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(English) Kyushu is Key to Offshore Wind Power
(English) Efforts to tap into the latent potential of offshore wind power generation in Kyushu are heating up. Tests are underway or scheduled at sites in Fukuoka and Nagasaki, and estimates place the potential for wind power generation in Kyushu, where offshore winds are favorable, at 17 times the current output of Kyushu Electric Power. The Ministry of the Environment will begin one test off the coast of the Goto Islands in Nagasaki, where it has installed 22-meter floating wind turbine that can produce up to 100 kW of power. Kyushu University is conducting another trial in Hakata Bay. It plans to expand a floating platform it equipped with solar panels and its originally-developed wind-lens turbines in late 2011 in an effort to “realize a floating energy farm”. Given the depth of Japan’s surrounding waters, the development of offshore wind power technologies will be the key to dramatically expanding the use of renewable energy in Japan. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 21
Read More 3월. 21, 2013, 17:02
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(English) Metro Fukuoka Not Immune to Graying
(English) Although the population of the metropolitan Fukuoka is growing, aging is also steadily progressing. This revelation came from a demographic survey released by the Development Bank of Japan’s Kyushu Branch on Mar. 19. Contrary to the city’s image a “young and vibrant urban center”, the population increase is actually due to an uptick in elderly residents. The survey, which covers 10 cities and 10 towns around Fukuoka City (including Kiyama Town in Saga), found that the metro area population had grown 7.5% between 2000 and 2010 to 2.513 million on the back of a 42.9% increase in the population of senior citizens aged 65 and over. Meanwhile, the working age population (ages 15 ~ 64) only grew 1.6%, while the youth population (ages 14 and under) fell 1.0%. With a 17.6% population aging rate over the same 10-year period, Fukuoka is the second slowest aging city among Japan’s 20 designated cities behind only Kawasaki City (Kanagawa); however, the Bank pointed out that the number of elderly people living alone is on the rise which means “we must consider regional policy options in preparation for a super-aging society given concerns over possible worker shortages in the future.” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 21
Read More 16:59
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(English) Damage Estimates for Nankai Quake
(English) On Mar. 18 the Cabinet Office released its estimates for physical damages and economic losses in the event of a massive earthquake in the Nankai Trough. Experts have said a large earthquake in the trough would cause severe damage along the Pacific coast of Japan from Kyushu to Kanto. Assuming a “once-in-1,000-years” earthquake and tsunami equivalent to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami struck the trough, the government estimated over ¥169 trillion in direct damages to buildings and infrastructure, ¥8.2 trillion of which would be in Kyushu. The economic impact of reduced productivity and transport stoppages is estimated at over ¥220 trillion. Nationwide evacuee numbers were calculated at 9.5 million people across 40 prefectures, with numbers in Kyushu expected to reach 525,000. Based on these estimates, the government will formulate a disaster preparedness plan in fiscal 2013. Estimated damages for the prefectures of Kyushu are as follows: ¥4.8 trillion in Miyazaki, ¥2 trillion in Oita, ¥700 billion in Kagoshima, ¥400 billion in Kumamoto, ¥200 billion in Fukuoka and ¥100 billion each in Saga and Nagasaki. The highest number of anticipated evacuees would be from Miyazaki (350,000) and Oita (140,000). Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 19
Read More 3월. 19, 2013, 16:13
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(English) Costco Kitakyushu Opens Mar. 22!
(English) Costco Wholesale Japan announced the opening of two new warehouses: Kitakyushu Warehouse on March 22 and Hiroshima Warehouse on March 23, 2013. Costco is the world’s largest membership wholesale club with over 67.4 million cardholders around the world with 620 warehouses in eight countries. Costco currently operates thirteen warehouses in Japan. The Kitakyushu Warehouse is going to be 14th warehouse and Hiroshima Warehouse is going to be the 15th warehouse in Japan. The first warehouse opened in Hisayama, just outside Fukuoka City. Both the Kitakyushu and the Hiroshima locations are offering Early Bird membership signups – offering a ¥1,000 discount off both Gold Star memberships and Business memberships. For full details access their website.
Read More 14:55
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(English) RKB Radio to Build Solar Farm
(English) Fukuoka City’s RKB Radio announced Mar. 15, it will start to build solar farms at its radio towers in Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu and Yukuhashi City in April. Construction will cost 390 million yen and should finish by summer. RKB Radio predict 1.18 million kilowatts of electricity will be produced at the farms each year. They will sell all power to Kyushu Electric Power Co.
Read More 10:48
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(English) Kyushu’s First Mega Don Quijote Opened
(English) Mega Don Quijote opened their first Mega-store in Kyushu in Iizuka City on Mar. 15. The new store is 2,860㎡, and is filled with 80,000 items ranging from food to famous brand handbags. Iizuka was chosen as it is in the center of Fukuoka Pref. The Mega Don Quijote wants to attract families and the elderly to its new store. It hopes to reach 2 billion yen in sales in its first year.
Read More 10:34
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(English) PARCO Doubles Down on Fukuoka
(English) Tokyo-based PARCO has announced it will purchase the building housing its Tenjin store along with an adjacent building from the Tsuzuki Educational Institution Group for ¥26.5 billion in order to double its retail space. PARCO opened its Tenjin store in March 2010, renting the building formerly occupied by the Iwataya Main Building from the Tsuzuki Group. The adjacent building, formerly the Iwataya New Building, is connected to the main building by a walkway. PARCO’s Tenjin store achieved sales of ¥14.3 billion in 2010—a first-year record for the company. Sales dipped to ¥12.8 billion the next year when Hakata City opened but have since rebounded to ¥14.2 billion. The company decided to buy the buildings and expand its Fukuoka presence in anticipation of increased customer traffic from around Kyushu and neighboring Asian countries. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 18.
Read More 3월. 18, 2013, 15:57
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(English) Ultra-compact Cars Approved for Public Use
(English) The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has announced that it will allow 15 municipalities and companies around Japan to use ultra-compact cars on public roads on an experimental basis. Ultra-compact cars are one and two-person vehicles designed for short-distance travel. According to the groups applying for permits, they can be used by social workers to visit elderly persons’ homes or as rental cars for tourists. The test phase could start as early as May, and based on the results, the Ministry will decide whether or not to allow the establishment of a new subcategory of minicar in 2015. Three groups in Fukuoka were granted permission to use the cars during the test phase: the Fukuoka Ultra Compact Mobility Promotion Council (Momochihama, Sawara-ku), the Council for the Promotion of Ultra Compact Mobility for Tourism (Itoshima City) and Munakata City. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 16
Read More 15:55
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(English) TPP has Opponents and Proponents in Kyushu
(English) Upon Prime Minister Abe’s announcement that Japan would join the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the debate on the trade bloc’s effect on Kyushu has heated up. According to the government’s forecast, the agriculture sector will suffer ¥3 trillion in losses nationwide, so it appears that Kyushu, one of Japan’s breadbaskets, will not be able escape the impact of TPP. Local farmers have expressed concern that cheap imports will increase if tariffs are removed, especially since Kyushu accounts for nearly 20% of Japan’s agricultural output (¥1.62 trillion as of 2011). For instance, Miyazaki and Kagoshima are Japan’s biggest producers of beef and pork. The biggest projected hit will be to rice farmers, accounting for ¥1.1 trillion of the ¥3 trillion forecast, due to the 778% tariff on rice imports. Meanwhile, in the manufacturing sector, support for the pact is high since reduced tariffs on automobile exports to markets such as the United States and China would be a boon for local plants. A full 26.5% of goods produced by Kyushu’s manufacturers are exported, making for the highest proportion of exports by region in all of Japan. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 18.
Read More 14:50
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(English) Korean Monks Attempt to Visit Burgled Temple in Tsushima
(English) Four monks from Pusok Temple in South Chungcheong Province, Korea arrived in Tsushima, Nagasaki on Mar. 14 to meet with their Japanese counterparts about the issue of a Buddha statue stolen from Kannon Temple in Tsushima, but the Japanese monks refused to meet them. The Korean monks, who argue the statue cannot be returned until it is proven it wasn’t originally stolen from Korea, said “Japan and Korea should conduct a joint study on how the statues ended up in Japan. If the statue was obtained rightfully, then there must be a record of the transaction”. Pusok Temple claims it is the original owner of the statue known as Kannon Observing the Cries of the World, a designated tangible cultural asset of Nagasaki Prefecture that was housed at Kannon Temple until the theft. The Korean monks sent a letter announcing their visit, but when they arrived the temple gates were locked and no one answered. The former head monk of Kannon Temple expressed his displeasure by saying, “The moral thing to do is return stolen property to its owner.” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 15
Read More 3월. 15, 2013, 18:14
