News | Fukuoka Now

Applications for Employment Adjustment Subsidy Skyrocket

A survey by the Nishinippon Shimbun revealed there has been a sharp rise in the number of applications during January for employment adjustment subsidies by companies who have furloughed workers and do not wish to lay them off. There was an increase of 6.5 times alone in Fukuoka Prefecture, as 217 companies applied. The figures [...]

Prices Paid by Kyushu National Museum Termed “Unnatural”

It has been revealed that of the 75 cultural treasures purchased by the Kyushu National Museum during the three-year period ended in FY 2007 that 46, or more than 60%, were bought at prices some consider unnatural. The museum asked several professionals to appraise the items. In the cases considered suspicious, more than one professional [...]

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Kitakyushu and Yamaguchi Financial Group to Form Links

The city of Kitakyushu, the Yamaguchi Financial Group, and the affiliated Yamaguchi Bank announced they will sign an agreement on the 20th to promote local industry. One sector in which they plan to work together is tourism, an area in which Kitakyushu intends to step up its efforts. The financial group’s role will be to [...]

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Toyota Kyushu Shifts Surplus Employees to Volunteer Activities

Toyota Kyushu is faced with excess personnel due to production cutbacks caused by the economic downturn. Rather than lay the employees off, the company has decided to continue paying them a full salary and seconding them to perform service work in the cities of Miyawaka and Munekata, Fukuoka Prefecture. About 2,000 employees will be involved [...]

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20.5% of Kyushu Residents Now BYO Shopping Bags

The results of the Kyushu-wide campaign to reduce the amount of refuse by encouraging customers at supermarkets and convenience stores to bring their own bags were announced. They revealed that 20.5% of consumers brought their own during the survey period. This resulted in a savings of roughly 46.2 million plastic bags, or about 462 tons’ [...]

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Fukuoka City Working to Attract Chinese Cruise Ships

Fukuoka City plans to conduct a PR campaign for the Port of Hakata with North American and Asian passenger ship companies to boost the number of port calls by cruise ships starting or terminating their voyages in China. Chinese ships based in Shanghai and elsewhere began calling on the Port of Hakata in the spring [...]

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Iwata-ya to Post First Loss in 10 Years

Fukuoka City-based department store Iwata-ya has revised downward its consolidated results forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 2009. The new projection shows a loss for the year of 150 million yen. If this loss holds, it would be the department store’s first loss since 1999, a ten-year period. The forecast is based on [...]

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Izutsu-ya to Increase Regularly-Scheduled Off Days

The Izutsu-ya department stores of Kitakyushu announced that starting in March, they will add five or six regularly scheduled off days to their operating schedule. The stores have traditionally been closed only on New Year’s Day. The new policy is to be implemented at the flagship store in Kokura Ward and the Kurosaki branch in [...]

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