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学校耐震化率、九州６０．８％
Kyushu’s Earthquake Resistant School Building Percentage: 60.8%
The Ministry of Education released the results of a nationwide survey of the earthquake resistance of public primary and junior high school buildings in accordance with national standards. The survey found that only 60.8% of the buildings surveyed in Kyushu met those standards, compared to a national ratio of 67%. This is actually an improvement of 4.9 percentage points from the previous year. A breakdown by prefecture shows Miyazaki with the highest percentage of earthquake-resistant school buildings at 75%, while Nagasaki had the lowest at 46.6%. The figures for many municipalities were not reported, but the rate in Nagasaki City was 34.2% and that in Kumamoto City was 54.2%.
福証のアジア企業株上場制来年一月にも開始
Fukuoka Stock Exchange to Start Listing Asian Stocks in January
The Fukuoka Stock Exchange revealed the outlines of a plan to list the stocks from other companies starting in January 2010. The Financial Services Agency has been deliberating the plan since April. It envisions listing the stocks of companies from countries with close ties to Kyushu, such as China and South Korea. Both the companies’ stocks and Japanese Depository Receipts would be listed. The latter are yen-denominated securities based on the overseas company’s stock shares.
HTBにカジノ特区を
Moves Afoot to Create Special Casino District at Huis ten Bosch
A proposal has been submitted to the Cabinet Office to create a special district that would enable casino gambling at the Huis ten Bosch resort in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. The objective would be to attract foreign tourists. About 200 companies in Saga, Nagasaki, and Fukuoka prefectures are working with a special research group on western Japan resorts to attract a casino to the site. Local authorities think it would improve the power of the resort to attract tourists, boost employment, and increase tax revenue.
JR九州鉄道収入１２％減
JR Kyushu Railroad Revenue Down 12%
JR Kyushu revealed that its railroad revenue for the month of May plunged a sharp 12.4%. It was the company’s second worst revenue decline after the April 1995 drop of 29.4% following the Hanshin Earthquake. The railroad attributed this to the global economic turndown, concerns over the influenza epidemic, and the discounts for expressway travel during the Golden Week period.
日韓の「通」２人が連携 博多屋台をブログで情報発信
Hakata Street Stall Blog in Korean
The famous Hakata street stalls are a hit among Korean tourists, and U Sung-min from Seoul is hitting all the stalls with Fukuoka resident and ramen blogger Seiji Hirano to explain the ins and outs of stall dining on a Korean-language blog. The site provides menus of the dishes served at the stalls along with stall photos, as well as tips on the proper behavior. These include sliding over to let other people sit during busy periods, and not hanging around too long after eating.
長崎県、離島航路値下げ実験
Nagasaki Prefecture to Cut Tolls to Outlying Islands in Trial
Nagasaki Prefecture said it planned to use the funds derived this year from the conversion of the gasoline surtax to the general fund to conduct a trial for reducing the fare on passenger ships to the prefecture’s outlying islands. The trial, which will begin this fall, will reduce the tolls by 20%. The objective will be to boost traffic to the island and thereby promote commerce. It will be the first trial of its kind in the nation, and the Kyushu District Transport Bureau praised it as an innovative idea for eliminating the structural problems of the islands.
自動車メーカー減産、九州下請け会社直撃
Kyushu Subcontractors Hard Hit by Auto Production Cutbacks
The Kyushu Economic Research Center released the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in April and May of companies in the automobile industry in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture. The survey showed that the FY 2008 sales of regional subcontractors fell by 14.2% and the number of non-regular employees was cut by half. It was the first such survey of 852 subcontracting companies involved with the production of mechanical and electronic parts, molds, and other products. The declines were attributed to the cutbacks of production by major automakers Toyota and Nissan.
福岡県などフォーラム、福岡をファッション拠点に、地元ブランド販売
Forum for Promoting Fukuoka as an Asian Fashion Center Meets
A forum for promoting Fukuoka as an Asian fashion center, whose members include the Fukuoka Chamber of Commerce, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and companies in the garment industry, held their first conference in Fukuoka City on the 19th. The roughly 150 participants discussed past efforts by the forum, including the promotion of local brands and collections throughout Japan and Asia. They also discussed plans to open this fall a virtual shop on the Internet, called FACo for selling local brands.
福津市土地公社、UR所有林を高額購入
Fukutsu Public Land Development Corp. Buys Expensive Forest
An investigation by the Nishinippon Shimbun revealed that a public land development corporation in Fukutsu, Fukuoka Prefecture, bought a forested commercial property in a specially zoned area near the Fukuma Station from a public corporation involved in urban redevelopment for JPY 1.216 billion. That is roughly 350 times the property’s value as assessed for the fixed asset tax. The city said the purchase was made to maintain the area as a natural space, but others involved with the city government and the public corporation said it was to keep the corporation afloat.
電子回路印刷より微細に
New Device Enables More Intricate Printing of Electronic Circuits
Mitani Micronics of Saga Prefecture, Fine Coating of Nagasaki Prefecture, and the Industrial Technology Center of Nagasaki, a public sector research institute, have begun sales of a device they developed of a new screen mask for printing intricate electronic circuit designs on ceramics and other materials. The mask is the first in the world to use diamond-like carbon, a very hard film. The product can be used to make the parts for manufacturing equipment that will result in smaller and lighter cell phones and digital cameras.
