The municipal government of Yakushima-cho on the island of Yakushima, part of Kagoshima Prefecture, will launch a special committee in April to consider the possibility of charging admission for outside visitors to the island as early as FY 2013. The island has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the fees would be used as funding for environmental protection measures. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, three small municipalities on islands in Okinawa Prefecture charge 100 yen per visit. If the system goes into effect, Yakushima would be the fourth local government to charge an island admission fee and the first in Kyushu.
Fukuoka City-based Jutaku Ryutsu Shimposha, which surveys the regional condominium market, reported that the market in the seven Kyushu prefectures in 2011 showed growth for the first time in three years. Specifically, the number of new units placed on the market rose to 6,122, a 25.4% year-on-year increase, and the number of units sold totaled 6,897, a 3.2% rise. The company says this demonstrates that consumption is starting to rebound from the 2008 economic crisis.
The National Police Agency revealed it will provide sophisticated automated DNA identification devices to Fukuoka Prefecture and three other prefectures at the end of March. The devices will be able to rapidly identify the DNA of fatalities in large disasters for whom no other means of identification is available. The equipment will also be provided to Hokkaido, Saitama, and Osaka prefectures.
Kyushu Electric Power, Denso Corp., and Fukuoka City will join forces for a trial starting in March to offer information on local tourist spots and events at the recharging stands for electric vehicles. Users can access the information with their navigation systems and smartphones. Kyushu Electric has already developed recharging stands that can broadcast information, while Denso will be responsible for the broadcasting and receiving system.
Convenience stores and food products companies are increasingly developing products exclusively for the Kyushu market, the Nishinippon Shimbun reports. The Family Mart convenience store, which has about 1,030 outlets in Kyushu, has hired a well-known Miyazaki-born chef specializing in Italian food to create eight new products, which are now on sale. Lawson’s is selling confections created by four popular shops in the region in most of its Kyushu stores.
Fukuoka City Mayor Soichiro Takashima announced a new service in which residents can take their basic citizens’ ledger card to 7-Eleven convenience stores and have residence certificates, seal certifications, and other official documents issued to them. The service, which will use touch-panel terminals in the stores, is scheduled to begin in August. Fukuoka City will become the first of the nation’s 19 specially designated cities to offer such a service, but the second in the prefecture after Omuta.
Masayuki Naruse of Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture, will present a paper on the safety of his single pedal automobile system to the Society of Automotive Engineers in the United States. The Naruse pedal has an attachment on the right hand side of the floor pedal for acceleration, so drivers hit that attachment with the right side of their foot to move forward, and step on the floor to brake. This prevents the accidents that occur when drivers mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake in an emergency. He has custom-fitted nearly 200 cars in Japan with the pedal, but the major automakers are not yet interested in the idea.
A group from the Department of Creative Informatics in the Kyushu Institute of Technology has developed new technology enabling reduced production costs through greater inspection program accuracy for low-power consumption semiconductors in smartphones. They have acquired a patent for the technology and plan to start up a venture capital-backed company to commercialize it. Sales to semiconductor manufacturers are expected to begin within the year.
With utilities requesting cutbacks in power consumption since last summer, a growing number of Kyushu companies are building new facilities for in-house power consumption, or expanding existing facilities. The objective is to protect themselves from a potential power shortage and to maintain their production and business activities. One example is Daihatsu Kyushu in Oita Prefecture. The automaker already has natural gas generators, but plans to add new generators starting this spring.
Toshiba Holdings of Kitakyushu announced plans to start construction in March of a mega-solar power plant in Nankan-machi, Kumamoto Prefecture. It will have an output of 3,759 kW from 11,000 solar panels, making it one of the largest facilities of its type in Kyushu. They hope to begin operation in July.
Former sumo grand champion and current stable master Takanohana announced he was starting a program of building sumo rings throughout the country to promote the appeal of sumo, and the first would be built in Shiiba-son, Miyazaki Prefecture. Takanohana’s wife, the former newscaster Keiko Hanada, is a Miyazaki native. Takanohana says that sumo helps build character, and he wants to see the sport restored at primary schools and other sites around the country. The Shiiba-son municipal government will contribute funds to the project and manage the ring once it is built. It will be constructed by a local Shinto shrine under the guidance of the Japan Sumo Association.
Nagasaki University, Kurume University, and Saga University will jointly open a “citizens’ university next April in Neshiko-cho, Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, a town known for its history as a haven for “closet Christians”. The intent is to turn the entire town into a university. The facility will be called Neshiko Hakubutsukan, and it will offer monthly lectures throughout the district on such topics as the area’s history, culture, agriculture-based economy, and regional economy.
The National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) has selected a Kyushu University Medical School project of conducting epidemiological surveys into 50 years of medical diagnosis in Hisayama-machi, Fukuoka Prefecture, for the NISTEP Researchers Award for 2011. Research has been conducted in that municipality since 1961 to elucidate the factors for stroke. Hisayama-machi was selected because it approximates the national average for age and occupational breakdown. The research found a relationship between high blood pressure and stroke and identified ways to prevent them.
Printing company Japan Print’s Fukuoka Branch is creating pamphlets with information about long-term care, containing explanations of how to apply, fees, and the names of all providers and their fees broken down by local district within the prefecture. The pamphlets will distributed for free at municipal offices. The company conducted a similar project in Tachikawa in the Tokyo Metro District last year, so began the same project in Fukuoka. The project is expected to be completed in January.
Fukuoka City-based gas company Saibu Gas announced it will sponsor a team in the Japan Amateur Baseball Association starting in April. They already have begun scouting for players in the Kyushu region, and will apply for membership in the association next January. The company says its objective is to contribute to the region by serving as a baseball outlet for regional student athletes. This move is noteworthy because other companies are shutting down their teams due to the poor economy.
Kyushu’s department stores conducted special sales in October and November to celebrate the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks’ victory in the Japan Series. The results of those sales have now been made public. Revenues at the three department stores in the Tenjin district of Fukuoka City have been below year-before levels since the opening of the new JR Hakata Station building. They climbed to double-digit rises year-on-year during the period of the sales, however. The Hakata Daimaru store posted a 34% increase from the previous year during their sale in commemoration of the national championship.
The main building of the former Kyoto University Institute for Geothermal Sciences, built in Minamiaso-mura, Kumamoto Prefecture, in 1929, has been recommended to the Education Minister for recognition as a tangible cultural property. The facility was built by the former Kyoto Imperial University for research into volcanoes. In addition to the center’s significance in scientific research, the building is also a prominent example of early Showa-era architecture.
Administrators of the Chikushi Shojo-en, a correctional institution for juvenile girls in Fukuoka City, report success in their rehabilitations programs that use meditation techniques borrowed from the American “Mindfulness” method. The program was implemented with the cooperation from researchers at Kyushu Sangyo University, which has also used the program. The administrators say the girls have an improved sense of self-discipline, and hope that it will stay with them after their release.
A new Starbucks coffee shop will open on the approach path to the Tenman-gu Shinto shrine in Dazaifu on the 16th. It is the first time the company will operate an outlet at a temple or shrine. The interior was designed by noted architect Kengo Kuma, and will feature 2,000 pieces of Japanese cedar to provide a traditional touch. The shop will seat 46 on the interior, 10 on the terrace, and offer the standard Starbucks menu.
The Nishi-Nippon Railway Co. held a briefing at Busan National University in South Korea to contribute to the growing popularity of Fukuoka among South Korean young people. The briefing included a video that presented local tourist attractions and shopping districts, and a South Korean employee of Nishitetsu described life in Fukuoka. This was one of five such briefings the company held at South Korean universities in early December.
Tosu native and former chairman of Tosu- and Tokyo-based Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical, Masayoshi Nakatomi, died at the age of 106. Nakatomi built Hisamitsu into one of the leading companies in the industry, and he was known as the man who named the famous Salonpas product. He also was known for running marathons late in his life. His first was the Honolulu Marathon at age 77, and he competed in a total of 15 until the age of 91.
A survey of urban prices by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for 2010 found that Miyazaki City in Miyazaki Prefecture was the cheapest in Japan for the fourth year in a row. The most expensive, for the second year in a row, was Yokohama. The calculations were made based on an index of 100, with owned homes omitted from the data. Miyazaki scored 96.9, followed by Kitakyushu at 97.1. Fukuoka City also had a low score at 97.4. The scores for other major Kyushu cities were 98.0 for Saga City, 103.3 for Nagasaki City, 100.1 for Kumamoto City, 98.9 for Oita City, and 100.7 for Kagoshima City.
Nissan Kyushu of Fukuoka Prefecture opened its plant to local visitors for the first time since its August establishment on the 23rd. About 200 local residents and family members of employees participated in groups of 40 in a 90 minute tour. Reports say they were particularly impressed with the robot auto body welders.
Fukuoka City authorities are concerned that the number of abandoned bicycles in the city has skyrocketed in the past 15 years. In 2001 and 2003, the Tenjin district was the worst in the country for abandoned bikes. Municipal efforts to remove these bikes and to provide more bike stands have helped alleviate the problem on a city-wide basis, but the totals in the Tenjin and Hakata districts have not declined. Now, Tokyo-based Navitime Japan has developed a free smartphone application specifically for Fukuoka City that will allow users to search for the closest bicycle parking area. It will also provide information on how much space is available, based on user feedback.
JR Kyushu released an overview of plans for the Shin-Oita Station building that will open in Oita City in 2015. The facility will be a commercial complex that will be 22 stories high with one underground level. Plans call for a 10-screen cinema complex, a hotel, and a spa with natural hot spring water to be built at the site. JR Kyushu expects to invest 15 to 20 billion yen in the project.
A ceremony was held to mark the completion of the work conducted by the Justice Ministry to remodel and expand the prison hospital in Kitakyushu. It now includes Kyushu’s first facility for the treatment of female inmates with mental disorders. The ministry overcame initial objections by nearby residents to allow a detention center on the premises. The facility will begin functioning at the end of November.
The Nishinippon Shimbun reports that Nagasaki champon, a noodle soup with pork broth, has become very popular in South Korea this year, with one twist --- they’ve added hot peppers to the basic recipe. There’s also been an increase in Japanese-style taverns in Busan that have the dish on their menu. A spokesman for a company that sells an instant version of the soup says they sell all they can make. One product had sold 14 million units of the meal from the end of July to October.
The Kyushu/Okinawa Agriculture Research Center of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization has begun operation of what they are calling a “plant factory” in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. There are six of these facilities nationwide funded by the Agriculture Ministry, and this is the only one in Kyushu. It will conduct trials to determine the optimum growing environment and planting density for crops. They also intend to cultivate strawberries with the objective of increasing crop volume by 2.5 times while cutting production costs by 30%.
Saiki Kisen of Oita Prefecture has installed a new system that generates power from diesel engine exhaust on the Kakuyo-maru, a 749-ton cement transport ship it jointly owns with a Yokohama company. The ship has three diesel generators used to turn the screws and propel the ship. The new system was installed on one of those generators, and is expected to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 10%. The system had already been used successfully on larger ships, but this is the first time it has been used on a ship less than 1,000 tons.
NTT DoCoMo Kyushu announced it would hold a contest next March for students in Kyushu and Okinawa to create applications for its smartphone. Students will compete for awards for both application and development. It will be open to students enrolled in high school, vocational school, or university. It will also possible to submit entries as a group.
Tokyo-based medical device manufacturer Kawasumi Laboratories announced it will endow a chair at Oita University. Oita and Miyazaki prefectures are promoting the concentration of medical device manufacturers in eastern Kyushu, and this is part of their efforts. The company will provide 25 million yen annually for the next three years for a medical school course about the development of advanced medical equipment, training the people to use the equipment, and applying the equipment in a clinical setting.
Ryukyu University archaeology Professor Yoshifumi Ikeda announced the discovery of a Mongolian military ship at the bottom of Imari Bay that is thought to have been sunk in 1281 when the storm referred to as the kamikaze destroyed most of a 4,400 ship invasion fleet. It was found in 25 meters of water about 200 meters offshore. It was identified as a military ship from its design and the many ceramic shards and brick material found nearby. Wood, anchors and other remains of Mongolian ships have been found before, but this is the first time a ship with an identifiable structure has been discovered.
Plans are underway to establish an international center for advanced medical research at Kumamoto University. The Ministry of Education has incorporated the funds for the design and construction of the facility in its FY 2012 budget, and it is expected to begin operating sometime in 2012. The facility will also combine three other research groups already working on the campus, one of which focuses on AIDS research.
A research team at Saga University headed by Nakayama Koichi announced the successful development of a “robot system”, capable of regenerating organ and bone tissue from cells alone. Prof. Nakayama created by hand the structure for heart muscle in 2009 in an experiment using mice. The application of a robot system will reduce the number of errors in the process. It is also possible to use the system for organs with complex structures.
Preliminary statistics for the roughly 8,000 medical school students looking for medical institutions for clinical training show that the number of those who list a Kyushu institution as their first choice has risen to 828, a Nishinippon Shimbun survey shows. This is an increase from the previous year of nearly 20%. Applications have skyrocketed for institutions in Miyazaki and Saga prefectures in particular. These results are linked to the efforts of hospitals and local governments to attract more students.
Beverage company MYM Water of Yufu, Oita Prefecture, reached an agreement with the city of Yufu to build a mineral water plant there. The company plans to use the water from a spring in the Kuju mountains to produce five million bottles a month. The plant is slated to begin operation in May.
The Nishi-Nippon Railway Co. (Nishitetsu) revealed that they and five other Japanese companies have reached agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to pay a penalty for operating a cartel for international cargo fees. One of the items at issue was that the companies added surcharges for fuel and airport security to their air cargo service charges. Nishitetsu’s share of the 3.58 billion yen penalty will be 360 million yen. Other companies involved with the case include Nippon Express and Kintetsu World Express.
The Nishi-Nippon Railway (Nishitetsu) intends to begin operation at the end of October of a route bus along National Highway 202 (a beltway around the city) to link medical institutions in the southwestern part of Fukuoka City. They plan to operate two buses an hour, and will soon apply to the Kyushu District Transport Bureau for authorization. Nishitetsu says the buses will run on a trial basis for one year to determine if there is demand, particularly among the elderly, for such a service. They hope to continue the route after that.
Saga University announced that it planned to open an art museum on its main campus by October 1, 2013. It will exhibit works in its collection as well as the works of graduates of that institution. Construction costs will amount to 600 million yen. The only other national university with its own art museum is Tokyo University of the Arts.
The Nabeshima Daiginjo 2010, brewed by Fukuchiyo Shuzo of Kashima, Saga Prefecture, was named the Champion Sake in this year’s International Wine Challenge, an international competition for wines and sake in Great Britain, on September 6. Orders for the sake skyrocketed the day after the results were announced, and the company has only a few bottles left from this year’s production. The company will increase production by 10% next year, and is considering starting exports to Europe.
