Local News

In an effort to halt the trend toward hollowing out in the central part of the city, Karatsu in Saga Prefecture has issued a directive to employees working at the main municipal offices asking them to refrain from bringing lunches with them to work one day a week. The objective is to have them patronize restaurants in the district. The city says the request is not compulsory. The local chamber of commerce points out that pedestrian traffic in the downtown Karatsu area exceeded 27,000 people a day in 1992, but has fallen to about 5,000 a day now.