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March 29, 2025
 

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KUMAMOTO

A photo posted on the X account for the transport ministry's Matsuyama branch in Ehime Prefecture shows a wildfire in the city of Imabari on Sunday night.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025
Firefighters and SDF battle wildfires spreading in Okayama and Ehime
This is the second time the country has seen an unusually large wildfire in recent weeks, following one in Iwate Prefecture last month.
A Yoshino cherry tree in bloom in Kumamoto City's Nishi Ward on Sunday.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2025
Cherry blossoms bloom in Kumamoto and Kochi
Compared with last year, the blooming date was the same in Kochi and three days earlier in Kumamoto.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
Japan is no island when it comes to semiconductors. Rightly so.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
Kumamon, the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, poses in front of a sign of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., at TSMC's then new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in February 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
In chip renaissance, Japan is learning from past mistakes
In the 1980s, Japan dominated semiconductor production. Fast-forward to today and the country is trying to recapture its past glory, this time with a more outward-looking strategy.
The city of Kumamoto has seen a surge in the number of students from Taiwan, following the arrival of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and related businesses in Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 31, 2024
Kumamoto public schools respond to influx of Taiwanese students
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s arrival in Kumamoto has heightened the need to adapt to the needs of Taiwanese families.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024
Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams
Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
Rice fields in the town of Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture. The water-filled paddies glistening under the sun is a symbol of a long-running effort to preserve the prefecture’s groundwater.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Nov 17, 2024
Japan's chipmaking rush pressures Kumamoto's special water supply
TSMC and others hope that support for existing projects and proper wastewater management can avoid undermining water development efforts lauded by the U.N.
Rapidus' new semiconductor plant under construction in Chitose, Hokkaido, in July
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2024
New high-profile chip plants driving up nearby land prices across Japan
Expectations for growth in demand for semiconductors has boosted demand for commercial and industrial plots, and housing.
Thinly sliced puffer fish sashimi. The dish is often served at high-end restaurants in Japan, where chefs must hold a license proving they can safely slice around organs that contain a lethal poison.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2024
Japanese 10-year-old passes test for preparing deadly fugu
Fifth grader Karin Tabira passed a test this summer that certifies her to slice and gut the fish for consumption.
The Todoroki Falls in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Saturday. Seven high school students who had played in a river nearby experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2024
Over 100 people fall sick in Kumamoto with river eyed as potential source
The city has set up signs near the river due to the suspected norovirus cases, calling on visitors to refrain from playing in the water.
Inside TSMC’s plant in Taiwan. Chip plants, with rows of advanced equipment, require massive amounts of electricity.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 5, 2024
TSMC’s Kumamoto plant pledges to use 100% renewables despite high costs
The move is not just an exercise of corporate responsibility but also a response to demands from the chipmaker's large customers.
Environment Minister Shintaro Ito speaks during a meeting with people affected by Minamata disease held in the city of Niigata on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 17, 2024
Environment minister meets with people affected by Minamata disease in Niigata
The minister apologized over a recent incident in which citizens' remarks were cut short during an earlier meeting he attended in relation to the disease.
A man holds new 10,000 yen bills at a Saitama Resona Bank branch in Saitama Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2024
People flock to get new banknotes in areas linked to new bills
The ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 notes have been redesigned for the first time in 20 years.
People offer flowers during a memorial ceremony in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday to pray for those killed due to heavy rains in the area four years ago.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2024
Victims of heavy rains in Kumamoto remembered four years on
Bereaved families and others on Sunday prayed for those killed due to heavy rains in Kumamoto Prefecture four years ago.
Goods related to Eiichi Shibusawa are sold at the Michi no Eki Okabe roadside rest station in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2024
Sites linked to faces on new banknotes excited before release
The new ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 notes will enter into circulation July 3 in what will be the country's first banknote redesigning in 20 years.
TSMC’s factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS
May 12, 2024
Kumamoto Prefecture wants to host TSMC’s third Japan plant
Kumamoto hopes enough chip-related companies will settle in the prefecture to create something akin to Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park.
A memorial ceremony was held for the victims of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake on Sunday in the city of Kumamoto.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2024
Kumamoto quake victims remembered eight years on
At the Kumamoto earthquake-remembrance ceremony, participants observed a minute of silence and some laid flowers for the victims.
Despite being the home of TSMC’s new factory, the Kyushu region is facing hurdles toward expanding its semiconductor-related transactions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2024
Developing Kyushu's chip supply chain still a challenge for TSMC
The issue partially stems from the high barrier of entry into the key semiconductor industry.
Koki Nagata (right) offers a Buddhist altar to a Noto Peninsula earthquake evacuee in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on March 29.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024
Kumamoto shop owner gives away free Buddhist altars to Noto quake victims
“I hope it will be a source of comfort for those who lost their loved ones and homes," said shop owner Koki Nagata.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit to TSMC's new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Saturday
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 7, 2024
TSMC’s first Japan plant to hit 60% local procurement by 2030
Japanese officials are hoping TSMC’s arrival will help boost local suppliers’ technology and business.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
Don’t worry about global population collapse
Most projections show the world will hit peak humanity in the 21st century as people choose to have smaller families and women gain power over their own reproduction.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
Hanami season to have record ¥1.39 trillion economic impact on Japan
Cherry blossoms along a road in Tokyo on Tuesday. The 2025 cherry blossom season is expected to have an economic impact of around ¥1.39 trillion on Japan.
Tokyo Series proves to be big business for MLB — and Japanese companies
An advertisement featuring Shohei Ohtani in Tokyo.
New SDF command will be key for contingency planning, Australian commander says
A Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K "Super Auk" from JS Shiranui prepares to land on HMAS Brisbane during Exercise Malabar 2023 while off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.

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