Nipponica

Kyushu is where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's top contract chipmaker, opened its first Japanese plant. The island sees Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park, which brings together TSMC and other companies and universities in the semiconductor sector, as a model for building a cluster for technology research, development and manufacturing.

The vision is for Kyushu to not only manufacture semiconductor devices, but also use them to create new industries.

Yet finding a single site the size of Hsinchu Science Park's 1,471 hectares is not realistic for Kyushu. Instead, the Kyushu Economic Federation is promoting the idea of a network of science parks with locations across the region.

This is the ongoing problem for a mountainous island nation but one that major urban areas are attempting to solve with land reclamation. The question is whether they can create land fast enough to sate the appetite of industry.

Travelers arriving in Japan must go through immigration, which verifies their eligibility to enter the country, as well as a customs inspection for illegal items. At each station, travelers submit their passport and declaration information. Consolidating the system will shorten the procedures for inbound tourists and Japanese residents returning from overseas.

The airports will use "joint kiosks" that let passengers submit all necessary information for entry at once. The system verifies identity by using a photo, fingerprint scanning and other information submitted in advance of arrival.

Great. Next let’s get rid of the paper re-entry permits that get stapled into my passport every time I leave the country.

The NocoMart store opened on the island of Nokonoshima, which has a circumference of about 12 kilometers and a population of around 600. Residents expressed delight that they can now easily buy food and drinks on the island thanks to the store's opening.

The revolution continues.

According to Moji Police Station, the hand grenade was American-made, measuring about 11 centimeters in length with a diameter of 5.5 cm. At the instruction of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police, 25 residents in 19 households within a 30-meter radius of the grenade were temporarily evacuated.

Kyushu people always have to be special and evacuate in their own unique way.