this page. And, as you can see, such posts also have higher than average "engagement" (clicking, sharing, commenting, etc.).
Conversely, anything about a spike in COVID-19 infections is decidedly on the unpopular end of the spectrum. After more that two years, I think we are all getting rather tired of this whole COVID thing, yours truly included.
One more "insight" (i.e. Facebook statistic): The page seems to have passed the 4,700 likes milestone recently. "My how you've grown! I remember when you were just a little guy." ;). Thanks to everyone (editors and readers) for participating!

William When I read on the Guardian that "Ippudo, which operates 50 ramen shops across the country, is offering endless free noodle refills for a fortnight from election day on Sunday until 24 June," I had three questions: what is a "fortnight," is there an "Ippudo" in Kumamoto, and why are they informing us of this in July? It turns out that a "fortnight" in this case is "until 24 June;" that, yes, there is an "Ippudo" in Kumamoto: https://stores.ippudo.com/1069; and that, no, we are clueless as to the tardiness. You'll need proof that you voted, so make something up, and fudge the date. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/06/free-noodles-offered-as-japan-wrestles-with-low-youth-turnout-for-elections
一風堂 熊本十禅寺店 | 熊本県 熊本市 | ラーメン【一風堂】| Ramen "IPPUDO"
一風堂 熊本十禅寺店 | 熊本県 熊本市 十禅寺2-8-1 | "Zuzutto"すする喜びを世界中に伝える、博多発祥のラーメン専門店【一風堂】の公式ウェブサイト。新商品、キャンペーン、店舗検索、求人、通販などをご紹介。

Kirk here reporting that Kumanichi is reporting that there were 1443 new cases of COVID-19 today. I guess yesterday's high of 1589 is no longer such an isolated statitstical outlier.
＜速報＞熊本県内1443人コロナ感染確認　２日連続で千人超（熊本日日新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース
　熊本県と熊本市は６日午後４時、新たに１４４３人の新型コロナウイルス感染を確認したと発表した。このうち熊本市は５７５人。県内の感染者数が千人を超えるのは２日連続で、５日の１５８９人に次いで過去２番目

Kirk here was a follow-up to Atsuko's post (Thanks, Atsuko!). I made this little graph to put the numbers in perspective. I hope this is just a blip, so to speak, but today's number are literally close to being off the charts. The chart is from the following page:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/data/pref/kumamoto.html
As you can see, today's number of new infetions is about double what we've been having so far.
On TV I heard that the virus is tending to spread among children and that the heat has led to more reliance on air conditioning which, due to the reduction in natural ventalation, makes it easier for the virus to spread.

Atsuko here. Unfortunately, it's the new record ,1,589 cases of Corona infection in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Under these circumstances, it is nice that there was little damage from the typhoon to Kumamoto.
Be careful, take care well.( ⋅֊⋅ )‎و
WHEN YOU HAVE SYMPTOM FOR FEVER, CORONA.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp.e.qp.hp.transer.com/soshiki/30/59582.html
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
＜Preliminary report: Record 1,589 cases of corona infection in Kumamoto Prefecture
July 5, 2022 16:07 Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun
Share
　Kumamoto Prefecture and Kumamoto City announced at 4 p.m. on July 5 that they have confirmed 1,589 new cases of coronavirus infection. This is the largest number of new infections confirmed per day ever.
Of these, 623 were from Kumamoto City.They also announced two deaths.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/714264
　熊本県と熊本市は５日午後４時、新たに１５８９人の新型コロナウイルス感染を確認したと発表した。１日当たりの新規感染の確認としては過去最多。このうち熊本市は６２３人。２人の死亡も公表した。

William Here is what Kumanichi has to say about the typhoon: "Typhoon No. 4 is expected to come closest to Kumamoto Prefecture from the morning of the 5th to the afternoon. The Kumamoto Local Meteorological Observatory calls for caution against sediment-related disasters, inundation of low land, and flooding of rivers, saying that active rain clouds may enter the entire prefecture and cause heavy rain. Some elementary, junior high and high schools and special needs schools in the prefecture have decided to temporarily close on the 5th.
According to the meteorological station, the prefecture will enter a strong wind region with a wind speed of 15 meters or more on the night of the 4th at an early stage. The expected 24-hour rainfall by 6 pm on the 5th is 150 mm in the Kumamoto region, Amakusa / Ashikita region, and Kuma region, and120 mm in the Aso region. The maximum wind speed on the 5th is expected to be 18 meters on land and at sea, with gusts of 25 meters.
By the night of the 5th, the entire prefecture is expected to pass through the strong wind region.
According to the prefectural board of education and the Kumamoto City Board of Education, at least 59 of the elementary and junior high schools, high schools and special needs schools, including private schools, have decided to temporarily close on the 5th. The Kumamoto City Board of Education will consider temporary closure of all schools when a storm warning is issued in Kumamoto City, and will make a decision at 5 am on the 5th.
The meteorological observatory said, "If the speed of the typhoon increases, it may be closest before dawn. Please prepare early."
台風４号、熊本県内に５日最接近　小中高校で休校も｜熊本日日新聞社
　台風4号は、5日朝から昼過ぎにかけて熊本県内に最接近する見通し。熊本地方気象台は県内全域に活発な雨雲が入り込み、大雨となる恐れがあるとして、土砂災害や低い土地の浸水、河川の増水などへの警戒を呼びかけて....