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.
Kumamoto restaurant files criminal complaint against Uruguay rugby team
A restaurant in Kumamoto filed a criminal complaint Wednesday against players and others related to Uruguay's national rugby team, accusing them of damaging its property. The players and others involved on the team behaved violently and inflicted damage to the restaurant's equipment, including audio devices, ...
Kumamoto nightclub files criminal complaint against Uruguay rugby players
A Kumamoto city nightclub filed a criminal complaint Wednesday against players on the Uruguay Rugby World Cup team, alleging they damaged property at the establishment, the nightclub's lawyer said. The club, called Bacon Egg, lodged a damage report after two players tackled a staff member ...
Japan lawmakers sign off on plan to compensate families of former leprosy patients
A group of Japanese lawmakers on Thursday approved a plan to compensate family members of former leprosy patients with payments of up to ¥1.8 million each. The group of ruling and opposition party lawmakers will finalize a bill and submit it to the ongoing extraordinary ...
JICA and Kumamoto team up to better cope with prefecture's burgeoning non-Japanese population
The Japan International Cooperation Agency and Kumamoto Prefecture will launch a project next year to train young Japanese to help the prefecture handle its ever-growing population of foreign workers. The project will enlist those who volunteered for the state-backed aid program in the past to ...
Uruguay players assault staff and damage Kumamoto restaurant after last Rugby World Cup loss
Two players from the Uruguay team tackled a staff member and damaged property at a restaurant in the city of Kumamoto during a drinking session following their final game of the Rugby World Cup, police said Wednesday. The police are investigating the alleged assault and ...
Top 10: A local's guide to the most unique hot springs in Kyushu
Panoramas, bubble baths and tingling testicles — The Japan Times' list of 10 of the most unique and rare onsen Kyushu has to offer.
