2025 at her home surrounded by her family.  She was born on August 29 the daughter of Roger and Anona (Douglas) Henke.  On October 29,1966 she was united in marriage to Donald L Hanko.  This marriage was blessed with three daughters and one son.  Susan was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in LaValle.  She had worked as an assembler at Ray-O-Vac for 23 years and then worked at RAMC in the kitchen until her cancer diagnosis.  tending to her flowers and spending time with her family.  She made countless quilts and many were sent overseas to children in need She was a woman of faith.  Throughout her cancer journey she remained courageous and knew the Lord would provide for her She prayed often and spoke of Saint Michael-the Warrior of God and Leader of the angelic host.  One month before her passing she shared with her family she was growing tired and preparing to meet the Lord.  She passed with her family surrounding her as they sang her favorite hymns notably The Old Rugged Cross and Amazing Grace She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Susan is survived by her husband Donald “Happy” Hanko of LaValle; daughters Laura (Rob) Duren and Lisa (Bryan) Padberg; son Kevin Hanko; grandchildren that she adored: Denae and Dalen Duren Sawyer and Emmett Padberg; sister Karen (Ron) Kalepp of Reedsburg; brother Rodney (Jean) Henke of LaValle; sister-in-law Mary Henke; special lifelong friends Kay Mears and Shirley Daniels; along with many other relatives and close friends Susan’s family would like to thank Rich and Sandy love and support.   The family has had so many loved ones provide food flowers and support during this difficult time They are forever grateful for the incredible support that is been given to them The Mass of Christian Burial for Susan will be held at 11:00 A.M 2025 at Holy Family Catholic Church in LaValle with Father John Blewett officiating.  Burial will follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery in LaValle.  Visitation will be on Monday April 14 from 4:00 until 7:00 at the Farber Funeral Home in Reedsburg until the time of the service at the church.  *Watch the video in full screen by clicking play and then the YouTube icon on the lower right corner For anyone seeking to elevate their signature JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles is proud to announce a special giveaway that will help you make your mark – quite literally In partnership with Name of Japan (formerly Kamakura Hanko) we’re offering two lucky winners the chance to receive their very own personalized hanko – a traditional Japanese name seal handcrafted by award-winning artisans As visitors to Japan quickly discover, the ancient tradition of hanko seals as a form of signature remains a vital part of everyday life, as you can read more about in our new article here Dating back to 57 AD when the practice of seal-making arrived in Japan from China hanko seals gained prominence when the Japanese Imperial Family adopted them for important contracts following the Taiho Code of 701 AD Their use gradually spread from emperors to aristocrats in the Nara period (710 – 794 AD) and eventually to samurai during the Kamakura period (1185 – 1333 AD) before becoming widespread during the Meiji era (1868 – 1912) when a national certification system was established Despite modern alternatives like digital verification hanko seals remain deeply integrated into Japanese culture across all areas of society as they are still essential for major life events – from marriage licenses to home purchases – and continue to be cherished as elegant heirlooms that embody personal responsibility and trust the couple create handcrafted stamps using millennium-old techniques and premium materials such as Japanese boxwood and Japanese cedar sourced from Yamanashi and Kagoshima prefectures the company Name of Japan is now led by third-generation artisans Mitsuhiro and Chieko Tsukino Their exceptional craftsmanship has earned major awards including the 2023 National Crafts Grand Prix and they’ve created seals for everyone from politicians to sumo champions and prestigious temples Courtesy of Kamakura HankoCourtesy of Kamakura HankoCourtesy of Kamakura HankoCourtesy of Kamakura HankoCourtesy of Kamakura HankoFor this special giveaway two lucky winners will receive a custom-made hanko (valued at $200 USD) meticulously crafted over 4-6 hours with techniques handed down through generations These exquisite personal seals will feature your name (rendered in katakana for non-Japanese names) with unique designs thoughtfully created by the artisans themselves Hanko seals represent not just a beautiful craft object but a functional and enduring piece of Japanese cultural heritage Enter now for the chance to win a hanko keepsake of your very own – simply follow the simple steps below No purchase required to enter; simply follow the instructions below to enter online or by direct mail-in Giveaway open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia Online Entry:*Fulfill both (a) Newsletter and (b) Instagram steps below.  and email address with a note referencing the Kamakura Hanko Giveaway you will receive one (1) entry into the Sweepstakes Two winners will be selected by random drawing on June 2 and will receive one original hanko by Name of Japan (retail value $200 USD) Those who have successfully submitted the affidavit back to JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles within 5 days of being notified Sealed with Tradition | The Enduring Artistry of Japan’s Hanko Seals While many Western countries have long relied on the handwritten signature as their mark of identity Japan developed and maintained a different system: stamps known as hanko seals that are exclusive to a single person and are used to authenticate everything from marriage certificates to major business deals pocket-sized objects have become inseparable from Japanese identity itself their impressions marking both individual lives and social history View All Events Back To Top We use cookies to optimize site functionality and give you the best possible experience By clicking 'Accept All Cookies' you agree to the storing of cookies on your device we will only use those cookies necessary for the performance of the website We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Elton Ilirjani is accustomed to elevating a runway show–adding a theatrical sense of drama to fashion Albanian model has over 12 million followers on Instagram he has already taken the fashion world by storm as the first-ever genderless model to ever walk Seoul Fashion Week He has also modeled at global fashion events like Tokyo Fashion Week Elton is a trailblazer of genderless modeling and promotes equality through his modeling; fashion is for everyone pioneering a statement style to the runway that is unique and fearless and has walked for designers like Malan Breton document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "a77e1c0d83144d14220cb63f208aeec2" );document.getElementById("d628b68082").setAttribute( "id" and website in this browser for the next time I comment GET OUR HAUTEST STORIES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Finnish Navy has deployed its Hamina-class missile craft PGG Hanko to the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) as part of the Baltic Sentry surveillance operation with the vessel operating under NATO command in the Baltic Sea The mission reflects Finland’s growing cooperation with NATO since joining the Alliance and involves operations from both Finnish and Allied military ports The deployment is expected to continue through April with tasks assigned in response to regional security needs NATO has increased surveillance in the Baltic Sea following several underwater cable disruptions aiming to safeguard critical infrastructure “NATO’s enhanced activity in the Baltic Sea is an integral part of the Alliance’s collective defence,” stated the Finnish Navy underlining the importance of Allied naval cooperation This deployment will also provide operational experience that enhances the Finnish Navy’s readiness for future NATO missions The Navy confirmed it is preparing to deploy both a mine counter-measure vessel and another missile craft to NATO standing naval forces later this year Cookie Policy Copyright © 2025 Defence Industry Europe | mady by: geekon.eu We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns He first started modeling in Seoul for the brand BESFXXK then started walking for other South Korean designers It all started back in 2019, when Elton discovered Sam & Marvin’s fashion boutique 3NY in New York City which focuses on Asian designers you don’t typically find in retail stores in New York City Elton started to post himself on Instagram to his following of 12 million followers as he is a renowned human rights activist from Albania He started wearing the Asian designers' clothes and tagging them in the posts That led to a friendship with the designers and some started asking him to walk for them at New York Fashion Week to Seoul Fashion Week Elton has walked for fashion designers at Milan he walked for designers Jemma Russo and Naoka Tosa He has also walked Costa Rica Fashion Week for renowned designers like Greedelious and Malan Breton and just walked for the Ema Savahl runway show at Miami Swim Week Elton talks about the evolution of the runway and how fashion designers are like artists ‍Elton Ilirjani: Why do you walk the runway So every runway you will see a different angle because every runway is a different poetry I see what's the colors of the outfit and what's the story behind the outfit Who are some of your favorite designers to work with I enjoy mainly working with the designers that have their hands on their creation not the designers that buy other designers or the designers that purchase outfits like we have plenty of them in Europe and in America that they never touch a pair of scissors So I like the designers that create that paint and that they can tailor the outfit in your body Your connection to Asian fashion is strong I know designers that are like painters 200 years ago that they like to create some wonderful outfit that they can also enjoy as a kind of high art So there are two different types of designers; artists and commercial designers The ones that are commercial designs are not for me they pay like 5 million euros to make a show which is the core of fashion innovation and creation And you also support a lot of independent designers and the message that they give through the clothing is very powerful and then the power and the energy of the colors and the color combinations but that's the real passion that goes beyond what we see Is it still discriminated against in fashion Many designers confuse it with the transgender and LGBT They should create for every single person also the ones that they want to wear as a woman But that has nothing to do with their sexuality or their gender ‍How do you feel about the state of fashion right now So many models are used and there has been much human cruelty in the fashion industry because many designers give them not the right size of the shoe to wear because everybody wants to be on the spotlight of the fashion And it was a big cruelty happening all so many years ago and especially the modeling agencies that really used women and men for their own profit Fashion will change and will be dedicated only to arts and create models as they should be treated So now with technology and artificial intelligence You're redefining what it means to be a model on the runway you're doing it with the Influencers Award Global 2024 in Miami You're turning a runway into a one person show And you're making it a dramatic performance not some people walking aimlessly around the runway and people get bored because they take their phone down Sometimes the audience never raises their phone on a runway That's what we need more of in fashion Follow HANKO on Instagram @eilirjani.      Stay up-to-date with exclusive events and content. HELSINKI FINLAND An unknown white substance on the shore of Vedagrundet in Hanko on 27 January 2025 Large numbers of dead fish have washed ashore in Hanko coinciding with the appearance of an unidentified white substance along a 20-kilometre stretch of coastline Authorities are investigating possible links between the two incidents were first reported on Tuesday in areas around Hanko’s winter swimming facility and Regattaranta beach The city has since closed the swimming facility and advised against swimming in affected waters The Finnish Food Authority is analysing fish samples to determine the cause of death The Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) is conducting laboratory tests on the white Preliminary findings suggest it may be a fatty ester-like substance which is mildly harmful but not immediately dangerous to humans One theory under investigation is that the substance originated from a ship Experts from the John Nurminen Foundation believe the material could be residue from a cargo tank wash that was not properly cleaned in port this would be a violation of international maritime regulations Syke researcher Sanna Suikkanen noted that paraffin-like substances occasionally wash up on shores worldwide the scale of the incident in Hanko is unusual “The substance was likely transported in liquid form and solidified in the cold seawater before reaching the shore,” Suikkanen told Ilta-Sanomat Authorities have not yet determined whether the substance is linked to the mass fish deaths Emergency services, the city of Hanko, and the WWF have launched a clean-up operation. Volunteers have been asked to sign up through the WWF website to assist with removing the substance from beaches Hanko residents had already begun clearing the material before the official response was organised who was among the first to start collecting the waxy substance said local people feel a strong responsibility to protect their coastline We have to keep them clean,” Kettunen said Rescue services are also surveying nearby islands and waters to assess the extent of the contamination The public has been advised to avoid direct contact with the substance and dead fish until the laboratory results are available Advertisement inquiries and other after-sales issues: info@helsinkitimes.fi Helsinki Times is the first and only English language newspaper providing news about Finland in English A weekly print edition of Helsinki Times was published from March 2007 up until Feb Helsinki Times is an online-only publication and other groups and individuals interested in Finland from all around the world © Helsinki Times All rights reserved.  Terms of Use | Privacy Policy Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Hyogo Prefecture--In his fairly short time with a couple here showed impudence but also affection for his owners Kotaro became a corporate savior and the stuff of legends in the local rakugo storytelling world Kotaro’s story began at a cat cafe operated by a feline rescue group in Osaka the cat was called Bunta because the look on his face evoked images of actor Bunta Sugawara (1933-2014) Bunta was more than 10 years old and had kidney problems The cafe’s workers were ready to give up hope of finding someone who would adopt him Bunta was sitting alone at the entrance when Kojiro Okayama and his wife He purred and rubbed his head against the couple when they extended their hands to him but Tomoe said: “Why don’t we take him home?” The couple renamed the cat Kotaro after a character in a favorite anime work The Okayamas were told that the cat had been beaten with a stick when he was a stray But Kotaro was very friendly toward humans and would climb readily on their laps who returned home in time for the cat’s last moments He even thought about joining Kotaro in death Kojiro is the second-generation owner of an Osaka-based manufacturer of “hanko” carved seals with around 20 workers he invested heavily in ads in hopes of turning things around and his company posted more than 10 million yen ($67,000) in monthly deficits Kojiro came up with the idea of making Kotaro-themed hanko to conclude his business which he thought “was going to fail at any rate.” He released a hanko product featuring the drawing of a little cat to go with the carved name Only four units were sold in the initial week a cat lover spread word of the product on social media and 8,000 hanko were sold during a one-month period A major discount dealer copied the idea.Kojiro’s company expanded its series to include dog- and rabbit-themed hanko but these ideas were again copied by other businesses Kojiro realized he had to come up with something different to thwart the copycats A museum dedicated to famed manga artist Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) is located near the Okayamas’ home in Nishinomiya Kojiro contacted the company that administers Tezuka’s works and suggested a collaborative project “Doing so won’t do any harm,” he said he thought at the time the company showed interest in Kojiro’s proposal Kojiro’s company put on sale hanko products themed on Astro Boy (Mighty Atom) and Black Jack Decisions followed to commercialize additional hanko products themed on other popular works of Japanese pop culture--Pokemon Case Closed (Detective Conan) and Jujutsu Kaisen The character-themed products proved popular among schoolteachers Annual sales of Kojiro’s company rebounded to 300 million yen performed an original story at the Tenma Tenjin Hanjo-tei rakugo theater in Osaka composed the script based on what had happened to the Okayamas in reality the couple encounter another rescued cat that looks exactly like the dead one They rejoice at what looks like a born-again Kotaro “He’s not so much a Kotaro look-alike as he is Kotaro himself,’” they say in the story “Like images from the same seal,” is used to describe things that recur with perfect regularity The real-life Kojiro and Tomoe now live with five shelter cats Kojiro said that when he thought that there was no future for the hanko industry Kotaro helped him realize there were still things he could do When asked what he thought about Kotaro being the main character of a rakugo story Kojiro referred to a well-known Japanese folktale about a crane that returns a favor “This is exactly about a cat that returns a favor,” he said Artisan team in Shimane carves 87 characters on one ‘hanko’ seal 2 cafes feature cats playing role of monsters in railway diorama Cat-loving couple work to rescue pets from quake wreckage Man overcomes illiteracy late in life to pen love letter to his wife Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Finland’s delegation Shahid Mahmood Kahloon Sahib; National President Ata-ul-Ghalib Sahib; Souman Ahmad Sahib and my humble self recently met with civic leaders in Hanko and Raasepori to introduce the teachings of Islam and present the Finnish translation of the Holy Quran The delegation then visited the Hanko City Library where they gifted another copy of the Holy Quran to the librarian Both the Mayor and the librarian expressed their appreciation acknowledging the significance of the Holy Quran’s translation in fostering interfaith understanding and cultural exchange the delegation met with the Mayor of Raasepori Petra Theman and the Head of Integration Services The meeting emphasised the Jamaat’s commitment to peace and multicultural harmony as well as their global and local initiatives to promote unity and understanding the Missionary-in-Charge Finland presented the Mayor with the Finnish translation of the Holy Quran The Mayor commended the Jamaat’s efforts to foster peace and harmony within society.  the delegation visited the Raasepori City Library where they met with the director of the library and donated a copy of the Finnish translation of the Holy Quran The director expressed her gratitude and promised to host an exhibition featuring various Quran translations furthering interfaith dialogue and cultural understanding Al Hakam is a weekly English newspaper for members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat around the world Its aim is to provide Ahmadis with content regarding the beliefs of the true Islam reintroduced to the world by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian Contact us: info@alhakam.org Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time This is why Euro Weekly News makes it our mission to provide you with a free news resource in English that covers both regional and national Spanish news – anything that we feel you will benefit from knowing as you integrate into your new community and live your best life in Spain you can forget about translating articles from Spanish into awkward English that probably don’t make much sense Let us be your convenient and essential guide to all things that will likely affect you as a foreign resident living in Spain A huge quantity of dead fish has washed ashore in Hanko at the same time that a fatty substance is covering a 20-kilometre stretch of its coastline Investigating Authorities were treating the two incidents as linked until they knew otherwise but having identified the fatty substance and it is harmful to animals and pets if ingested why are hundreds of dead fish washing ashore came in from Regattaranta beach and Hanko’s winter swimming facility The public is being advised to avoid swimming in the contaminated water and the swimming facility is closed for the foreseeable future the Finnish Environmental institute was testing the white The town hall at Hanko have reported that “the substance has been confirmed in laboratories to be a mixture of natural fats.” Which follows on from original reports that it might be an ester-like substance a category which fats and oils can fall into The current reports suggest that the substance found would only be mildly harmful but not life-threatening to humans but should not be eaten by animals and pets There were theories abounding regarding where the substance had come from completing a cargo tank wash might not have cleaned itself correctly whilst in port Which would have constituted as a violation of maritime laws Sanna Suikkanen a researcher with SYKE explained that paraffin-like substances are brought ashore by tides frequently all over the world but it is the scale of the issue in Hanko that is the real cause for concern Suikkanen continued “The substance was likely transported in liquid form and solidified in the cold seawater before reaching the shore” The WWF said “There has been an environmental incident in Hanko where an unknown substance has ended up on the beach WWF’s oil spill response teams are preparing to participate in beach clean-up but more information is still awaited.”Although locals feel strongly about protecting their coastline and about being part of the clean-up effort the public are being advised to avoid direct contact with the dead fish until more is known Hanko is known as the sunniest place in Finland and has many beautiful coastal areas some of which are nature reserves that have been protected since the 1930’s clean up efforts can begin shortly and restoration of this beautiful natural area will be swift We post regular updates on Finnish breaking news here. Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain by delivering news with a social conscience we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP) Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall) All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE Download our media pack in either English or Spanish who predeceased him; Michael is survived by his wife Kathy Hanko (Sheehan) and Susan Hanko (Jones); and many grandchildren His career started after Mattituck High School graduation when he was drafted into the Navy to serve in the Vietnam War A second career started with the State Port Authority He fully retired to enjoy is passion of bringing his homemade smoker to competitions around the state and fishing Memorial donations are requested to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3937 who has turned around his tennis game with.. Leon Maurice Creighton of Greenport Village died Monday With the birth of river otter pups at the Long Island Aquarium and possible sightings of otters at Marion.. but the shrinking “hanko” seal industry may have found an unlikely savior amid Japan's push to go paperless: international tourists Rachel Grey and Danielle Davison--both from Australia--traveled to the ancient capital of Kamakura to visit the eponymous personalized seal shop Kamakura Hanko An avid fan of “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” and other manga After learning online that she could order a hanko with her name in Japanese characters on it she made a reservation to visit the store that’s located near Kamakura Station “I’m a hanko craftsman,” said Mitsuhiro Tsukino He went on to explain the role personalized hanko have played in the process of finalizing important decisions in both business and personal affairs as well as the estimated price of the seal and its materials Tsukino then wrote Grey and Davison’s names on paper to show them which katakana characters he would use for their seals patterns are engraved on the handle of high-end seals using traditional “Kamakura-bori” wood carving techniques The two Aussies were deeply impressed when examining the shop’s samples and cases saying how beautiful and special they were Each placed an order for an acrylic seal with their full name in katakana the number of international customers began increasing within the past few years A total of 65 groups visited the shop in 2023 He recalls numbers began to noticeably grow in or around fall last year with two to three groups coming to the shop each week The number of groups visiting the store between Jan far exceeding the figure for the same period last year 60 to 70 percent made reservations through travel agencies’ websites Each patron spends between 10,000 yen ($64) and 30,000 yen crafts with their names engraved on them have great appeal,” Tsukino said “I think they want to put themselves in the mindset of Japanese.” the central government hammered out a plan to eliminate hanko requirements from administrative procedures prompting efforts to abolish the mandate in various situations According to the Tokyo-based All Japan Seal Industry Association the number of hanko shops affiliated with the organization has nearly halved in the past decade dropping from 1,338 in 2014 to 750 in April this year Some shops are studying English as the number of overseas customers begins to rise in Tokyo and other parts of the country “We hope that inbound tourists can help revitalize the industry,” said a representative of the association’s secretariat Tsukino also sees travelers’ growing demand for hanko as a new business opportunity “If we raise the profile and cultivate the (global) market I think it will provide a way out for the hanko industry in the future,” he said Suga speeds up end of ‘hanko,’ but red tape may stick around Nearly all official procedures to ditch ‘hanko’ seal requirement Hitachi plans to end using ‘hanko’ stamps entirely in fiscal 2021 Yamanashi governor blasts Kono for tweet on ‘hanko’ repeal Kono to remove ‘hanko’ seal requirement for 785 procedures Copyright © The Asahi Shimbun Company. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission. white substance appearing on Hanko's shoresRenewable fuel producer Neste said that it accepts responsibility for the pollution and will provide compensation for any damage it may have caused Open image viewerAccording to local rescue services the types of fish in question are mainly brisling sardines Image: Markku Ulander / LehtikuvaYle News30.1 Finnish media began reporting about a mysterious white substance washing up in clumps on the shoreline of Hanko the southernmost point in mainland Finland The exact composition of the white substance remains unclear but is thought to be some sort of vegetable-based oil mixture renewable fuel producer Neste said the white substance is likely to have come from the wash water of a vessel transporting cargo for the fuel firm The company said it accepts responsibility for the incident and will provide compensation for any damage it may have caused It plans to review its operating instructions to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again these fats are not dangerous to humans or the environment as such but they certainly do not belong in nature A couple of days after the white substance began appearing locals started noticing that dead fish were washing up on the shore the two incidents do not appear to be related a researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) "There isn't an obvious link between the white substance and the dead fish There's no need for particular concern about the situation," he explained authorities are still looking into the matter the Finnish Food Authority is examining the fish found on the shore for possible diseases Although local residents may have been relieved to learn that the unknown white substance was probably vegetable oil the material is not entirely harmless to the environment According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vegetable oils can stick to things like birds' feathers and beaches like petroleum-based oil Vegetable oils can also form toxic compounds and can be difficult to remove from environments once they have appeared releasing any sort of hardening substances into the Baltic is explicitly prohibited "[Boat] oil tanks should be cleaned in ports and the washing water should be left ashore," said Juulia Suikula international maritime traffic regulations are vague and difficult to monitor," she noted The foundation and the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) recently published a risk assessment of chemicals handled at the country's ports Examples of substances that are still permitted to be discharged with washing water into the Baltic Sea include benzene Finland's pine oil industry operators are compelled to leave their waste washing water on land and this water can be used for other industrial purposes The Baltic Sea is vulnerable and deserves better the current situation cannot continue," Suikula said 4.10 pm: Added Neste information on source of the substance 6.22 pm: Added Neste statement about responsibility and compensation corrected spelling of Sillanpää's name We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Evelyn (Koster) Hanko, who would have turned 98 this week, died to this life on June 7, 2021. Link to watch the service: https://www.facebook.com/LangelandSterenbergFuneralHome/videos/2935649743346440 Evelyn was born June 11, 1923, in Chicago,... View Obituary & Service Information The family of Evelyn Hanko created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories © 2025 Langeland-Sterenberg Yntema Funeral Homes Made with love by funeralOne company confirmsThe white clumps began appearing on Hanko's long shoreline a little more than a week ago Open image viewerA cleanup effort which began last Friday continued this week 15:42Finnish fuel firm Neste announced on Wednesday that lab tests confirmed the white substance that washed up along the shore in Hanko last week very likely came from the wash water of a vessel used in the company's marine transport operations It said the substance consisted of used frying oil An investigation of the material by authorities continued on Wednesday A joint press conference about the matter is planned on Wednesday afternoon environmental group WWF Finland and Neste taking part The white clumps began appearing along Hanko's extensive shoreline a little more than a week ago Open image viewerAn excavator was used in the cleanup effort along Hanko's Bellvue beach on Monday Image: Tapio KekkonenPeople started noticing the material piling up on Sunday 27 January soon after which local rescue services and the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) started investigating the matter Then, last Tuesday, piles of dead fish began appearing on the southern coastal town's shores. There were initial concerns that the two events were related, but the local fire chief said a veterinarian's inspection of fish samples suggested they were most likely killed in a fishing trawler's net the white substance and the fish deaths do not appear to be related WWF Finland organised a volunteer cleanup effort, which brought around 140 people to Hanko's shores over the weekend. The cleaning effort continued this week Neste has vowed to pay for any damage caused by the company's operations Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here. Open image viewerMasses of fish started washing up on the southern town's shore at the end of January a couple of days after large amounts of white clumps of an unknown substance started piling up on its beaches 16:41An examination of samples of fish that washed up on Hanko's shores in late January found that the fish had been dead for some time before they appeared on the southern town's beaches Lab tests by the Finnish Food Authority found that the fish were not carrying any particular disease but rather died from oxygen depletion that could have been caused by being caught in a fishing trawler's net Masses of fish started washing up on the southern town's shore at the end of January, a couple of days after large amounts of white clumps of an unknown substance started piling up on its beaches Open image viewerImage: Paula Tiainen / YleHowever, the two events turned out to be unrelated. Fuel firm Neste took responsibility for the white clumps explaining that they likely came from the wash water of a vessel used in its marine transportation operations The Finnish Border Guard announced on Friday that it was not planning to open an investigation into the white clumps because it does not suspect a crime in the incident "We don't know how large the amounts of fat [and oil] were nor can we confirm where it came from," the Border Guard's lead investigator Tommi Lehtonen told Svenska Yle the national broadcaster's Swedish-language news unit it would be impossible to prove that a vessel had released more oil-based materials than is allowed "We will end the preliminary investigation so this incident will not lead to further action," Lehtonen explained the question about the origin of the white clumps remains unanswered despite Neste saying the ship it had hired was responsible The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom inspected that ship and reached the conclusion that the clumps on the beach could not have originated from it This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please upgrade to a more modern version to fully experience JapanToday site and for security reasons Though signing things by hand is slowly gaining more popularity in Japan most official processes still rely on using hanko They’re used for anything from signing apartment leases to opening bank accounts Japanese custom hanko stamp makers Shiroyama Hakubundo recently released a collection of cat-inspired hanko stamps on May 27 called Neko no Sanpo Hanko and the fun factor makes them really stand out and that’s why they give you the option to include two cats in your stamp if you so wish Japanese residents aren’t allowed to use customized hanko stamps like this to sign official documents; for instance the cat design wouldn’t be acceptable for signing something like an apartment lease Shiroyama Hakubundo ensures that they are almost always accepted as at least a bank account hanko which are still widely used to open a Japanese bank account With all of the different combinations of cats along with the ability to write your name horizontally or vertically there are about 72 different ways to customize this cat-themed hanko prices for these name stamps start at 2,950 yen and are available on their web shop linked below Sources: Japaaan Magazine, PR Times, Neko no Sanpo Hanko -- A wild trader appears in Sendai for Pokémon GO Fest 2024 -- Official website for Pokémon PON hanko stamps is now open! -- New Kura Sushi revolving sushi bar in Ginza is the chain’s most beautiful restaurant in Tokyo Teach, lead, and inspire! Unlock your dream career with Jstyle I wouldn’t be surprised if the j-govt replaces these with the mynumber card. Coolest and freakest country of the world.. I love my hankos. I have several. Are these legal on documents? I just ink up my kitty’s paw and sign my name under it… Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts. Join the leading Asian tourist attraction to assist our diverse range of customers! A mix of what's trending on our other sites fire chief saysThe fish had injuries suggesting they may have been crushed in a trawler's net Open image viewerImage: Markku Ulander / LehtikuvaYle News31.1 15:59The mass death of small fish that washed up on the shoreline of Hanko this week was likely caused by a fishing trawler local fire chief Clas Tallberg told news agency STT on Friday Authorities have been trying to determine whether the fish deaths were somehow related to the appearance of small white clumps of an unknown substance on the southern town's shores earlier this week "A veterinarian thinks that injuries in the fish suggest they were crushed The fish may have come from an overfilled trawler's net or a net might have torn open," Tallberg said Most of the fish seen on Hanko's shoreline this week were mainly brisling sardines Open image viewerImage: Marica Hildén / YleThe Finnish Food Authority is continuing to examine samples of fish found on the shore for possible disease On Thursday, oil refiner and biofuel maker Neste said the white substance on Hanko's shore likely came from the wash water of a vessel transporting cargo for the firm. The company said it accepted responsibility for the incident and vowed to pay for any damage it may have caused. Meanwhile, environmental organisation WWF Finland told STT that dozens of people have signed up to clean up the white clumps from Hanko's shores. Open image viewerVolunteers seen cleaning up a beach in Hanko on Friday. Image: Marica Hildén / YleThe organisation's target of 40 volunteers to take on the task was reached by Thursday evening, according to WWF Finland's conservation specialist Teemu Niinimäki. However, it remained unclear on Friday how long it would take to finish the job. Work will continue at least until Saturday, possibly longer, according to Niinimäki. The white clumps being removed from the beach are not thought to be dangerous, but the environmental group is providing volunteers with disposable coveralls and other protective gear, like gloves and goggles. Open image viewerImage: Christoffer Westerlund / YleSome local residents began cleaning up the shoreline before the organised effort started. On Friday, dozens of volunteers wearing protective outfits were seen on the beach, shovelling the white clumps into large bags. Local resident Rita Dekite said she was kitesurfing at the beach last Saturday, before the substance began washing up on the shore. Open image viewerRita Dekite Image: Marica Hildén / YleThe next day however, she noticed the white substance on the beach and started asking others about it in an online, local discussion group. Work to remove the material will take some time. According to Dekite, Hanko has a 25-kilometre long coastline featuring rocky and sandy beaches — as well as reed beds that are more difficult to clean up. Edited to add photos and to note that volunteer efforts were underway on Friday. probe findsThe Border Guard did not rule out the possibility that the white substance may have originated from a ship that used a Russian port Open image viewerFile photo of the cleanup operation organised by WWF Finland 18:58Finnish fuel company Neste is not to blame for the white clumps that washed up on the shoreline of Hanko earlier this year according to findings of a probe by the Border Guard The white clumps began appearing along Hanko's extensive shoreline in January, and about a week later Neste announced that the substance very likely came from the wash water of a vessel used in the company's marine transport operations the Border Guard said that Neste was not to blame for the incident investigators did not rule out the possibility that the white substance could have originated from a ship that used a Russian port Members of WWF Finland and local volunteers spent days cleaning up the clumps all along the southern town's long shoreline the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) said that examinations of samples of the white clumps showed it did not contain substances considered harmful to the environment or to humans The substance was made up of natural fats and oils which are typically transported in large quantities around the Gulf of Finland for various industrial uses Shortly after the clumps were noticed on Hanko's beaches, a large number of dead fish also began washing up on the shoreline, but the incidents turned out to be unrelated. Open image viewerVolunteers continued cleaning up Hanko beaches and shoreline on Sunday. Image: Helena von Alfthan / YleYle News3.2. 17:01•Updated 3.2. 17:19Around 140 volunteers in Hanko spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday along the town's long shoreline, cleaning away the white clumps of a yet-to-be confirmed substance that washed up from the sea last week volunteers were still at work on the shore a marine conservation officer at WWF Finland She said the work that has already been done has reduced the amount of material on the shore making it less visible than it was over the weekend "It was easier to get volunteers then," Ryan told Svenska Yle Open image viewerPhoto of a volunteer cleaning the white clumps from beach sand last week Image: Marica Hildén / YleAround four of the town's beaches have already been cleaned up volunteers gathered at the beach adjacent to the Casino restaurant putting on protective gear and started cleaning The cleanup effort is set to continue on Tuesday and Wednesday it has been challenging to completely clean the beaches In some places the clumps are as big as a person's hand But on other beaches [the material] has broken down and mixed into the sand," Ryan explained adding that at some point it will be time to accept that it can't all be cleaned up Not long after the white clumps began appearing on Hanko's shores large masses of dead fish also began washing up There were initial concerns that the white substance may have been behind the fish deaths However, a veterinarian's examination of fish samples suggested that the fish had been crushed in a trawler's net fuel firm Neste said the white clumps on the shore likely came from the wash water of a vessel transporting cargo for the company once it is confirmed that the white material actually came from that ship Bernard was united in marriage to Elizabeth J This marriage was blessed with two children Judith and Donald.  Bernard was a life-long farmer he was employed with Kraemer Construction.  He enjoyed being outdoors especially lawn mowing and working in the woods.  He was a NASCAR fan and listened to old-time country music He was preceded in death by his parents; and daughter Bernard is survived by his wife Elizabeth "Betty” Son Donald Hanko; Grandchildren:  Lisa Laverty and Kristen (Billy) McAlpine; 17 great grandchildren; 8 great-great grandchildren; sister A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 11:00 AM on Wednesday with Father Nathan Thainase officiating.  Visitation will be held on Wednesday morning beginning at 9:00 AM.  The Rosary will be prayed Wednesday morning at 10:40 before the Mass.  Burial will take place on Saturday Anthony’s Catholic Church for Masses Paul Hanko passed into a better life on Friday after a health decline over the past few years.He will be missed by many who have been blessed by his love and care over the years Paul lived a life marked by a deep love and appreciation of family and friends friends and strangers with a warm smile and sparkle in his eyes.Paul was born to Ursula Drocton Hanko and Stephen Andrew Hanko Jr He graduated from Big Creek High School in War after his family moved to follow the coal mines He was stationed at Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely in Alaska he returned to marry Katherine Louise Hill in 1970 and earned his degree in civil engineering from WVU in 1971.Living in Morgantown he received his professional engineering license in 1976 Children were soon welcomed into the family with Sarah in 1976 and Ben in 1978 Paul worked for the West Virginia Department of Transportation where he led projects renovating the Coliseum as well as the “Flying WV” water tower.He was a faithful member of Spruce Street United Methodist Church for many years serving as Sunday School teacher and on several committees Paul organized the charity golf tournament to benefit the Boy Scouts of America Circuit Rider Camporee he received the UMM Man of the Year Award and was inducted into BSA’s Order of the Arrow.In 2021 Paul and Kathy moved south to North Carolina where they became members of Stokesdale United Methodist Church meeting new people and learning about the local culture.He was preceded in death by his sister Ursula Rozsa.Paul is survived by his wife of 52 years Pa.; sisters-in-law Bunny (Marshall) Jarrett and Sue Warner Many loving nieces and nephews are left to cherish his memory as well.Memorial contributions can be given to Spruce St WV 26505 or Stokesdale United Methodist Church NC 27357.The funeral services were held Monday A graveside burial will be held at West Virginia National Cemetery Will the pandemic change the status quo in Japan’s official seal culture Hanko signature seals have been in use in Japan for over two thousand years Although the Japanese like to think the practice of pressing a red-inked hanko onto a piece of paper in lieu of a signature is uniquely Japanese elaborately-carved square seal from the Emperor of China to the chieftain of Itokoku in what is now Fukuoka Prefecture hanko are used to execute contracts and signify an individual’s assent or acknowledgement in a variety of contexts Hanko are accepted as more secure than a signature since it is believed they cannot be forged it’s not much of a surprise but modern technology has given rise to near perfect duplicate hanko and there are reports that cases of forgery are on the rise There have long been cases of someone other than the hanko’s owner getting hold of a hanko and using it for unauthorized transactions that ultimately become the responsibility of the hanko owner most Japanese still have more faith in a hanko than a wet signature I was signing loan documents at my bank in the presence of my banker (who had duly confirmed my identity before we started) but he made me sign fresh documents when my signature didn’t look enough like the signature he had on file from 20 years earlier This is the world we live in … https://t.co/DcdFIE0VLr — C Bryan Jones (@cbryanjones) June 22, 2020 There have been a number of reports of the inconvenience legally binding documents are commonly executed with them when two companies enter into a transactional contract someone from each company will affix its “shaban” (official company seal) to execute the contract where there is often a “closing” in which representatives of each party sit together in a room and simultaneously execute the document usually the contract is executed by one side and then sent to the other side for their execution often the individual in the company charged with custody and use of the shaban is in a relatively low level administrative position But this person is instructed to execute documents only upon the presentation of a document evidencing the approval of a chain of responsible people within the company each of whom has stamped that document with their hanko to demonstrate approval This is an even more cumbersome and time-consuming paper process But apparently it gives everyone comfort that all parties who need to know what’s going on have been informed and consent and possibly avoids any one person taking responsibility “Hanko are accepted as more secure than a signature since it is believed they cannot be forged.” known as “kairan,” also frequently make the rounds in companies for the similar purpose of keeping everyone in the know and documenting the fact that people have been duly informed of various matters That’s a lot of paper moving around and a lot of work time consumed absorbing its contents not everyone actually bothers to read everything Very early in my career in Japan a supervisor taught me the Japanese phrase “mekura-ban”—rubber stamping or not bothering to examine the item being stamped It must be a fairly common practice if there’s a word for it.) The absurdity of this situation had prompted some companies even prior to the pandemic to move into the 21st century by adopting online systems that provided for electronic processing There is no doubt that such systems are viable One could argue that they are superior to the traditional paper system as they electronically store data on both approvals/acknowledgements and also the date and time of the action allowing companies to identify who’s not staying on top of their review responsibilities as well as to otherwise more rapidly search their records whenever it is necessary to confirm the situation of a particular document perpetuating the tried and true paper system Some appear to have made allowances for the work from home situation during the state of emergency allowing people to use emails to gather the necessary approvals at least in lieu of the kairan processes traditionally requiring hanko Hopefully the situation enabled corporate decision makers to see that it’s time to move the system online so that rather than returning to the old way It’s a great opportunity for an enterprising systems developer “Most companies seem to follow the ‘if it’s not broken The situation of legal execution of contracts is a friend in a corporate legal department who is responsible for contract execution with the shaban told me that she had to go to her office at least once a week to execute contracts She explained that her company was unwilling to “trouble” the contract counterparty by suggesting that they execute the document using electronic signatures even though electronic signatures have been legally-recognized in Japan since around 2000 and just last year the government announced further initiatives encouraging the use of digital procedures for legal and legally binding documents The legal validity of wet signatures has always existed under the Japanese Civil Code The reticence of my friend’s company was reflected in the results of a survey of 300 Japanese workers in late May Over 50 percent of respondents said that they believed it would be difficult not to use hanko mostly because “they have to obey the contract rules set by their clients,” “they worry it could be illegal (not to use hanko),” and “out of safety concerns.” It is notable that 74 percent of respondents nevertheless agreed that the hanko system should be abandoned In Japan, discussions of the need for change often rapidly digress to discussions of the government’s responsibility and/or inability to force change. Yet, time and again we see that companies, being economic creatures, are just as likely to respond to market forces, even without any governmental encouragement. In this case, while the government is trying to lead by example increasing its own use of digital documents electronic signatures and online processes companies are most likely to make the shift away from hanko/shaban because they recognize that it is in their interest to do so the image of the 1950s ice man ruefully looking at an ice box on the scrap heap in the 2005 tear-jerker movie Always: San-chome no Yuhi (Always: Sunset on Third Street) comes quickly to mind but who wants to use an ice box if they can have a refrigerator instead There will probably always be some extremely official uses for a shaban—after all even most Western countries still require official corporate seals for certain kinds of documents — but overall it seems clear that the concept of a signature seal in daily use is outdated For more information on the nature and history of hanko The Budapest Times Hanko noted that Europe’s productivity rate had stood at 95pc of the United States’ in 1995 He added that the EU’s scientific output had fallen by 8pc in the past decades and was now lagging behind that of China and the US Of the world’s 50 biggest technology companies adding that the share of global venture capital in the EU stood at 5pc In order to advance the competitiveness turnaround fragmentation of research networks must be reduced Regional disparities with regard to R+D funding should be eliminated pointing out that just 8pc of R+D funding went to Central Europe while the region was home to 24pc of the EU population Hanko held up Hungary’s higher education model as an example for the EU and said the adoption of that model had resulted in doubled numbers of PhD students and researchers and triple the volume of innovation resources the Nobel Prize-winning Hungarian physicist gave a presentation to the participants in which he pointed out that early detection of disease could not only extend lives but strengthen competitiveness by ensuring a bigger pool of economically active people more cost-effective healthcare was necessary to save more lives and advance competitiveness He said that research and innovation were fundamental forces behind the EU’s economy and competitiveness and pointed to the work of the Center for Molecular Fingerprinting (CMF) Hanko said Hungary recommended its own national model centred on a strategic partnership between universities He called the two-day meeting a success and said the sides had agreed on the need for a major improvement in European competitiveness Hanko said the debate on Monday on a European degree proposed by the European Commission had been a “lively” one He added that the proposal for a body in Brussels to decide which universities and which diplomas could be “European” failed to comply with a number of member states’ national regulations He said agreement among participants had been reached on introducing the European degree only when all member states were on board with the regulation which had to take into account national particularities Hungary can conceive of joint degree programmes between universities that seek to cooperate with each other the EC’s director-general for research and innovation had been scheduled to speak at the press conference but hadn’t been cleared by the Commission to join That shows cooperation with the Commission “isn’t easy” but the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU needs to focus on the future of Europe and making Europe stronger You must be logged in to post a comment PRIVACY POLICY TERMS OF USE 2007 - 2025 BZT MEDIA Kft. 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You will receive mail with link to set new password Back to login Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga instructed his government on Wednesday to draw up plans to stop using "hanko" seals on administrative documents a tradition that has been criticized as outdated and necessitating face-to-face interaction that risks spreading the coronavirus part of Suga's push to improve bureaucratic efficiency is expected to lead to more government services becoming available online "I want all ministries to compile a comprehensive review of their administrative procedures in the near future," Suga told a meeting of the Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform an advisory panel of members from the private sector and academics Hanko are widely used in Japan for signing contracts business transactions and various administrative procedures including enrolling in the national pension program As the seals need to be pressed onto physical copies of documents they are seen as hindering efforts to maintain social distancing amid the COVID-19 crisis Of the more than 10,000 types of administrative procedures that require hanko the minister in charge of administrative reform Kono has said he hopes to submit legislation to address the issue to next year's ordinary Diet session and that he also wants to reduce the use of fax machines Suga stressed the need for online medical consultations which have been deregulated as a special measure against the coronavirus also reiterated his push for distance learning to be made more widely available saying such technology "should be taken full advantage of in the digital age." FEATURE:Japan "hanko" specialist gives coronavirus his stamp of disapproval Japan to review seal-stamping custom to better contain coronavirus To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible Steps from Kamakura Station, in an area alive with passersby, sits a quiet shop whose proprietors are busy fulfilling a dedicated mission: to reverse what they see as the pending extinction of the hanko (name seal) Kamakura Hanko is run by married duo Mitsuhiro and Chieko Tsukino both talented hanko artisans who are passionate about their craft They hope to pass down an understanding regarding the significance of hanko not only to Japan’s younger generation— but also to non-Japanese individuals living in or visiting the country The Tsukinos are among only a handful of young professionals among the 1,000-some total members of the nationwide association for certified hanko artisans “To lose this culture would be unbelievably sad” “It’s a dying art,” Mitsuhiro laments regarding the history of hanko a nearly 2,000-year-old tradition in Japan that originally has roots in the Middle East “To lose this culture would be unbelievably sad.” He explains that people now commonly use digitized signatures, and if even they do use a hanko, they often just purchase a mass-produced plastic seal at a hundred yen shop. “In addition to ignoring the hanko’s rich cultural history using this kind of generic tool as a jitsuin (officially registered seal) for a serious transaction could potentially lead to fraud.” Visitors to Kamakura Hanko are offered personalized attention in the creation of their own unique hanko — the operative word here being “unique.” The Tsukinos’ consultation allows customers a profound glimpse into a fascinating tradition that relies upon an intricate balance of numerous elements to provide just the right hanko for each individual It is a complex equation that takes into account not only a person’s name and personality but also the specific aspects of their life that they wish to emphasize in order to invite good fortune: love Working closely with each customer to carefully select the desired font and size the Tsukinos then exercise exact precision when carving the hanko to be sure that the positioning and thickness of every stroke in every character is reflecting the specific desired attributes “We take into account the total balance of the characters when designing each hanko,” Mitsuhiro says — an astonishing fact when considering that this takes place within a space only around 12-18 millimeters in size “A hanko is an expression of someone’s soul so it is very important to make sure it represents that person accurately,” he adds Also of primary consideration is the stroke count in the characters used for the hanko with the total number assigned a meaning that is considered fundamentally positive or negative While many parents in Japan carefully consider this sort of stroke geometry when naming their newborn children circumstances can shift later in life — such as when one acquires a hanko following a name change via marriage “A hanko is an expression of someone’s soul” “In cases where the new stroke count totals an inauspicious number we can make adjustments through our carving method,” Mitsuhiro explains He adds that due to the sacred understanding of the hanko’s function within Shinto beliefs customers can also feel at ease even if their total stroke count is not considered fortuitous that while some shops prioritize the hanko’s more spiritual elements — promising longevity or success if the right seal is procured — Kamakura Hanko prefers to emphasize the tool’s cultural history and social significance “The city of Kamakura has its own fascinating connection to hanko as samurai here would historically stamp their seals before departing for battle as an oath to protect the Shogunate,” he explains Customers may choose from over 30 materials for their hanko or ivory (the last of which the shop maintains a special license to sell only existing stocks — and forbids exports — due to elephant exploitation) “Certain hanko materials match best with one’s birthdate and year on the lunar calendar,” Mitsuhiro explains “But perhaps most important is how the material feels in your hands; how you connect with it.” Foreigners creating a hanko may opt to use their name in katakana Foreigners creating a hanko may opt to use their first and/or last name in katakana or Japanese characters corresponding to their name’s pronunciation whose meaning the Tsukinos will explain while assisting with selection As consultations offered to non-Japanese speakers will not reach the same level of depth due to the limitations of language hanko enthusiasts may wish to bring along an interpreter — or to think ahead regarding the design and personal attributes they’d like their hanko to reflect This foreigner-friendly workshop teaches you about the history and culture of hanko in English Participants get to design their own seal and choose the materials you like for both the stamp and the case Fun fact: Kamakura Hanko’s seals have officially been recognized by Kagoshima Prefecture as the recommended souvenir to represent Kamakura The fee is ¥7,300 per person for an acrylic hanko with those crafted from other materials fetching anywhere from 10,000 to several hundreds of thousands of yen Many people in Japan splash out to buy their loved ones a deluxe hanko to mark special life occasions why not consider doing the same thing for yourself or another To reserve this workshop, visit the Kamakura Hanko shop website, scroll down, and click on “workshop”: www.kamakurahanko.com/japanesesealhanko you might like to consider ordering one of these specially made The Tsukinos will look at your name in kanji and judge whether it’s considered lucky or unlucky based on the number of strokes in each character They can subtly adjust the number of strokes through their design to create a “lucky” name they use only the highest quality materials from Yamanashi and all materials are blessed at a shrine beforehand You’ll also receive a handmade hanko case These seals take about one month to make and cost ¥39,980 each (international shipping is offered) To place an order, go to www.kamakuraseal.com/ The central government has resigned itself to realizing that its effort to pry "hanko" out of the public's hands is unlikely to succeed anytime soon it has decided to keep allowing the use of the personal seals divorce and other forms to be submitted to authorities for people to stamp their hanko will likely stay The compromise comes despite the government's push to eliminate requirements for hanko from administrative formalities Justice Ministry officials told The Asahi Shimbun the decision was made to “take into account the diverse opinions of the public.” Hanko manufacturers entreated the so-called “hanko lawmakers’ league,” made up of concerned Diet members from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to campaign to keep mandatory requirements to use seals on documents Many citizens feel strongly that hanko should continue to be required on marriage and divorce notification forms Some say they want to stamp their marriage notification forms with personal seals to make them keepsakes The Justice Ministry plans to end the mandatory requirement for hanko in procedures associated with family registers but will permit people to use them to stamp related documents if they wish Many members of the public are calling for continued hanko requirements on marriage and divorce notification forms secretary-general of the hanko lawmakers’ league argued during a subcommittee session of the Lower House Budget Committee on Feb Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa said she would consider continuing to let people use personal seals on similar documents “Seals have been required on important documents as common practice in Japan dating to the Meiji Era (1868-1912),” Kamikawa said But retaining spaces to stamp with a hanko on forms may invite the misunderstanding that people must use a personal seal on them and complicate the government's move to digitize administrative procedures The central government has submitted a package of “digital transformation bills” to the Diet containing a provision to amend the Family Register Law so signatures alone will suffice for related formalities The Upper House is deliberating them in the current ordinary Diet session after the Lower House approved the bills on April 6 The Justice Ministry plans to revise its document formatting regulations accordingly but it will still retain stamping spaces in the related formats and add a clear statement saying that filling out those spaces is not mandatory The ministry has conveyed its unofficial plan to the hanko lawmakers’ league which covers formalities related to family registers they all require both signatures and hanko seals The Cabinet Office department that is in charge of the shift away from hanko requirements takes the stance that retaining the practice of stamping is OK as long as it remains an option for those who want it if only it will not be misunderstood as mandatory Hanko will disappear from the majority of administrative procedures when the digital transformation bills have been passed and enforced Personal seals will no longer be required on “moving out” and “moving in” notification forms for having resident records transferred across municipalities municipal governments receive a total of some 10 million such notification forms which fall under the jurisdiction of the internal affairs ministry The central government is striving to spread the practice of online applications to make public administration services faster and more convenient Hanko requirements have been cited as an obstacle to the move to go online since paper is used for stamping a professor of information sociology with Musashi University urged the government to "make it clear that formalities can be fulfilled online to lessen the workload of users and municipal government officials.”  He added that if the government keeps procedures that use paper “municipal governments should devise measures against the increased burden on front-line workers.” (Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Hanko Kiessner poses for a photograph at the company's headquarters in Salt Lake City The company installed over 50 electric vehicle charging stations in their parking lot in an effort to incentivize their employees to purchase an electric vehicle This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab [Subscribe to our newsletter here.] active entrepreneur working to grow his packaging business in Salt Lake City when he started to have shortness of breath after exercising A doctor diagnosed it as asthma and prescribed a spray for treatment He wanted to know why — for the first time in middle age — he suddenly was encountering breathing problems He had been a marathon runner who was used to running in fog in his native Germany so he didn’t think much about Utah’s inversions But his research brought him to blame the Wasatch Front’s poor air for attacking his lungs “These are not natural particles,” Kiessner said Kiessner has turned his troubles into inspiration The CEO has become a leading Utah voice for converting to clean transportation Packsize, based on Salt Lake City’s west side, offers its employees thousands of dollars to buy electric vehicles and Kiessner installed 53 charging stations outside the headquarters where 150 people work and he even lets employees of nearby businesses use them It was home to the most workplace chargers in one place in Utah until Zions Bank opened its new technology campus in Midvale this summer with 179 stations Kiessner sees workplace charging as an essential element in the path to EV conversion. Powered by solar panels on the headquarters roof, daytime charging draws little if anything from the grid. Because employees generally spend hours there, they can be “level 2″ chargers, meaning they’ll charge a car in hours, not minutes like rapid chargers. And they’re always free. Kiessner said the cost of the software to bill people wasn’t worth it, given the lower electricity rates charged for businesses. It’s more important to offer “abundance,” including having more chargers than needed, to induce more people to adopt electric cars. About 30% of employees have taken advantage of the incentives and bought electric cars. (Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Hanko Kiessner, CEO of Packsize, is interviewed at the company's headquarters in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. The company installed over 50 electric-vehicle charging stations in their parking lot in an effort to incentivize their employees to purchase an EV. Kiessner’s obsession is an extension of his dedication to sustainability. Packsize is a worldwide distributor of “right-size” shipping solutions. Packsize equipment, including machines assembled in its Salt Lake City facility, allows shippers to use cardboard boxes that fit rather than filling standard-size boxes with bubble wrap or other fillers. If right-size packaging were embraced by large companies, Kiessner said, it would remove millions of truck trips from American roads. Ed Carr, Packsize’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, bought an electric car a month and a half after joining the company. He went six months before he finally got set up to charge at home, living off the free chargers at work. “It’s an absolute convenience,” he said. “Everyone who has an electric vehicle charges at the office.” As for whether it was a factor in joining Packsize, he said the chargers are just one sign of the company’s overall vision — “with heavy ties to social responsibility and sustainability.” Kiessner sees the chargers as another tool for staff retention. If an employee gets used to workplace charging, it’s hard to give it up. Tim Fitzpatrick is The Salt Lake Tribune’s renewable energy reporter, a position funded by a grant from Rocky Mountain Power. The Tribune retains all control over editorial decisions independent of Rocky Mountain Power. For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support 801-237-2900 or email subscribe@sltrib.com sltrib.com © 1996-2025 The Salt Lake Tribune A fugitive wanted in Marathon and Lincoln counties since at least 2013 was arrested earlier this month near Tampa on suspicion of working as an unlicensed contractor according to an arrest report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Prosecutors charged him with one count of committing unlawful acts as a contractor two counts of using a false name and two counts of being a fugitive He remains at a Hillsborough County jail Hanko is wanted in Marathon and Lincoln counties on charges of theft lewd and lascivious behavior and violating parole.  RELATED: Wausau woman stole nearly $500,000 from employer, police said  RELATED: Fugitive lived in Marathon County for 16 years  Hanko had been working as a handyman in Riverview An undercover officer posing as a homeowner responded to an ad Hanko placed on Craigslist offering his services After meeting with Hanko and getting an estimate on a bathroom remodel the officer checked official state and county records and confirmed Hanko did not have a license to be working as a contractor in Florida.  According to the Tampa Bay Times Hanko bragged to sheriff’s deputies about how he was able to avoid arrest for seven years Marathon County court records show Hanko was charged in June 2016 with stealing over $6,500 from his employer he was charged in Lincoln County with fourth-degree sexual assault and lewd lascivious behavior after authorities say he exposed himself and a criminal warrant was issued The sheriff's departments in both Marathon and Lincoln counties are working with Florida law enforcement to arrange transportation to extradite Hanko back to Wisconsin to appear in court Hanko Kiessner is founder and chief executive officer of Packsize International LLC a privately held on-demand packaging manufacturing and technology company Kiessner studied at the University of Utah where he earned undergraduate and graduate business degrees His father first introduced corrugated material into the European market in 1969 as part of a family business founded in 1872 Kiessner returned a small printing business to profitability and was an executive with Skanwell Hoping to expand the marketing opportunities for corrugated material Kiessner started to experiment with newly patented corrugated converting machines He relocated to Salt Lake City and founded Packsize in 2002 positioning the company to provide converting machines and design and engineering expertise as a complete turnkey solution with no equipment purchase required He sought to achieve sustainable operations early on and continues to be a strong advocate for the reduction while placing great importance on building sustainability into every aspect of his company's operations Packsize is consistently ranked among the Inc 5000 top-performing private businesses and Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 Forbes has named Packsize one of America's Most Promising Companies Ernst & Young recognized Kiessner with its 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Manufacturing and Distribution category for the Utah region Kiessner recently spoke with DC Velocity Editorial Director David Maloney Q: How would you describe Packsize to someone not familiar with your company A: Packsize enables the packaging of any product in the right-sized box either through a fully or semi-automated solution combined with advanced software You order something and often receive it in a box that's too large and stuffed with excessive filling material If the retailer or manufacturer had used Packsize your order would have arrived in a right-sized box that was about 40% smaller on average than the ones typically used Our customers gain the flexibility to create custom right-sized boxes and shipping costs; increasing throughput; and simplifying box management in a sustainable manner Q: How do you view the current supply chain market for packaging A: With the constantly changing needs of the e-commerce industry retailers are looking for new ways to streamline their supply chain—packaging is at the forefront Excessive packaging continues to top the list of consumers' complaints about online shopping They want guilt-free packaging that is more eco-friendly In today's e-commerce marketplace with many different box requirements retailers are actively seeking more efficient systems that are able to create right-sized cartons in pace with production and picking operations Not only must this packaging be flexible and dynamic Q: What are the major benefits that you see in right-sized packaging A: What is the cost of not having the right-sized box You need more material to make a box that's too large You are then shipping unnecessary air through the entire supply chain for the end-customer to open up the package and find all this additional volume and void filler that has to be removed What happens if you don't add extra void fill to an oversized box You have a good probability of items being damaged that then need to be returned you don't have a good delivery experience for the customer and it tarnishes the image of the company that shipped that package and as we live in a more populated planet with fewer resources we have to right-size every package that ships Q: Can smaller companies also benefit from right-sized packaging produced on demand A: Packsize is uniquely positioned through our full spectrum of advanced technologies to offer companies of all sizes the ability to integrate on-demand packaging solutions into their packaging lines The appeal of the on-demand packaging concept is that we are able to grow with our customers The majority are using what we call Packaging-as-a-Service (PaaS) which eliminates the need for a large capital expense and an upfront machine purchase we can offer more sophisticated and automated technology without their having to purchase a new system we can now offer small companies machines with a small footprint and electrical requirements we can move all the way up to our fully automated X7 and ship 1,200 right-sized orders per hour Q: Most people think of corrugated as something that's just thrown away after its initial use Environmental issues are very important to you A: Most people don't realize that corrugated is the most sustainable and affordable packaging choice available on the market today and the average corrugated box contained 50% recycled content as 91% of all of the plastic ever created has never been recycled And if the plastic is recycled and repurposed such as the release of microplastics into our environment In the facilities of current Packsize customers the corrugated reduction amounts to more than several thousand cubic metric tons saved on an annual basis (~3.7 CBMs is equivalent to ~1,000 trees) A right-sized box produced by a Packsize on-demand packaging system also derives from proprietary z-Fold corrugated stock and the reduction of 25 tons of CO2 for every 1 million square feet of corrugated saved Q: How has e-commerce affected the need for companies to improve their packaging A: There are multiple factors driving the desire for improved e-commerce packaging It is simply no longer in the best interest of any company to ship oversized packaging and continue to ignore the large scope of the problem Our research indicates that the number-one customer complaint about e-commerce is excessive packaging That is what companies should be working on first if they consider themselves customer-driven It is not a secret anymore that 26% of the corrugated used in packaging today is unnecessary There are 5.8 million tons of paper that are used to make boxes that are too large between 20% and 25% of packaging and packaging-related expenses can be saved A third factor is a lack of labor resources I'm hearing about a lot of fulfillment centers being down on employees and that means more automation is now necessary The perfect packaging is now available with zero labor and fully automated systems operate at speeds of up to 1,200 boxes per hour Those are efficiency gains that companies can no longer overlook One of the last big pressure areas is actually throughput through buildings or fulfillment acceleration you're impacting your upstream and downstream parts of the supply chain where now you can fit 18% to 20% more parcels or orders through the same fulfillment center Q: I see the sustainability benefits of using eco-friendly packaging A: The CFO is the one who can track all of the savings and benefits that a right-sized package made on demand is able to deliver Eliminating filler material in a right-sized box equates to even more savings Fully automated packaging activities can bring 80% to 90% savings in labor costs To ship a perfect package is significantly less expensive because it weighs less and has less cube but what is the value of solving your number-one customer complaint that would be an even higher number funneling up to the CFO than any of the other savings I just mentioned The automated material handling solutions provider Trew today said it has completed its fourth “major expansion” in six years entering a lease for 330,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space and bringing its total footprint in the Southwest Ohio region to nearly 595,000 square feet Trew’s existing “Innovation and Support Center” will be relocated to this new larger facility located less than one mile from its existing headquarters That expanded department will now house the Technology and Education (demonstration) Center and key functions including research and development The move increases the size of the Innovation and Support Center by 30% tripling the size of the Technology and Education Center and research and development footprint Trew’s Milwaukee-based engineering and professional services will continue to operate in that facility with warehouse and manufacturing operations moving to the expanded West Chester Each year, on the second Tuesday in June, the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) hosts National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD) Our aim is twofold: to highlight the industrial truck industry’s commitment to safe practices and to educate customers and policymakers about the safe use of forklifts and the importance of operator training If you are a regular reader of this magazine and its website then you likely will be familiar with this important annual safety program I’d like to introduce you to our organization and its members ITA is the not-for-profit trade association representing manufacturers of powered industrial trucks (PITs) and their suppliers operating in the United States With roots dating back to 1917 and its current structure established in 1951 ITA has a long history of advocating for the interests of the powered industrial truck industry Member companies manufacture and distribute a wide range of equipment including sit-down counterbalanced forklifts (electric and engine-powered) Our industry has an incredible story to tell about its contributions to the overall U.S. economy. The report **ital{Lifting America: The Economic Impact of Industrial Truck Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers} (available at www.indtrk.org/newsroom) developed by ITA with Oxford Economics and updated in 2025 with new data ensures that we can continue to tell our story effectively and attract more bright Let me share some statistics from “Lifting America” that might surprise you I can also report that the North American market is gradually returning to normal following several years of historically high retail orders the forklift market recorded over 195,000 retail orders in the United States with electric-powered models accounting for 71% and internal combustion-engine models representing 29% of the total While we are proud of our industry’s economic achievements and the broader material handling community With many businesses operating in a tight labor market that may bring an influx of new employees—some of whom will operate forklifts—it is more important than ever to prioritize safety and ensure that all operators receive adequate training We’re also proud that what began more than a decade ago as a U.S.-based initiative has grown into a global movement: National Forklift Safety Day is now recognized with events in Japan the industry supports NFSD through facility open houses outreach efforts have reached millions of professionals Beyond organizing National Forklift Safety Day ITA plays a vital role in supporting the industry by: If you are a manufacturer of powered industrial trucks or a supplier to the industry, we encourage you to learn more about ITA and explore the benefits of membership. Visit us at www.indtrk.org for more information Forklift maker Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas has completed an expansion at its Houston manufacturing campus that will help the company grow its footprint in the expanding market for electric lift trucks and other material handling equipment With electric-powered solutions continuing to outpace internal combustion (IC) vehicles in the warehouse product market this facility strengthens the company’s position for sustained momentum The company began construction on the $20 million 73,500-square-foot electrification fabrication facility in 2023 and finished installing technologies such as powder painting and robotic welding equipment in 2025 the new facility is designed to meet the rising demand for Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas’ Electric Class I and Class II products It is also designed to significantly enhance production capacity and lower manufacturing costs to better serve evolving customer needs “This expansion is a reflection of our continued commitment to innovation and growth,” Berry Mansfield President of Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas “It took a shared vision to bring this expansion to life This facility not only supports our growth in electrification but also creates a more engaging environment for our employees We’re excited to start production this year.” Supply chain software vendor Blue Yonder today said it had acquired Pledge Earth Technologies Inc. a British firm that provides accredited carbon emissions reporting The deal includes London-based Pledge’s global supply chain sustainability solution for beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) Blue Yonder said those capabilities will enhance its exiting offering to include globally accredited logistics CO2e emissions reporting that allows customers to monitor their own emissions and those of their trading partners and suppliers Many carbon tracking tools are built to track single-party data and don’t integrate into the carrier network hence lacking the network effect and limiting the scope and accuracy of data But Pledge’s capabilities automate the collection and exchange of shipment data from logistics suppliers to facilitate accredited and traceable emissions calculations across all transport modes Blue Yonder customers can extend their applicable Blue Yonder solutions to include this new capability allowing them to receive emissions reporting that is in conformance with the Global Logistics Emission Council (GLEC) framework developed by the Smart Freight Center (SFC) and aligned with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14083: Greenhouse gases “The ability to easily and accurately quantify precise emissions is a huge win for our customers’ sustainability initiatives but it’s also more than that – it’s about what you can do with that information,” Saskia van Gendt “By gaining more insight on the environmental impact of their logistics operations improve accountability for logistics service providers’ transportation emissions and target specific inefficiencies for improvement Blue Yonder’s aim has always been to give customers much-needed visibility into their end-to-end supply chain; this new capability will pave the way for smarter more efficient and greener supply chains.” The warehouse software and controls engineering firm Fidus Global today said it has acquired Denver-based Fulfilld Inc. makers of a warehouse management system (WMS) and AI-powered slotting solution Arkansas-based Fidus said the acquisition will provide a technical foundation that enables it to expand beyond equipment control into broader warehouse management Fidus says it wants to build what it calls the industry’s first truly open-architecture Enterprise Control Platform (ECP) which would be a comprehensive automation suite that will give operators control over every aspect of their material handling ecosystem the potential market for such a product would be very large Fidus also makes the “Pontem” warehouse control system (WCS) platform that directly controls physical automation hardware and interfaces with existing first-generation systems but the company said that several engineers from Fulfilld will join the Fidus team Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s administration is pushing to quickly stamp out the country’s longstanding culture of certifying important documents with official “hanko” personal seals With the government’s resolute push toward hanko-free official documents personal seals may disappear from year-end tax adjustment and tax return papers starting as early as the next fiscal year Government ministries are considering ending hanko requirements for 785 types of administrative procedures involving the submission of documents to government That figure makes up 96 percent of the total number of procedures studied for phase out where individuals or business operators must certify their documents by stamping them with their hanko While the ministries insist hanko seals are necessary for the remaining 4 percent of the procedures said his office will scrutinize whether that is the case Stamping documents as a means of authenticating them is a longstanding cultural fixture It is required for certifying contracts and official documents showing approval on a given project or matter and for confirming who saw memos circulated among businesses or government offices hard push to break with the ingrained custom may seem to some observers like it was decided in haste under the new Cabinet but it has actually been in the works for months The administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been calling on government ministries and agencies to review hanko requirements on their procedures by the end of the year under a plan to ease regulations that was approved in July government bureaucrats are now scrambling to eliminate requirements for hanko seals on documents following the formation of the Suga administration in September and after Kono was tapped to spearhead the reforms “I want to get rid of hanko personal seals immediately,” Kono said on Sept pressing government ministries to cooperate with the initiative Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wasted no time in having his ministry end the custom for employees to put their hanko on attendance records and application forms for child care leave you feel obliged to toe the line,” a senior Environment Ministry official said Bureaucrats have long been reluctant to streamline administrative work due in part to a conservative workplace culture of doing things the same way as their predecessors The bureaucrats suddenly find their futures are at the mercy of Suga Before he ascended to the nation’s top political position Suga earned a reputation for not tolerating bureaucrats who question the government’s policy measures Suga was often behind transferring senior officials who voiced opposition to the government’s stance on a given matter When he came to view an official at the Cultural Affairs Agency as not being keen to relax regulations on digital streaming the minister suggested the official should be transferred to another job “Bureaucrats will follow what Cabinet members say if they think their positions will be put in jeopardy,” said a senior official at a government office ‘the break with hanko’ has become the watchword buzzing among all government bureaucrats.” Business circles are expected to benefit from the move away from hanko requirements as it is expected to streamline procedures for submitting documents to authorities An online survey in May by the software company Adobe found that 74.7 percent of about 500 top executives at small and midsize companies are in favor of abolishing the hanko custom to enhance productivity But 50.1 percent also said they believe it will be difficult to end the custom The most common reason for their skepticism is they must use the same contract formats their business partners employ While working from home is taking root amid the novel coronavirus pandemic in Japan some workers still need to travel back to their offices just to stamp their hanko on documents But immediate efficiency gains from abolishing the hanko requirements might not be signed The public sector currently lags behind in processing administrative procedures digitally A study by the Japan Research Institute showed only 8 percent out of 56,000 kinds of administrative procedures can be completed online Even if the seal becomes unnecessary for confirming an individual’s intent there still are procedures requiring people stamp their registered hanko or produce the certificate for their registered hanko some segments of the Japanese population are not familiar with digital culture Municipalities are expected to provide services to those people by seeing them face to face In the face of a swift shift away from hanko culture are resigning themselves to the notion that they may be on course to eventually being phased out The number of seal manufacturers has declined over the past few years because of a societal trend toward going paperless and due to a lack of successors to keep their businesses alive According to data from the industry group Zen-Nihon Inshogyo Kyokai it had 941 member companies in 2019--just less than one-fifth its total membership from about 40 years ago This latest move to do away with the hanko in official circumstances puts their survival prospects further at risk But a senior official at the industry group said the hanko will not die out completely “We’ll have to wait and see,” the official said “But I believe that a certain number of procedures will still require hanko.” (This article was written by Ayumi Shintaku Hisashi Naito and Senior Staff Writer Toshiki Horigome.) Suga finds own pet policies of cutting red tape After midnight welcome at education ministry blasted EDITORIAL: Suga government should not be continuation of Abe’s politics The government plans to end “hanko” stamp requirements in almost all of the nation’s administrative procedures as part of wide-ranging efforts to reduce red tape and promote digitization It will remove hanko requirements in cases where documents currently need to be stamped with personal seals such as requests for copies of residence certificates official notifications of moving in or out of a residence and marriage registrations Hanko will only still be needed for a handful of government procedures requiring official seals registered with local municipalities state minister in charge of administrative reform asked government ministries and agencies to report on their plans to drop hanko requirements from their administrative procedures They responded that they will “abolish” the requirement in 99 percent of roughly 14,700 procedures about 12,400 procedures where unregistered personal seals can be used instead of registered ones will no longer need to be stamped The government plans to revise government and ministerial ordinances by the end of this year at the earliest to streamline those procedures It intends to submit legislation to be passed in next year’s ordinary Diet session for cases where legal revisions must be made before the requirement can be removed The government plans to stamp out hanko requirements across more than 10 million types of administrative procedures that ordinary citizens go through each year such as when they ask for copies of residence certificates About 65 million requests for copies of residence certificates are submitted to local municipalities each year The internal affairs ministry will no longer require documents for the requests to be either stamped with hanko seals or signed meaning applicants’ identity will be confirmed only by their driver’s licenses My Number cards or other such forms of identification A transport ministry ordinance currently requires that drivers must stamp forms for regular “shaken” vehicle inspections with their hanko seals Local municipalities will continue to register hanko seal impressions Authorities will also continue to require registered seals in applications for registering a change in land ownership and for commercial and corporate registrations which are needed when establishing new companies The government said it will narrow down its list of several thousand procedures requiring registered seals and official seal-registration certificates to around 80 The procedures subject to change will include filing an inheritance tax return where registered seals are currently needed in documents showing how a deceased person’s estate is to be divided between heirs The Justice Ministry will continue to require forms for marriage and divorce registrations to be signed “Signatures are needed to be submitted as evidence in cases of lawsuits seeking nullification of a marriage registered by someone pretending to be the one who made the contract,” a ministry official said (This article was written by Senior Staff Writer Toshiki Horigome Officials refuse to retire ‘hanko,’ make little use of electronic system No reproduction or republication without written permission.