From Japan straight out to the world: the web site for news and information

Mr. Ikuo Kabashima, Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture
"Kumamoto has a high potential, because it has a 400-year-long history and culture nurtured by feudal lord Kiyomasa Kao and the Hosokawa clan. Kumamoto’s water is just delicious. This is a bottle of Kumamoto tap water. We can get mineral water just by turning on a faucet. Rain falling into the Aso Caldera flows underground all the way to Kumamoto over many decades. On top of that, Kumamoto has wonderful agricultural produce and seafood. What makes them so delicious? Good water, that’s what some of these agricultural products are 98% water. That is why water is so important."
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Mr. Takeshi Matsumoto, Managing Director of Matsumoto Farm Co., Ltd.
"Not only in Japan but, say, in China, in some cases, more agricultural chemicals are used than the standard level. This is because the producers fail to control agrichemicals. If information is not disclosed immediately after an accident happens, consumers get panicky. As we think that necessary information, including product recalls, should be open to consumers, we carry all the information on our website. On this page, you can input this number. You can see the product list, producer’s name, production area, producer’s address and telephone number, chemicals, fertilizers and production process. You can see the production area by the Google Earth."
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Mr. Keijiro Tansei, Suizenji Nori Culturist
"In Lake Ezu, Kumamoto’s Suizenji Nori is designated as a protected species. I started my business because Suizenji Nori was also designated as an endangered species and as it belongs to Kumamoto."
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Mr. Takeharu Koga, Kumamoto Castle Office, Kumamoto City
"Facing a decrease in the number of visitors, in 1997 Kumamoto city set up a plan to restore Kumamoto Castle. The restoration has been carried out based on this plan. We recreated Honmaru Goten Palace. From 1998 to 2007, the city accomplished a short-term plan to restore the castle’s towers and gates." 
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Mr. Junji Fujimura, General Manager of Kumamoto Factory, Fuji Electric Systems Co., Ltd.
"If Japan tries to decrease its CO2 emission by 25%, it needs to expand its solar energy generation to 55 times the present. Since this cannot be achieved only by installing solar cells on roofs, it will become important to generate solar energy by using abandoned land. To do this, we will need a solar energy generation system that can be easily set on a weak foundation. What we will need is something light and flexible. It will be a key technology to disseminate solar energy generation."