Ikuo Kabashima won a fourth term in the Kumamoto gubernatorial election Sunday, defeating a challenger backed by the local chapter of the minor opposition Social Democratic Party. Voter turnout stood at 45.03 percent, lower than for the previous gubernatorial election in the prefecture in 2016. ...
Fukuoka High Court on Friday declined to recognize eight plaintiffs as sufferers of Minamata disease, rejecting their demand for a total of some ¥300 million in damages from the government and other defendants. In the lawsuit, the eight members of a Minamata disease-related mutual-aid group ...
Coronavirus scuppers Kumamon's 10th birthday party celebrations
Iconic mascot Kumamon, a cuddly black bear-like character that has gained worldwide fame, marked his 10th birthday on Thursday, although celebrations scheduled to be held on the weekend have been postponed in light of the spread of COVID-19. "Even if we can't meet now, our ...
Sales of Kumamon-brand goods hit record ¥158 billion in 2019
Products bearing the image of Kumamon, the black bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, racked up sales of at least ¥157.9 billion ($1.4 billion) in 2019, the Kumamoto Prefectural Government said Friday. Sales have hit fresh records every year since 2011, when the prefectural government started ...
Past special courts in Japan for leprosy patients ruled unconstitutional
A court in Kumamoto on Wednesday ruled for the first time that special trials for segregated leprosy patients set up outside of standard courtrooms in the past were unconstitutional, but the court rejected a demand for damages. The Kumamoto District Court made the judgment in ...
The health ministry let 23 passengers off the Diamond Princess cruise ship without going through mandated tests for the novel coronavirus, health minister Katsunobu Kato said Saturday. For three days through Friday, 970 passengers who tested negative in tests after Feb. 5 were allowed to ...
Clocking up the years with Charlie Nagatani, Japan's country king
After more than 60 years of playing country music, and having staged numerous festivals in his native Kumamoto Prefecture, Charlie Nagatani shows no signs of stopping.
Tolerant shrine-temple-church trio's rare red stamps draw collectors to UNESCO site
Goshuin stamps made by three different places of worship — a shrine, a temple and a church — at an obscure fishing community within a UNESCO World Heritage site in Kumamoto Prefecture is generating a buzz with tourists. With some 200 households, the Sakitsu district ...
Japan government silent as Kumamoto pioneers secret-birth system
A private hospital in Kumamoto that has launched a program for women who want to give birth anonymously is calling on the government to legalize the program, but receiving little in the way of response. Jikei Hospital, known for installing a so-called baby hatch where ...
Hospital equipped with baby hatch in Kumamoto to introduce confidential birth program
Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto, known for its "Konotori no Yurikago" (storks' cradle) baby hatch, will start a program allowing women to give birth while keeping their names secret, a senior official has said. The hospital decided on the move after making little ...
Tohru Miyano: Reverse-engineering an unlucky situation
Though nomadic and grueling, Tohru Miyano's experience of being moved from factory to factory across East Asia and the U.S. has, he says, left him feeling liberated and more open-minded.
The law allows compensation payments of up to ¥1.8 million to family members of people with leprosy who experienced discrimination and prejudice under Japan’s former segregation policy.
