Tag - kumamoto

 
Menu
Search
 
March 31, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

KUMAMOTO

The 8620-class steam locomotive was manufactured in 1922 during Japan's Taisho Era (1912-1926).
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 30, 2024
One last journey for Japan's oldest steam train
Japan's 101-year-old steam locomotive has made its final journey, thought it may live on as a museum piece in the future.
Takashi Kimura (center) won the Kumamoto gubernatorial election on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
Ex-vice governor wins Kumamoto gubernatorial election
Backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, Takashi Kimura will be the first new governor of Kumamoto in 16 years.
Lawyers representing plaintiffs in lawsuits seeking damages for Minamata disease hold banners outside the Kumamoto District Court in the city of Kumamoto on Friday, criticizing the ruling as “unjust.”
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Japan court rejects redress claims by unrecognized Minamata victims
Across Japan, nearly 1,800 individuals have filed similar lawsuits, with 1,400 cases consolidated in the Kumamoto district court.
Kumamoto-based sakura researcher Toshio Katsuki says Japan's interpretations of the cherry tree have evolved over the course of history.
COMMUNITY / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 22, 2024
Toshio Katsuki: 'The cherry blossoms have been my vehicle to find new relationships'
A sakura researcher tells us what drew him to the flowering trees, how their significance has changed over time and his tips on the best way to enjoy them.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2024
TSMC eyes advanced chip packaging capacity in Japan, sources say
Bringing its chip-on-wafer-on-substrate packaging technology — currently all in Taiwan — to Japan is one of the options the chipmaker is considering.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 24, 2024
Chip giant TSMC shifts away from hot spot Taiwan with Japan plant
The chipmaker's new plant in Kumamoto will boost the resilience of global supplies of the crucial hardware, founder Morris Chang told an opening ceremony.
Gold badges distributed to Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly members after the April 2023 election. The prices for both types doubled from four years ago.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Feb 19, 2024
Gold assembly badges worth millions of yen unreturned in Kyushu
Each elected member receives a new badge for every election and is supposed to return them on losing an election or retiring from politics.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in the town of Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in May. The firm plans to build a second chip fabrication plant in the prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024
TSMC to build second chipmaking plant in Japan with partners
The facility will be close to the first TSMC plant in the Kumamoto Prefecture town of Kikuyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 18, 2024
Taiwan's TSMC to launch Kumamoto chipmaking plant in February
TSMC — whose clients include Apple and Nvidia — controls more than half the world's output of silicon wafers, used in everything from smartphones to cars to missiles.
A member of the Self-Defense Forces leads residents from Fukamimachi, a village isolated by the Jan. 1 earthquake, to safety in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2024
Ishikawa earthquake response sees growing opposition scrutiny
Criticisms of the number of SDF personnel deployed to the area and level of financial support for evacuees have grown louder among opposition parties.
Watanabe has made shapes of (from left) a monkey, an elephant and a giraffe by folding oak leaves with his hands.
CULTURE / Art / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 8, 2024
Kumamoto artist embodies re-evaluation of 'outsider art’ in Japan
Dubbed a "genius autistic paper cutout artist," Yoshihiro Watanabe's works are now being alongside those by trained artists.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in Kumamoto Prefecture. New chipmaking plants in Japan are raising questions about securing workers and adequate water supplies.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2023
Kumamoto and Hokkaido face common tasks of securing water and talent
With ambitious projects advancing, the two prefectural governments forged an agreement in August, aiming to facilitate exchanges of information.
The construction of TSMC’s new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, has seen companies anticipating expanded collaborations with the semiconductor firm grow keen to establish footholds in the area.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2023
Semiconductor projects in Japan whip up local optimism
Companies anticipating expanded collaborations with TSMC are keen to establish footholds in the area around its new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory currently under construction in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 21, 2023
TSMC eyes third Japan chip plant with cutting-edge 3 nanometer tech
Another plant in Japan, this one making advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) chips, would potentially turn Japan into a major global chipmaking hub.
Former firefighter Yoshifumi Usui now guides tourists in search of active pursuits in and around the Aso caldera.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 21, 2023
In volcanic Aso, the land gives much more than it takes
Locals in Aso have a saying: “The land takes away, but it gives us something, too.”
JAPAN / Society
Oct 4, 2023
Probe launched over 'serious' Kumamoto soccer team bullying
A member of the renowned school team was allegedly forced to kneel on the ground in apology while naked as he was filmed by senior members of the team.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023
Court recognizes 128 plaintiffs as Minamata disease sufferers
Presiding Judge Yuki Tatsuno ordered that ¥2.75 million in damages be paid to each of the 128 people who sued the central government.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 9, 2023
Japan prefectures drift away from posting disaster warnings on X
A growing number of prefectures have stopped posting disaster warnings on the platform due to limits on the number of free posts allowed.
Akira Amari, Japan's chip czar, has said that funding around one-third of the cost of a chip plant is the norm, and the 50% funding for Japan's first TSMC chip plant was unusually high.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023
Chip minister hints Japan to fund one-third of second TSMC plant
The subsidies will be part of Japan’s efforts to revive its domestic chipmaking industry, a sector viewed as crucial for growth and economic security.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
School-age suicides in Japan hit all-time high
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
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.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty
Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER