Local News

The Kurume branch of the Izutsu-ya department store chain based in Kitakyushu will close at the end of February, it was reported. The reasons for the closure include poor sales due to competition from suburban shopping centers, the aging of the building, and the lack of prospects for an upturn in consumption if the building is refurbished. The store was opened in 1936 by Izutsu-ya’s predecessor, whom Izutsu-ya bought out in 1962.