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(English) ANA Launches Ippudo In-Flight Ramen
죄송합니다, 이 페이지는 현재 English 로만 서비스 중입니다.
Read More 5월. 21, 2013, 14:25
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(English) Yame to Hold Fair, Open New Shop in Fukuoka
(English) To express its appreciation for support received after last year’s torrential rains and showcase its recovery, Yame City will hold the Yame Tourism and Specialty Goods Fair on May 25 and 26 at the Fukuoka City Hall Fureai Hiroba. The fair runs from 10:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and 10:00 to 16:00 on Sunday and will feature fresh vegetables and hand-made foodstuffs. Visitors can also sample Yame’s 12-time award winning green tea. There will be musical guests, and the fair will coincide with the 2nd Yame City Local Gourmet Competition (Competing dishes include wild boar curry). Admissions is free of charge. To further promote Yame’s attractions, the city will open a so-called “antenna shop” called Yame Honten (Sunlight Bldg. 1F, 5 Watanabe-dori, Chuo-ku) on June 1. The first 100 customers who make a purchase will receive a free small bag of Yame tea. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 20
Read More 5월. 20, 2013, 17:26
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(English) Kyuden to Pursue More Geothermal Power
(English) On May 17 Kyushu Electric Power announced plans to establish a Geothermal Power Center within the Power Generation Division in order to bolster geothermal power initiatives. After the meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, the government loosened restrictions on building geothermal power plants in national parks, and with the establishment of a fixed rate system last July, interest in renewable energy has increased. Amid this backdrop, Kyuden plans to begin a new survey for geothermal energy on the northern side of Mt. Heijidake, a mountain that sits on the borders of Yufu City, Taketa City and Kokonoe Town in Oita Prefecture. The Geothermal Power Center, formed by reorganizing the Geothermal Power Group, will add six more staff members and focus efforts on new projects in addition to the long-term maintenance of Kyuden’s five existing geothermal power plants. At a press conference in Tokyo, President Uryu expressed his motivations for geothermal energy by saying, “It will take some time, but we would like to boost our geothermal power output in Kyushu to 700,000 kilowatts” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 20
Read More 14:29
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(English) International Student Nihon Buyo Performance
(English) Koi-no-Kai, a Nihon Buyo troupe composed of 10 exchange students from several countries, will hold its 30th annual international exchange performance at the Fukuoka Youth Science Culture Center on May 26. Hakata-based Nihon Buyo performers Kochika Nishikawa and his son Goro established Koi-no-Kai in 1983 to “help foreign students understand the Japanese spirit”. Every year, a group of students begins weekly lessons in the Fall in preparation for the annual performance. To date, the Nishikawas have taught Nihon Buyo to roughly 950 students from 24 countries. The elder Nishikawa remarked, “Over the past 30 years students’ interest in Japanese culture has grown and meaningful exchanges have deepened. We have achieved more than I ever imagined and will continue to work hard.” Admission to the performance, which is sponsored in part by Nishinippon Shimbun, is ¥5,000. For details, call the Koi-no-Kai at 092-281-1787. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 17
Read More 5월. 19, 2013, 13:00
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(English) Oita Cannot Trademark “Onsen Ken” Moniker
(English) Sources have revealed that Oita Prefecture was informed by Patent Office that it was not permitted to trademark the term “Onsen Ken” (hot spring prefecture) that it is using to promote its abundant hot springs. After filing the trademark application, people from other prefectures objected on the grounds that Oita isn’t the only place with hot springs. The Prefecture was seeking trademark approval for the phrase it coined last August (“Japan’s Number One Onsen Ken—Oita” ), so that private businesses could not use it for commercial purposes. It its rejection notice, the Patent Office noted that other areas of Japan also have abundant hot springs and that Nagano and Gunma already use the phrase “Onsen Ken” (written in kanji as opposed to Oita’s hiragana phrase). Oita Prefecture has 40 days to submit a written request for re-screening. A prefectural official said the Prefecture would “consider how to respond” but would still use the phrase even without the trademark since its tourism campaign has started to gain momentum. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 17
Read More 5월. 18, 2013, 15:49
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(English) Itoshima and Vets Team Up to Help Pets After Disasters
(English) The 750 member-strong Fukuoka Prefecture Veterinarians’ Association has established Japan’s first Veterinary Medical Assistance Team (VMAT), a group of vets who work to rescue pets after disasters. Based on lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake, which claimed the lives of many pets, VMATs consist of registered vets who have undergone training in disaster rescue techniques and are dispatched when requested. On May 15, Itoshima City signed an agreement with the Association to become the first VMAT partner municipality. Toshiyuki Funatsu, a Fukuoka-based vet who volunteered in Fukushima in July 2011, recognized the need for a VMAT after witnessing pets that had lost their owners and starved to death. The Association agreed with him and drafted a detailed plan to establish a VMAT. As a partner city, Itoshima will build and help operate a shelter for disaster-stricken pets. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 16
Read More 5월. 17, 2013, 12:06
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(English) Free Safety Buzzer Rentals Expanded
(English) A council consisting of JR Kyushu, JR West, Nishinippon Railroad, Fukuoka City Subway, Amagi Railroad and the Kitakyushu Monorail have agreed to expand free safety buzzer rentals. The council, which began lending 2,000 buzzers to women and children at 30 stations throughout Fukuoka Prefecture this February, will expand the service to 3,000 buzzers at 33 stations. Stations are selected from among those residential and student areas known to have higher crime rates. Users can borrow the buzzers from 18:00 until the last train and return them in collection boxes located next to the ticket gates. There is no set lending period for the buzzers which were donated by the Fukuoka Prefecture Real Estate Transaction Association. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 16
Read More 11:42
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(English) FFG Records Highest Profit on Record
(English) On May 13 Fukuoka Financial Group released its consolidated financial statement for the fiscal year ended March 2013 which reveals the company recorded its highest net profit on record. At ¥32.59 billion, net gains increased for the second consecutive year and outpaced last year’s figure by 13.8%. Increased competition and low interest rates led to a smaller profit margin and capital profit ratio, but the massively reduced cost of credit led to an increased net profit. Total net profits from the three banks that constitute FFG’s core business (Fukuoka Bank, Shinwa Bank and Kumamoto Bank) rose 1.8% to ¥76.89 billion. Meanwhile, ordinary profits soared 82.3% to ¥68.77 billion—the highest on record. President Tani remarked that “this level is consistent with the final year of our mid-term management plan.” The company’s projections call for ¥48 billion in ordinary profit and ¥27 billion in net gains next year. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 15
Read More 5월. 16, 2013, 10:17
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(English) Health Sciences Grad School to Open in Momochihama
(English) The Tochigi-based International University of Health and Welfare Group has purchased the Kyushu Multimedia Center, a vacant building in the Fukuoka Soft Research Park (SRP) in Momochihama, from Panasonic. The IUHW Group plans to move its graduate school there by August and will also use one floor for its School of Nursing. Until recently, Fukuoka City had limited the use of sites in the SRP to IT, but it has since relaxed its regulations. This is the first university to establish a presence inside the SRP. According to the IUHW Group, it completed the purchase of the building on March 27. It then moved its Fukuoka Tenjin Campus from its aging facility to an affiliated technical school in Momochihama and moved its School of Nursing, which shared space with the technical school, to a separate building.
Read More 5월. 15, 2013, 14:52
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(English) New Yamakasa Guidebook Released
(English) The Hakata Gion Yamakasa Promotion Committee has published a new edition of its guidebook on the Hakata Yamakasa festival. First released in 1988, the guidebook explains the various events that take place during the festival, offering an in-depth look at the local spectacle. This is the second year in a row that the Committee has published a new edition after receiving requests for a version with updated photos, and it plans to publish new versions annually.
Read More 14:41
