Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.61.0410220111591.16143@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.aol.com>,
"WRYTING-L : Writing and Theory across Disciplines" <WRYTING-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA>
Subject: Hello Kitty robot - Kyushu Headline News 10/21/2004 (fwd)
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 01:12:14 -0400 (EDT)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 21:42:57 -0400 (EDT) From: news@fukuoka-now.com To: news@fukuoka-now.com Subject: Kyushu Headline News 10/21/2004 Fukuoka Now presents "Kyushu Headline News" for the week Oct 15, to Oct 21, 2004 ** Special Announcement** Hello Kitty Robot - On Sale! In celebration of Hello Kitty's 30th birthday RoboSquare (Hakata Riverain) is hosting a Hello Kitty Robot Fair on Oct. 30, 31 and Nov.1. Catch demonstration of the Hello Kitty Robot, and if you fall in love with her, you can buy your very own robot for 450,000 yen (incl'd tax). She weighs 6kgs and is 52 cm tall and can recognize up to 10 human faces. For more information call 092-262-6810 or visit http://www.robosquare.org/ WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST- - Fukuoka City Area 10/22 Fri: sunny, low: 15c - high: 21c, (precip: 10%) 10/23 Sat: sunny/cloudy, low: 13c - high: 20c, (precip: 10%) 10/24 Sun: sunny/cloudy, low: 13c - high: 21c, (precip: 20%) TOP TEN STORIES - - * Kyushu-Okinawa Bankruptcies Drop Fourth Straight Year The Fukuoka branch of credit rating company Teikoku Databank released figures on bankruptcies in the April - September 2004 quarter for companies in Kyushu and Okinawa Prefecture showing that the number of businesses folding during the period fell 23.3% to 621. The liabilities of the bankrupt companies plunged 37.3% to roughly 207.9 billion yen. This is the fourth consecutive year of declining bankruptcies in the region and the lowest total since 1990, the last year before the collapse of Japan's economic bubble. Liabilities have fallen from year-before totals for two straight years. * Edo Period Clothing Exhibit Clothing for common people during the latter part of the Edo Period is being shown in the Ranro no Sekai exhibit at the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History. The clothing on display has been assembled over a period of nearly 40 years by Shinichi Horisetsu, a researcher and collector of period clothing material. * Nishitetsu to Shut Down Tenjin-Tosu Station Bus Service The Nishitetsu Highway Bus Co. of Fukuoka City announced it will eliminate bus service this week between the Tenjin district of Fukuoka City and the Tosu JR Station in Saga Prefecture. The company explained that ridership was only half the anticipated total and unlikely to increase. At the same time, they will continue the four daily round trips between the Tenjin Bus Center and the Tosu Premium Outlet on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. * Hita's Mameda-machi to be Named Traditional Site The Cultural Affairs Council has notified the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology that it will designate two districts with traditional buildings in Hita's Mameda-machi in Oita Prefecture as traditional building preservation sites. The Mameda-machi area originally sprang up between Hinokuma Castle, built in 1593, and Maruyama Castle, built in 1601. The area's merchant houses, earthen warehouses, and Western-style buildings constructed during the Edo and Meiji Eras boast a wealth of different architectural styles. * Son Mulls Hawks Purchase Masayoshi Son, president of the broadband and telecom company Softbank, revealed his interest in buying the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks at a press conference in the city. Son, who grew up in Fukuoka, said he would keep the team there, and that he hopes to own the team for a long time. The entrepreneur expects team ownership to boost his company's name recognition and image. Son also indicated that he hopes to buy a stake in the team next year, and will seek the help of various related parties. * Kyushu Companies Prominent at Paris Food Fair JETRO has opened a Japanese exhibit for the first time in 12 years at SIAL 2004, the biennial international trade fair for food products held this week in Paris. A total of 19 companies are exhibiting in the Japanese booth, including six from Kyushu. The regional companies are touting such local wares as fish products and shochu. The Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corporation also is exhibiting the products of four prefecture companies. * Omuta to Slash Public Workforce The city of Omuta in Fukuoka Prefecture announced plans to eliminate 264 city employees of a total of 1,734 over the next seven years as one measure to deal with worsening city finances. City officials said employees in all departments would be affected with the exception of the municipal hospital and fire department. They plan to subcontract operations for refuse collection and work at the water supply and sewage facilities. They will not hire any new employees next fiscal year and plan to solicit candidates for early retirement. * Free Range Chicken Ramen Now on Sale Hiroyuki Koba (spelling unconfirmed), the proprietor of an okonomiyaki shop in Hondo, Kumamoto Prefecture, announced he is now offering ramen with broth made using the local Amakusa Daio free range chicken. One of the most prominent breeds of free range chicken in Japan, the Amakusa Daio became extinct almost 80 years ago, but was restored by Kumamoto Prefecture. The ramen will be available for a limited time only. * Increased Nori Imports Could Jolt Kyushu Producers The government declared its intention to approve the inclusion of China and other countries next fiscal year in the list of countries from which nori, or edible seaweed, can be imported. Currently, nori is imported from South Korea only. Nori production has been growing in China in recent years, and the Chinese are calling the Japanese restrictions a trade barrier. While the government plans to maintain an import quota, import liberalization will mean an increase in import volume. This will have an inevitable impact on producers in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture, which account for 30% of total Japanese production. * Parents Called on to Monitor Children's Internet Activities A Nagasaki Prefecture Board of Education survey found that 32.3% of local fourth-grade primary school students use the Internet in the home, and of these, one in four does so with no parental assistance or oversight. The Board of Education said these results reveal parents are unaware of how their children use the Internet, and that they should become more involved when their kids get started. It also insisted parents have to be more interested in the "shadow" portions of the net with potentially harmful information, as well as how on-line users should conduct themselves. The survey was conducted due to fallout from the murder in Sasebo earlier this year of a sixth grade student by a classmate, which resulted in part from a dispute between the two on the Internet. * Kumamoto Citizens' Culture Festival to Get Underway The 17th Kumamoto Citizens' Culture Festival is slated to kick off on the 23rd and feature 23 diverse and colorful events over a 12-day run. The opening ceremony in Yatsushiro will present performances by local drama groups as well as traditional local performing arts. Events planned in other cities include the presentation of local food products, an outdoor sculpture exhibit, a tea ceremony, and a citizens' musical. FOR MORE KYUSHU HEADLINE NEWS VISIT: http://www.fukuoka-now.com/news/search_results.php?lang=&browse=y RECOMMENDED UPCOMING EVENTS - - 10/22/2004 Noh in Tenjin The 3rd installment of the IMS Performing Arts Series, two works of Hakata's version of Noh on stage this month: the psycho-suspense thriller Aoinoue followed by Kiyotsune. 19:00 open (18:30 start) IMS Hall S: 5,000 / A: 4,500 / B:4,000 751-8257 10/23/2004 Masami Takeuchi Theremin Performance Catch the first performance of Theremin in Fukuoka in 5 years and witness the birth of a new genre of music challenging the borders of body and physical space. 13:00 open (14:00 start) Airefu Hall Advance: 2,000/Door: 2,500 090-3987-4193 10/24/2004 ssey Ogata Special 2004 Pieces filled with humor, tenderness and one-man performances that touch the soul and promise a belly full of laughter - Issey Ogata on stage this month. 10/22 (Fri.) 19:00, 10/23 (Sat.) 14:00, 10/24 (Sun.) 14:00 Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center 4,000 093-562-2655 ***************** ABOUT THIS SERVICE - - News stories are picked up with permission from The Nishinippon Newspaper and are summarized and translated by Fukuoka Now. Translations errors may appear. These errors are ours and not the newspapers'. Please send any comments or questions to Fukuoka Now at news@fukuoka-now.com The Nishinippon Newspaper site is at: http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/ TO CANCEL THIS SERVICE - - Access: http://www.fukuoka-now.com/mail/discontinue.html Contents copyright 2004 Fukuoka Now Ltd. All rights reserved. Distribution in whole or part is STRICTLY prohibited without permission. Fukuoka Now Ltd. 2F Tenjin Daini Shiraki Bldg. 3-6-9 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, Japan 810-0001 Email: info@fukuoka-now.com URL: http://www.fukuoka-now.com/ *****************
