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(English) 24hr Pharmacies Inside Convenience Stores
(English) Family Mart has announced tie-ups with four pharmacy chains including Fukuoka’s Ohga Pharmacy. Within the next two years, Ohga Pharmacy and Family Mart plan to open 5~10 franchised stores. The first is due to open in June. The new stores plan on selling many items, including bentos and cosmetics, and will offer 24 hour sales of pharmaceuticals by employing a licensed salesperson. Family Mart intends to tie-up with 20 businesses over the next two years and open 200 collaborative stores nationally. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, April 9
Read More 4월. 10, 2013, 10:55
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(English) Bright Future for Saga Horse Racing
(English) Saga Keiba, the only local horse racing track left in Kyushu, recorded its first year-on-year sales increase in five years in fiscal 2012. The Karatsu-based track saw sales rise after joining the Japan Racing Association’s I-PAT online betting system last November. The future looks bright for Saga Keiba which had been struggling after posting losses totaling ¥210 million at the end of FY2011. Saga Keiba sold ¥720 million in tickets during the 29 race days after joining I-PAT, exceeding expected sales by a factor of 3.5. Bets will be accepted via I-PAT for 81 of the 101 scheduled races in fiscal 2013, and the prefectural horse racing association will run ads in 13 sports newspapers—10 more than last year—in an effort to attract the attention of racing fans around the country. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 9
Read More 4월. 9, 2013, 16:38
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(English) Foster Home in Nishi Ward Turns Three
(English) The Kodomo no Mura foster home in Imazu, Nishi-ku will celebrate its third anniversary in April. The facility, which was built with donations from local residents and companies, was opened in April 2010 to provide a safe haven for children who are abused or unable to live with their families for economic or other reasons. The facility can house up to 25 children and has five houses on-site for the caregivers. Over the past three years, the home has accepted a total of 24 children, 11 of whom were returned to their families after circumstances improved. There are currently 13 children aged one to 13 living in Kodomo no Mura, and the facility plans to add more caregivers this year so it can accept more children. Over 1,000 visitors from around Japan come to observe the facility each year. Last year, a group representing children who lost their parents in the Great East Japan Earthquake visited and now plans to open Kodomo no Mura Tohoku next year. In a press conference held at City Hall, the head of Kodomo no Mura Fukuoka, the non-profit organization that runs the home, expressed his desire to “strengthen support networks and provide a loving atmosphere for many children.” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 9
Read More 16:30
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(English) New Record for Kyushu Car Production
(English) Car production in Kyushu reached a record 1.415 million units in fiscal 2012. Increased sales of minicars and fuel-efficient vehicles on the back of eco-car subsidies coupled with the launch of new models by the major carmakers yielded an 8.1% increase in units produced year-on-year. Production at three of the four plants in Kyushu reached record levels in 2012, making for the fourth consecutive year of increased output. Big sellers included Daihatsu’s Mira ES and Nissan’s Note, but Toyota had to ramp down production of its new Lexus for the Chinese market amid tensions between Japan and China. A detailed breakdown of 2012 output is as follows—Nissan Motor: 561,100 (+8%), Daihatsu: 451,000 (+8.4%), Toyota: 297,000 (-1.8%), Nissan Shatai: 106,000 (+49.2). Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 8
Read More 11:21
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(English) Kirameki Ave. “Pedestrian Paradise” Test
(English) Kirameki-dori Ave., the street that runs between Iwataya’s main and new buildings in Tenjin, will be closed to traffic on Apr. 6 and 7 from 12:00 to 18:00 as part of a pilot program by local community development group We Love Tenjin. The group will survey traffic volume in an effort to see if they can make the street permanently car-free on weekends. In 2008, We Love Tenjin released its Tenjin Community Development Guidelines which proposed a five to 10-year vision for Tenjin and included “improved walkability” as one of its goals. Based on this, the group also conducted a similar pilot test on Tenjin’s Southern St. Every day over 20,000 pedestrians use Kirameki-dori Ave., which is an important conduit linking Tenjin to Daimyo. We Love Tenjin plans to place benches on the closed road and have passers-by complete surveys. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 4
Read More 4월. 5, 2013, 10:38
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(English) Gyudon Sale at Sukiya and Matsuya
(English) Gyudon, a bowl of rice topped with seasoned beef, will be available at a discount of ¥30 from popular gyudon restaurants, Sukiya and Matsuya, this month. Both businesses hope to increase customer numbers and are working towards breaking down the stigma associated with imported beef after BSE was detected in imported US beef in the past. Sukiya has announced it will offer the discount from Apr. 5, 09:00 to Apr. 12, 08:00. Matsuya’s gyudon will be on sale from Apr. 8, 10:00 to Apr. 15, 15:00. Yoshinoya, another major Gyudon restaurant chain said they have not decided to offer discounts.
Read More 4월. 4, 2013, 12:28
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(English) Nijohamatama Road Now Toll-Free
(English) On Apr. 1 the toll was removed from the 8.5 km Nijohamatama Road linking Itoshima, Fukuoka to Karatsu, Saga. The Karatsu City Chamber of Commerce hopes this will attract tourists from the metro Fukuoka area, but local eateries in Itoshima have expressed concerns about reduced traffic on regular roads. The standard toll of ¥360 (one-way) was removed, effectively reducing the cost of driving from Fukuoka to less than ¥1,000. In March 2009, the national government ran a campaign that allowed travelers to use toll highways for ¥1,000 on weekends on holidays. The campaign expired about two years later, and the Karatsu City Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Association have been lobbying the government to make the Nijohamatama Road toll-free since then, fearing the resumption of normal tolls would keep tourists away (Travel to Karatsu from Fukuoka by highway costs ¥1,310 over three separate toll roads). Fukuoka Prefecture estimates the daily two-way traffic on National Route 202 at around 10,000 cars and expects a toll-free Nijohamatama Road would reduce this number by 3,000 vehicles. Itoshima City suspended operations of a café/restaurant at a visitor’s center in Shikaka saying it was “no longer profitable”. Other local restaurants have also expressed concerns over the move. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 2
Read More 4월. 3, 2013, 10:04
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(English) Police Inspect Nakasu Kiosks
(English) On the evening of Apr. 1 the Hakata Police Department inspected Nakasu’s free information kiosks to ensure compliance with a new prefectural ordinance requiring their registration. According to the police, 31 of the prefecture’s 44 kiosks, which display information from adult entertainment shops, are located in Nakasu. The kiosks are a suspected source of income for organized crime groups, and the new ordinance was enacted to improve monitoring of the kiosks. In addition to mandating pre-registration with the Prefectural Public Safety Commission, the ordinance requires kiosks to post “no minors allowed” signs. Operators of kiosks located near schools or in other prohibited areas can be imprisoned for up to six months or fined up to ¥500,000. It is the eighth such piece of local legislation in Japan and the first in Kyushu. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 2
Read More 4월. 2, 2013, 15:50
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(English) Tapping into “Urban Mines”
(English) A recycling program for old mobile phones and other small appliances was launched on Apr. 1 in an effort to reclaim and reuse the rare metals they contain. Often referred to as “urban mines”, used electronics are discarded at a rate of 650,000 tons/year according to a Ministry of the Environment estimate. Most municipalities collect them as inflammable garbage and dispose of them in landfills. In light of the growing environmental issue of Japan exporting its e-waste to China and other Asian nations, the government enacted a new law last August to promote the reuse of these used electronics. Last May, the three cities of Kitakyushu, Nogata and Fukuoka began collecting small appliances on a trial basis ahead of the new law. Kitakyushu estimates a collection rate of 5 ~ 6% was achieved, and the three cities are considering ways to encourage citizens to use the approximately 100 collection boxes they installed. Citing the importance of recycling rare metals amid intensifying global competition, the Ministry of the Environment has set a goal to collect 130,000 tons of small appliances in fiscal 2013 and plans to increase this more than tenfold to 1.4 million tons by the end of fiscal 2015. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 2
Read More 15:46
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(English) Spring Airlines Puts Halt to Japan Plans
(English) Shanghai-based low cost carrier Spring Airlines has announced it is putting plans to add new routes to Japan on hold. The no frills carrier was a major driving force behind the upswing in Chinese tourists to Japan, but recent tension between the two countries has led to decreased ridership. Spring Airlines currently operates flights from its base in Shanghai to Ibaraki, Takamatsu and Saga and had planned to add flights to Miyazaki, Hokkaido, Chubu and Kansai. Chairman Wang Zhenghua stated that the airline will switch to developing routes to other Asian countries instead of Japan, and he listed Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore as possible candidates. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Apr. 1
Read More 4월. 1, 2013, 14:52
