News | Apr 18 rgabel@thefencepost.com “Take 52 north out of Fort Morgan and it’ll dead end near a building in a pasture by itself That’s it.” Those were my directions to Prairie School near New Raymer to my friend who joined me for a school visit last week It was the first time I’ve read my book though it has been read across the state to over 47,000 kids in the past weeks as part of the Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom project Matsushima attended Colorado A&M during WWII and his teammates on the livestock judging team would bring him groceries when he wasn’t allowed into the grocery store as a result of anti-Japanese sentiment When they were traveling to stock shows and he wasn’t welcome in a café He went on to earn his undergraduate and master’s degree in Colorado and then earned a doctorate in Minnesota He taught at the University of Nebraska for 11 years He famously joined three of the fathers of cattle feeding — Warren Monfort and Louis Dinklage from Nebraska — for breakfast one morning in Lincoln he wondered if cattle wouldn’t also like a warm breakfast which led to the development of the process to steam flake corn I was telling the story to the high school students and then Matsushima was able to chime in and tell some stories I’ve asked him to tell me stories and have become proficient at mining incredible stories from his memory This isn’t terribly difficult since he’s as sharp as a tack and has lived an incredible life he told two stories I hadn’t heard before I asked him if he had been keeping secrets from me and his giggle delighted the high school students I ask him frequently about the group of cattle feeders who drove to Lincoln to convince him to return to Fort Collins in part because they recognized that his research on fed cattle was going to be industry changing He can rattle off the names of the feeders much to the entertainment of the group of high school students he shared that Dinklage told him he had just purchased a Cadillac and if Matsushima stayed at UNL “I didn’t take the Cadillac,” he grinned and told the students We spoke about careers in agriculture and spoke at length about the illustrations in the book crafted by former The Fence Post magazine staff member Liz Banman Munsterteiger The illustrations were created using a giant file of historic reference photos and are historically accurate down to the silverware in the oatmeal bowl The other story I hadn’t heard was about the purchase of the first corn flaker by the Monfort family’s operation Kenny Monfort had requested a single flaker which carried a hefty price tag of about $1 million at the time seeing the opportunity for a major efficiency gain It was a testament to Monfort’s business acumen and to the very real return on investment Matsushima’s work offered cattle feeders One young lady asked what his advice to a young agriculturist is and he shared with her his mantra “food plus water equals life — good food plus good water equals good life.” It’s not often a high school student has the chance to ask a 104-year-old legend a question and the students at Prairie School were respectful and seemed to understand the amazing opportunity before them we made our way down the hall to a room filled with the elementary school students all anxiously awaiting Matsushima’s arrival He received a rock star’s welcome with little hands grasping his own and bright-eyed little kids with toothy grins smiling at him We read the book and answered some thoughtful questions There was no shortage of kids from agriculture backgrounds and cattle-feeding families in both groups but the respect the entire student body and staff had for Matsushima and the agriculture industry ought to make us all hopeful for the future My writing career has been much more than I ever designed in my mind and been able to seize some incredible opportunities on large stages the opportunity to speak about this legend with him sitting at my side will be one of my best memories my conversations with my friend about an industry we both love has been life changing I’m grateful to the Matsushima and Oliver families for trusting me with the story and to Jennifer Scharpe and the staff at Colorado Foundation for Agriculture for helping bring the book to fruition Munsterteiger also has my utmost respect for her ability to bring history to the hands of kids and tasted a beef stick made by students at Colorado State University who were in their desks not so very long ago Herbst’s story will air in the coming weeks It’s a well-deserved spotlight on Matsushima and that good life he lives It’s not hard to feel defeated fighting for this industry that feeds fuels and clothes the world and there is no lack of heavy headlines but I can tell you kids of all ages leaned into Matsushima and his story and it was clear that he is Sign up for daily and breaking news headlines Manage Subscriptions The 2025 Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom literacy project is bringing the story of Dr John Matsushima to thousands of students through the book Cattle written by Rachel Gabel and illustrated by Liz Banman Munsterteiger is a Japanese American agricultural pioneer whose innovations such as steam-flaked corn and feed truck concepts from facing discrimination during World War II to earning advanced degrees and becoming a leader in animal science This year’s literacy project is set to reach 50,000 students from prekindergarten through 12th grade — twice as many as last year It includes a classroom read-aloud of the book and a Q&A activity that ties into Colorado’s academic standards Students will engage with themes such as perseverance and problem-solving while learning about the state’s rich agricultural history a short documentary on Matsushima’s life was released this week The AGDAILY Digest is the information superhighway for your country road Get notified of the latest videos on AGDAILY The San Diego Gulls announced today that the American Hockey League (AHL) club has signed forward Eddie Matsushima to a professional tryout (PTO) San Diego has released forward Michael Farren from his PTO.  skated in two games for the Gulls in 2023-24 He has posted 24-21=45 points with 24 penalty minutes (PIM) and a +1 rating for the Bloomington Bison of the ECHL this season assists and plus-minus rating with the Tulsa Oilers in 2023-24 tallying 25-28=53 points and a +19 rating in 51 games he led all Oilers in goals and points (28-19=47) and was named a 2022-23 ECHL All-Star native has earned 95-97=192 points with 167 PIM in 254 career ECHL games with Bloomington Matsushima has also skated in 10 career Kelly Cup Playoff games tallying 4-2=6 points with four PIM and a +4 rating.  185-pound forward appeared in 67 career Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) games with the Pensacola Ice Flyers collecting 24-39=63 points with 53 PIM and a +22 rating from 2019-21 Matsushima posted a career-best 10-19=29 points with 27 PIM and a +7 rating in 34 regular-season games He scored 3-2=5 points in four postseason contests helping the Ice Flyers clinch the organization’s fourth President’s Cup Championship He also earned SPHL Second All-Star Team honors.   If you are using a screen reader and are having problems using this website Originally from Tokyo, Matsushima has lived in Tamagawa Denenchofu, Sendagaya, Sangenjaya, Kagurazaka, Shirokanedai, and Takanawa. Today he lives in Kamakura with his family, one semi-stray cat, and two chickens. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking John Matsushima is a name known by most everybody in the animal science and cattle industries He is a renowned figure in the field of animal science Born in Colorado to Japanese-American parents and his contributions helped revolutionize the livestock industry not only in Colorado but across the globe Matsushima still visits his office at Colorado State University about once a month With a long list of awards and accomplishments to his name One of Matsushima’s most impactful innovations was the development and promotion of high-energy feedlot rations specifically the use of corn-based diets in cattle finishing “He literally pioneered the process of steam flaking corn,” said Ryan Rhoades “I don’t even know how to quantify that … it makes cattle more efficient on feed It revolutionized the design and how people feed in feedlots and it’s probably been worth billions and billions of dollars to the cattle industry in terms of efficiency.” This technique significantly improved meat quality marbling and efficiency in beef production Matsushima’s work helped shape and build the feedlot system into what it is today The modern system dominates today’s beef industry Matsushima also played a key role in introducing these feeding techniques to Japanese markets, improving international trade and understanding of U.S. agricultural practices. He made several trips to Japan as a consultant, where he observed that “cattle are fed in small groups in the mountains,” according to The Fence Post “The Japanese feedlot ration … is similar to rations utilized stateside rice straw is utilized rather than corn silage or alfalfa hay.” His efforts were instrumental in establishing the beef market in Japan Matsushima was also a beloved professor at Colorado State University where he mentored generations of students in animal science His passion for education and deep knowledge of ruminant nutrition left a lasting legacy in both academia and the cattle industry CSU became home to another legend in the field: Temple Grandin Grandin is known best for her advocacy for animal welfare and her groundbreaking designs for humane livestock handling systems Her work complements Matsushima’s legacy by focusing not just on how animals are fed and raised but how they are treated and understood their careers are a symbol for CSU’s broad and humane impact on the livestock industry encompassing everything from nutrition and behavior to ethics Both Matsushima and Grandin have helped make CSU a global leader in animal science agriculture and ethical livestock production Their foundational research laid the groundwork for a new generation of innovation — one that is starting to shape the industry today The animal science industry is undergoing a transformative shift Modern livestock management now incorporates precision agricultural tools such as artificial intelligence drones and real-time monitoring systems to enhance productivity and ensure animal well-being These innovations aim to optimize resource use reduce environmental impact and improve the overall efficiency of animal production systems CSU stands at the forefront of this evolution. The department of animal sciences offers a comprehensive curriculum that combines foundational sciences with practical experience in livestock production Students engage in hands-on research and fieldwork preparing them for a variety of careers in animal agriculture and related industries CSU’s commitment to innovation is evident in its research initiatives that focus on sustainable livestock practices The university’s extension offices across Colorado facilitate the dissemination of research findings supporting local producers in adopting best practices CSU’s integration of cutting-edge technologies into its programs ensures that graduates are equipped to address contemporary challenges in animal science institutions like CSU play a pivotal role in shaping its future through fostering advancements that benefit both animals and society Matsushima’s legacy is deeply embedded in the department’s ethos inspiring ongoing innovation and excellence in animal science education and research His pioneering spirit continues to influence the university’s approach to addressing the complex challenges of modern livestock production Reach Riley Paling at science@collegian.com or on Twitter @rileypaling Cancel reply Students across Colorado have the opportunity to learn about the profound impact that agriculture icon John Matsushima has had on modern farming and ranching practices through the new book “Cattle Corn and Courage,” written by Rachel Gabel and illustrated by Liz Banman Munsterteiger Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom’s (CoATIC) annual Literacy Project is offering classrooms statewide a free kit filled with interactive activities and corresponding educational resources to teach preK-12 students about Colorado agriculture “Through our 2025 Literacy Project and ‘Cattle we hope to introduce a new generation of students to Dr Matsushima’s deep impact in ag science so they will gain an appreciation for the myriad of ways agriculture is integral to the fabric of our state,” says Jennifer Scharpe is the son of Japanese immigrants and was raised on a family farm in Platteville Matsushima spent more than six decades at Colorado State University as a student He battled bigotry and poverty on his path to becoming a legendary scientist in beef cattle nutrition whose innovations have influenced the global food system is an enthusiastic supporter of the annual project “Thank you for continuing to provide this important program and I look forward to receiving the resources every year,” she said “It helps young minds better understand the critical role that agriculture plays in Colorado.” Due to previous demand for CoAITC Literacy Kits, educators are encouraged to sign up for the kits at colorado.agclassroom.org/teaching/literacy-signup/ as supplies are limited Through partnerships and funding from corporations all CoAITC programs and resources are provided for free or at minimal cost Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom (also known as Colorado Foundation for Agriculture) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and is the lead agricultural literacy organization in the state serving the full spectrum of prekindergarten through 12th grade formal and informal education across Colorado Its mission is connecting Colorado educators and students to their food CoAITC annually provides resources and programs to 325,000 educators and students in urban To learn more or to make a tax-deductible gift You must be logged in to post a comment. Forward Nathan Gaucher #17 getting body slammed while taking a shot during a conference game against the Calgary Wranglers at Pechanga Arena in San Diego SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Gulls continue to make more roster moves up until the final day of the month.  After the news of Gulls forward Sam Colangelo being recalled by the Anaheim Ducks it was announced that the team picked the option for right-winger Travis Howe for the 2025-26 season A fan favorite for his intense energy on the ice Howe has been with San Diego since the 2022 season 229-pound Massachuset native has played 20 games this season for the Gulls registering only a point and 50 penalty minutes.  Howe has played a total of 89 games with two assists and a total of 221 PIM in his stops in San Diego and Tucson the Gulls signed Eddie Matsushima to a professional tryout and released forward Michael Farren who signed with the team on Tuesday to a professional tryout.  has dressed in two games with Gulls back in the 2023-24 season and returned to the lineup on Friday against Coachella Valley.  He’s a fun guy to have around.” Gulls assistant coach Kris Sparre said “You know kind of what you’re gonna get from him most nights He greets you with a smile every day and he’s kind of infectious in the locker room.”   this season Matsushima has played for the Bloomington Bison in ECHL and has recorded 24-21 = 45 points and 24 PIM.  185-pound forward had a career high in points assists and plus/minus during the 2023-2024 season with a line of 25-28-53-+19 he had set a career high in goals with 28.  native has played in 254 games and has posted 95 goals Matsushima has appeared in 67 career Southern Professional Hockey League games with the Pensacola Ice Flyers recording 24-39=63 points with 53 PIM and a +22 rating from 2019-21.  it was announced a few hours before puck drop that the Anaheim Ducks reassigned goalie Oscar Dansk back to San Diego.  who was starting in net for the Gulls during their six game winning streak after Ducks starting goaltender John Gibson suffered an upper-body injury.  The Stockholm native has played in 27 games this season for the Gulls and has recorded a 10-10-3 record with a 0.886 save percentage and a 3.43 goals against average.  Since starting for the injured Calle Clang the Swedish goaltender has played a pivotal part to the team's recent success allowing 14 goals with 2.32 GAA and a 0.918 SV% What can students learn from working in theater Skills as flexible and beneficial to the student studying biology in Park as the one on stage in Goodhart “Costume, in particular, is a really good exercise to develop empathy,” says Maiko Matsushima “Understanding the character and understanding how these clothes make them feel; how they make them stand Putting performers into someone else’s shoes is Matsushima’s specialty She has been working in theatrical design for decades and for the past 13 years has been sharing those skills with Bryn Mawr students as a visiting assistant professor in the theater department It was a force of nature that set Matsushima on her path the 1995 Hanshin Earthquake devastated the city and stalled her studies.  Continuing her education didn’t seem important in the aftermath when she and many others were without homes She worked for a while to rebuild her hometown then learned of — and received — a scholarship for victims of natural disasters to Pace University “Since I didn't really speak English,” Matsushima says “theater happened to be a thing for which I didn't need to speak a one-man show she worked on with Blue Man Group director Randall James “Working on that show…I realized how much this work feeds me working straight for three days,” Matsushima says Following graduate school at NYU, Matsushima became a full-time designer, working with more than a dozen regional theaters and on the costuming teams of Broadway hits including Wicked and Spring Awakening. She is a frequent collaborator at the Tony Award-winning Wilma Theater in Philadelphia where she has collaborated with artists such as James Ijames and this June her costumes were onstage again in Hilma The new opera is based on the life of painter and spiritualist Hilma af Klint whose groundbreaking abstract art remained mostly unseen until the mid-1980s She says it's a tricky project—the costumes and lights have to convey mysticism without feeling phony something Matsushima had to consider in her design choices Every production she approaches is different She gravitates toward projects that challenge tradition and carve new paths for theater she has costumed productions of the opera Madame Butterfly that cast a critical eye on the work’s ingrained colonialism and orientalism Headlong Dance Theater founder David Brick (who has taught dance composition at Bryn Mawr in the past) on Horse Woman a site-specific piece at the Barnes inspired by artist Marie Laurencin “Unlike the progression in many performance works fueling the individualized choreography of the dancer,” wrote Jonathan Stein in the ThinkingDance review of Horse Woman Philadelphia’s affordability and the almost-familial friendships with other local performers and designers have made the city an amazing place to live “We do have this great community of theater artists who can have a home raise kids while you're doing your artistic experiments.” Working in Philadelphia’s innovative theater scene also allows her to connect her students with internship and work opportunities—sometimes they even assist her on projects—and bring her real-world experience into the classroom “The theater is constantly changing,” Matsushima says “It's a live thing that as the culture shifts or COVID happens we respond to the current situation and then we create work … that's the only way to keep everything current It is all about the conversation of what's happening in our culture Already a subscriber? Log In Garry Tonon returns to action on December 4 with a fight against Koyomi Matsushima of Japan Tonon is undefeated in MMA with a perfect 5-0 record. Three of his wins are via submission, and he is ranked #17 in the FloGrappling Jiu-Jitsu in MMA Ranking ONE Championship have Tonon ranked #5 in their featherweight (155lb) division A win over #3-ranked former title challenger Matsushima (12-4) could put Tonon in line for a shot at the ONE Championship featherweight title.  Sidelined due to a lengthy contract renegotiation Tonon returned to the grappling world and competed at ADCC going 7-2 in no-gi grappling matches during that time and taking a bronze medal at ADCC.  WATCH: Garry Tonon vs Dante Leon Who's Number One Tonon told the SCMP that he will be without John Danaher or Tom DeBlass in his corner, traveling instead with a training partner.   Get the most important Jiu-Jitsu stories delivered straight to your inbox. ©2006 - Present FloSports, Inc. All rights reserved. Keisuke Matsushima graduated from culinary school and trained in kitchens across France he opened Kei’s Passion in Nice at the age of 25 His superior cuisine earned him a Michelin Star in 2008 making him the youngest non-French chef in France to do so The restaurant was later expanded and is now known as KEISUKE MATSUSHIMA Matsushima received the L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as its youngest recipient and was named a Sake Samurai by the JSS he hosts cooking classes and gives talks to promote understanding of good food and eating He recently co-authored Umami: le goût de l'harmonie et du lien in 2024 The Bloomington Bison bested the Savannah Ghost Pirates 3-2 on Saturday The Ghost Pirates will play the South Carolina Stingrays on Thursday 2025 while the Bloomington Bison players will face Kalamazoo on Friday News | Oct 30 Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom will be bringing the story of Dr Written by The Fence Post magazine’s Rachel Gabel and illustrated by Liz Banman Munsterteiger John Matsushima is based on years of research and illustrated beautifully with an eye for history is the son of Japanese immigrants who developed an interest in cattle nutrition at an early age He attended what is now Colorado State University during World War II overcoming bigotry through courage and camaraderie with his livestock judging teammates and coach He earned advanced degrees and eventually returned to Colorado His creation of the process to steam flake corn and concept for the feed truck are profoundly important to the cattle feeding industry though the two are among hundreds of valuable studies The 2025 literacy project anticipates reaching 50,000 prekindergarten through 12th grade students and their teachers The read aloud program includes the book and associated activities and information about agriculture that tie directly to curriculum Each elementary class that signs up will receive a free kit that includes the children’s book “Cattle and Courage,” beef sticks for a nutritious tasting experience and interactive activities designed to enhance understanding and foster a love for reading Gabel and Western Ag Network are producing a 5 to 7-minute video featuring Matsushima and some of his former students who have gone on to become legends in the cattle feeding industry There will also be a Spanish translation of the book available electronically from educators and those within the agriculture community project scope was expanded to provide a middle/high school class kit targeted to agriculture education students and FFA members This free secondary-level kit features a magazine titled Grounded published in partnership with The Fence Post magazine focused on agriculture careers in Colorado and will include additional stories on Dr Matsushima and his global impact tailored for older students There will also be a longer documentary-style video available for use within the industry and for older students Portions of both videos were recorded at Colorado State University the videos include former Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Don Brown; past Colorado Livestock Association President Kenny Rogers; Luke Lind of Five Rivers Cattle Feeding; Randy Blach CEO of Cattle Fax; Steve Gabel of Magnum Feeders; Don Thorn of CSU; Zach Riley Colorado Livestock Association; Bill Hammerich past executive of CLA; Brett McEndaffer and Britty Pratt of McEndaffer Feedyard; and Dr The first book Gabel wrote for the program in 2021 Still Good: The Faces of Family Agriculture The Sweetest Treat about Palisade peaches reached 9,458 students in 510 classes The Woolly Way: Papou and the Story of Lantern Ridge reached 10,145 students in 505 classes Spice: All About Pueblo Chiles saw a 113% increase with 23,309 students in 1,130 classes Cattle, Corn, and Courage may be ordered in bulk by groups interested in using it for their own educational purposes by contacting Jennifer Scharpe at jennifer@coagclassroom.org by Nov Individual and small pre-orders are available through Gabel at Rachelgabel.com A November shipping date is anticipated for pre-orders and full classroom packets will be distributed in the spring the agriculture careers magazine created for potential future employees and business owners who are now secondary and post-secondary students please contact your The Fence Post magazine advertising manager Sponsors of the 2025 Agriculture in the Classroom project include: Colorado Beef Council and Premier Farm Credit in addition to individual sponsors and donors “Kampai” means two things: The subject of his most recent film or — something more in line with its traditional definition — a toast for the family and the man who made it possible but we would come back to visit my in-laws and we’d always want to go to Kampai — some of the best sushi that we’ve had The thing that sparked me to try and figure it out was talking to other people who work at or are fans of the restaurant — they knew what I was talking about Walley ’10 is a director who works primarily on commercial and documentary films. His most recent film, “A Walk with Richard,” features the founder of the Japanese restaurant Kampai The film is a celebration of Matsushima’s impact on the area as well as a look into the special ways he interacts with the world and he buys a specific brand of cracked corn that is softer on their mouth he’ll spread the feed so the turkeys don’t fight because he wants them to be kind to each other,” Walley said because those kinds of anecdotes are where a true story is I want people to see the level of care and detail he lives by and how that weaves into a bigger tapestry Walley’s decision to create the film is engrained within his upbringing in Vestal Although he isn’t from the area originally he developed a strong connection to the locality and decided to stick around; he attended SUNY Broome Community College and ultimately ended up at Binghamton University for cinema He says his time at Binghamton served as an awakening Though his work now doesn’t always reflect the style he learned in school he says it taught him the most important lesson: to focus on the storytelling “It was all about shifting your perspective on what cinema can be It’s a very theory-based program; it’s very experimental but I didn’t know what that meant at the time Experiencing all these things that I had never seen before was awesome,” he said who was instrumental in developing my style and my filmmaking as a director.” His style and process now center stories about legacy he asks questions to unearth the “true creative potential” of a subject what quickly became noticeable was his hospitality and generosity “I find process to be quite interesting in various walks of life — it could be manufacturing How Richard decided to run this restaurant and the effect that that’s had on a community of people — that’s interesting to me They’re mostly human nature stories,” he said People want to see themselves in stories.” Although some subjects — like the Matsushimas — are nervous at the start He finds that developing trust and keeping people involved in the act of creation keeps the story as real as possible ​More information about Jon Walley and his other works can be found here Walley says he is often inspired by music and podcasts because of the opportunity to visually recreate the scene but what truly draws him to a story is a need to learn more He describes working through and sharing the “process of curiosity” as his true passion His goal in his art is to inspire creativity and provoke conversation and you take that and combine that with what the story you thought you were telling,” he said Can I still work what I thought was interesting into what their story actually is the subject dictates where the story goes.” Walley says that he decided to leave spaces in the narrative intentionally short Although the piece could have been feature-length he hopes that the subtext leaves room for dialogue; he encourages the curious-minded to stop by Kampai and ask questions themselves I don’t want to try to unpack his whole life We’d be here forever; he’s been through so much,” he said “I want to encourage people to watch the movie and then go meet him I’ve given you a little introduction so you’re not coming in cold Walley says he worked hard to share the story both locally and in regional festivals Although he also submitted to the more well-known he felt it was especially impactful within the community and won Best Short Documentary at the Phoenixville Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at the NYSIFF It was also featured at the Monadnock International Film Fest (MONIFF) DUMBO Film Festival and the Online Global Peace Film Festival Walley is currently working as a director of photography on a new project about bridging the healthcare gaps in America He’s also considering other stories in the Binghamton area for future films but he says that “A Walk with Richard” will always hold a special place in his heart it is an ode to what makes Binghamton special and what makes it a home the accolades are less important than the celebration “The biggest thing I’ve learned is that if you can tell a story about a family and show it back to them but there is no higher praise than a family and a group of friends saying you were able to distill the essence of this topic.’ That’s the highest compliment.” Alum Jon Walley directs film on Kampai Japanese Steakhouse to observe the year's first sunrise exactly one year after a powerful earthquake hit central Japan's Noto Peninsula area exactly one year after a powerful earthquake hit central Japan's Noto Peninsula area Japanese ski jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi soars through air during the third leg of the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on Jan Participants dressed in traditional costume play "kemari," a football game enjoyed by nobles during Japan's Heian period Photo shows a bluefin tuna that fetched 207 million yen ($1.3 million) during the year's first auction at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo on Jan Young women wearing traditional Japanese attire shoot arrows at a New Year archery event to celebrate their coming-of-age at Sanjusangendo temple in Kyoto on Jan Eleven-year-old Miku Matsushima pumps her fist as she wins a point during a second-round women's singles match during Japan's table tennis national championships in Tokyo on Jan Eleven-year-old Miku Matsushima reacts as she wins a point during a first-round women's singles match during Japan's table tennis national championships in Tokyo on Jan Wakakusa and fireworks light up the sky during a traditional winter festival in Nara The Luminarie illumination event opens in Kobe on Jan in memory of the victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in the western Japan city and its vicinity that killed more than 6,400 people Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is congratulated by the team's staff members on his way to a press conference in Seattle on Jan after becoming the first Asian player to be elected to the U.S Ben Shelton of the United States plays against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the men's singles quarterfinals at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Jan Undisputed super bantamweight boxing world champion Naoya Inoue of Japan throws a pinch at South Korea's Kim Ye Joon in the second round of their title match on Jan Monks and firefighters participate in an annual fire drill at the World Heritage-listed Horyu-ji temple in Nara Prefecture's Ikaruga on Jan 26 was designated in 1955 as a day for raising awareness about the protection of cultural assets from fire after one of Horyu-ji temple's buildings burned down on the same day in 1949 Men in loincloths splash hot spring water at one another during Kawarayu Onsen resort's Yukake Festival in Naganohara in Gunma Prefecture Shinkansen Part 2 of 2- The dream super limited express marks six decades As 2024 marks 60 years since the bullet train was first put into service this visual story traces the history of what has become one of the most recognizable symbols of postwar Japan Shinkansen Part 1 of 2 - The dream super limited express marks six decades Night factory tours provide history lesson of Japan's modern economy Hundreds of lights emit an ethereal glow while a flame billows from a slender chimney that towHundreds of lights emit an ethereal glow while a flame billows from a slender chimney.............. 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Volume 9 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1022168 The northeastern coast of Japan suffered a massive tsunami in 2011 a natural disaster which ‘reset’ the coastal ecosystem when it destroyed much of the original sealife and scoured the seabed This has presented an opportunity to learn more about the load on coastal ecosystems exerted by human exploitation such as aquaculture rafts and areas of anchored and float-suspended ropes We surveyed the coastal environment in Matsushima Bay for approximately four years following the year after the occurrence of the 2011 tsunami Phytoplankton abundance increased with increasing water temperature Nutrient concentrations were high at the exit of a small branch of the Ofuna-iri Canal (entering the southwestern inner part of the bay at Shiogama) but no significant differences in nutrient concentrations were observed at other stations so it is considered that the aquaculture installations in Matsushima Bay currently have no significant effect on observed nutrient concentrations The composition of eukaryotes in the surface seawater varied with the year and the season but there were no clear differences between sampling stations The lack of any differences in nutrient concentrations or eukaryote assemblages between areas with or without aquaculture installations is considered to be a result of efficient seawater exchange despite the presence of many small islets separating Matsushima Bay from the open ocean the aquaculture installations at present number less than half of the maximum number before the tsunami so the bay is by no means overexploited by aquaculture It is concluded that the current aquaculture installations have no major negative impact on the environment in Matsushima Bay Figure 1 Sampling stations in Matsushima Bay (enlarged map with the position of Matsushima Bay indicated on a smaller-scale map of Japan at left) Large numerals in black are longitude and latitude coordinates Alphanumerics in red indicate the position of individual sampling stations Matsushima Bay is roughly divided into areas of seaweed cultivation (Stn at the southwestern edge of Matsushima Bay) is at the entrance to the bay from a small branch of Ofuna-iri Canal (the southern portion of the Teizan Canal system which runs parallel to the coast of Sendai Bay a few hundred metres inland) Stations 13 and B9 are the closest to the entrance to Tona Canal (the northeastern continuation of the canal system which connects with the Naruse River before continuing as the Kitakami Canal to Ishinomaki) Investigations for 2004 to 2005 were conducted at stations B1 to B12 To ensure that natural- and non-feeding aquaculture are sustainable it is necessary to avoid overexploitation by overcrowding which leads to poor growth due to a reduction in available feed and nutrients if the number of aquaculture facilities is properly managed the effects of eutrophication or problems with the reduced availability of natural feed organisms can be minimized we investigated whether the oyster and seaweed culture facilities have an impact on the marine environment and eukaryote assemblages in Matsushima Bay and the significance of the impact of culture facilities compared with other anthropogenic influences and the natural environment there have been few reports concerning phytoplankton other than diatoms and dinoflagellates microbial assemblages other than phytoplankton If appropriate samples have been preserved over the study period required it is possible to use NGS retrospectively to investigate fluctuations in periphyton organisms The present study makes use of samples preserved from environmental and eukaryotes surveys that were conducted in Matsushima Bay over a two-year period a few years before the tsunami These samples enable comparison with samples taken after the tsunami from which it is possible to investigate the effects of the presence versus absence of aquaculture installations on the environment and on the eukaryote composition with the additional insertion of an HPLC guard column before the analytical column The HPLC system included the following components: auto injector (SIL-10ADvp) It was controlled by Class-vp software (Shimadzu To estimate the number of aquaculture facilities in Matsushima Bay, we examined the amounts of oyster, wakame seaweed, and kelp cultivated in each survey year and the number of aquaculture facilities after the earthquake. Cultivation volumes for each organism were aggregated from statistical data (https://www.maff.go.jp/j/tokei/kouhyou/kaimen_gyosei/index.html) The production volume of wakame in Shiogama (near Matsushima Bay) after the earthquake was not available from data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture so we used data provided by the fishery cooperatives The number of aquaculture installations for oyster wakame and konbu was counted based on information provided by the fishing cooperatives of Matsushima Bay Annual statistical data in Japan are often published for the financial year period from April to March of the following year rather than as a complete calendar year from January to December The data reported here therefore range from April of year ‘n’ to March of year ‘n+1’ The members of some fishing cooperatives used aquaculture rope lengths of 3.9 m up to 2012 but increased the length to 4.5 m after 2013 the number of aquaculture installations decreased after 2013 In order to make valid comparisons of the amount of aquaculture conducted across the years 2011 to 2017 the number of installations before 2012 was converted to the equivalent of the number of installations for 2012 by multiplying by 3.9/4.5 Data from 2004 to 2005 is not available because records had already been discarded by the fishery cooperatives To understand the influence of sampling sites on environmental factors, multiple comparisons were performed using EZR ver. 1.54 (a GUI-based addition to the ‘R’ package; (Kanda, 2013) to test for differences of environment among sampling stations All data for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (NH4-N and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration were aggregated by station Multiple comparisons by the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test of Steel-Dwass were then performed to make comparisons among three or more groups To understand the influence of environmental factors on phytoplankton abundance, the major pigment concentrations and environmental parameters (nutrients NH4-N, NO3+NO2-N, DIP, DO and pH) were subjected to Redundancy Analysis (RDA) using Canoco 5 (ter Braak and Šmilauer, 2018) The pigment concentrations used were Chl a The concentrations of the four pigments in each sample were entered into Canoco 5 as “samples” items DO and pH) in each sample were entered as “environment” items monthly and station variation in diversity of eukaryotes in the seawater samples non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) was performed using Primer 6 (Quest Research Ltd. New Zealand) according to the provider’s manual MDS proceeded in the following order: data transformation to fourth roots; Bray-Curtis matrix similarity; cluster of group average; and finally MDS To compare the composition of eukaryotes by year the ratio of all data obtained by NGS were analyzed by MDS As the eukaryote composition from 2004 to 2005 was largely different from those after 2012 only data after 2012 were used in the MDS comparison by month and station After the earthquake, production figures for oyster and konbu were less than half of pre-earthquake levels, while wakame production increased (Table 1) Oyster production exceeded 1,000 t in 2005 but was halved to approximately 350 t in 2016 Konbu production exceeded 400 t before the earthquake but was only approximately 100 t at most after the earthquake although accurate data for 2012 and 2013 are not available due to the post-disaster confusion Wakame production increased after the earthquake compared to pre-disaster values and was more than seven times the pre-disaster level of approximately 80 t Wakame production declined to around 100 t after 2013 The numbers of aquaculture facilities from April 2012 to March 2016 are displayed in Table 2 The mean number of each type of installation was 744 oyster rafts There were more konbu installations in 2012: approximately 150 (more than 40 more than in any other year) Table 2 The number of aquaculture installations in Matsushima Bay Figure 2 Monthly fluctuations in environmental parameters and pigment concentrations from April (B) Inorganic nitrogen-containing compounds and phosphate (C) Pigment concentrations (see text for key to abbreviations) The monthly mean of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) ranged from 0.56 to 22.68 µM, and 0.06 to 1.55 μM, respectively (Figure 2B) DIN and DIP tended to be high in the autumn Although pigment concentrations changed with environmental parameters, and were particularly influenced by water temperature in Matsushima Bay, RDA (Figure 3) reveals that changes of pigment concentrations (measures of total photosynthetic tissue present) were positively related to temperature and negatively related to salinity Secchi disk reading (indicator of seawater turbidity) The magnitude of the water-temperature vector was the largest among the environmental parameters Redundancy Analysis loading plot of the influence of environmental factors on phytoplankton abundance Nutrients are represented by measurements of PO4-P Secchi disk depth measure of water clarity SAR (0.44) and Opisthokonta (0.40) were present in similar amounts while the occurrence of eukaryotes differed compared to other years Figure 4 18S rRNA gene composition in surface seawater analyzed by NGS The monthly mean frequency of Archaeplastida fluctuated between 0.03 and 0.41 tending to increase during periods when SAR organisms were relatively scarce The monthly means for Opisthokonta varied between 0.02 and 0.51 with particularly high occurrence (mean 0.40) in 2004 The occurrence of Cryptophyceae varied from almost zero to 0.36 and increased when SAR organisms were relatively scarce Figure 5 Periodic mean relative composition of the three components of (A) the SAR supergroup for Sept 2016; (B) the Chloroplastida and Rhodophyceae; and (C) the Fungi The original data is the same as in Figure 5 All classification follows the Silva Database there were no significant differences among the other stations Figure 6 Box plots comparing sampling stations 1-19 (see Figure 1) for each environmental parameter from Oct within boxes indicating lower and upper quartiles Dotted lines indicate 95 percentile minima and maxima Figure 7 Diversity of eukaryote communities (A) comparing different years; (B) comparing different months of the year after 2012; and (C) sampling stations 1-19 after 2012 by MDS The reason for this is considered to be consumption and decrease of nutrients by phytoplankton growth Since nutrients were maintained at levels that did not cause starvation (because they were constantly being supplied from rivers and anthropogenic sources) it seems that phytoplankton growth was maintained during low nutrient concentrations Chl a and Fuco were high even during conditions of low nutrient concentrations It is considered that there is no problem with the fact that the preservation period of the DNA samples from 2004-2005 was more than 10 years, because DNA has been sequenced successfully from sediment core samples following tens of thousands of years earlier (Lejzerowicz et al., 2013). Similarly, we have also confirmed that DNA sequencing is possible from samples several hundred years old (Okumura et al., 2021b) so decomposition of DNA samples over several decades preserved in a freezer is expected to be minimal in the presence of more than 100 rafts the overall filtration volume is expected to be enormous Filtration by oysters will therefore have a large effect on cleaning the marine environment as well as the amount and composition of the microorganism population The month-by-month population composition may be related to phenology The dominant phytoplankton in Matsushima Bay were the diatoms although there are more than 600 oyster rafts and 1,300 seaweed rope installations in Matsushima Bay it is considered that the extent of seawater replacement exceeds the impact of aquaculture facilities on the bay’s environment and phytoplankton assemblages it is considered that periphyton outbreaks were not affected by environmental changes following the tsunami Oyster and seaweed cultivation in Matsushima Bay are therefore not over-intensive and are within an appropriate range with little effect on the marine environment and eukaryote assemblages According to results from NGS analysis of samples phytoplankton comprised a high proportion of the eukaryote assemblages in Matsushima Bay The growth of diatoms in Matsushima Bay was seen to be dependent on water temperature and was independent of anthropogenic influences so aquaculture installations in Matsushima Bay apparently have little effect on the natural microorganisms Because of the high rate of filtration of phytoplankton in oyster culture and the competition for nutrients in seaweed cultivation differences were expected in the phytoplankton and eukaryote assemblages present in comparison with non-cultured areas perhaps because of the shallow water depth in Matsushima Bay and culture installations probably well below exploitation capacity dead shellfish and the periphyton in culture areas generally sink to the seafloor so it is possible that the bottom environment differs from the environment of the seawater column Since analysis in this study was conducted using only surface seawater further investigation of the near-bottom layer and bottom sediment will be necessary to provide a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the effects of culture facilities in Matsushima Bay The data presented in the study are deposited in the DDBJ repository YO designed and wrote manuscript in the study MM helped with data processing and AS advised on analysis All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research B (18H03414) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; the Tohoku Marine Science Project (a grant to assist with recovery from earthquake damage) provided by the Reconstruction Agency of Japan; and a Cooperative Research Grant of the Genome Research for BioResources The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1022168/full#supplementary-material Vertical distribution of water temperature (°C) at the surface and 0.5 m above the seafloor Vertical distribution of salinity (PSU) at the surface and 0.5 m above the seafloor Supplementary Figure 2 | The relationship between Chl a and other pigment concentrations Supplementary Figure 3 | Percentage of the major taxonomic groups detected which belong to the SAR supergroup Supplementary Figure 4 | Percentage of major taxonomic groups detected which belong to the Archaeplastida Supplementary Figure 5 | Percentage of major taxonomic groups detected which belong to the Opisthokonta Seasonal changes in oxygen consumption rates and filtration rates of the cultured pacific oyster Crasssotrea gigas The life of diatoms in the world’s oceans PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Declining oxygen in the global ocean and coastal waters The phylum bryozoa: From biology to biomedical potential CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Eukaryotic plankton diversity in the sunlit ocean Biogeochemical controls and feedbacks on ocean primary production CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Mix and match- how climate selects phytoplankton- falkowski and Oliver CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Fisheries Agency Environmental conservation through fishing activities. 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Yutaka Okumura, b2t1bXVyYUBhZmZyYy5nby5qcA== Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish The Shiogama Minato Festival is one of Japan's three major boat festivals it took place on July 15 around Matsushima Bay in Shiogama City The event featured two grand pleasure boats carrying portable shrines from a local shrine They were accompanied by a fleet of 80 boats hoisting tairyō-bata flags flown to signify a large catch.  The magnificent boats made their way around Matsushima Bay waving and cheering at the brightly decorated fleet who watched from a sightseeing boat alongside the fleet "It was a rare experience to sail alongside the festival boats The sight was incredibly vibrant and moving." The Shiogama Minato Festival began in 1948 with hopes for the recovery of the port town the festival has carried hopes for the revival of the fishing industry which has declined due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic (Read the article in Japanese.)Author: The Sankei Shimbun You must be logged in to post a comment ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE TDN FOR FREE! Remember Ben with a gift to Thoroughbred aftercare Subscribe for FREE to the Daily PDF or the News Alerts Home » Archive » Top News Europe » Arc Still The Goal For Al Riffa Group 1 winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will race for the Al Riffa Syndicate and Masaaki Matsushima beginning in Sunday's G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin The Joseph O'Brien trainee's long-term goal remains the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Matsushima has already enjoyed some success in Europe as the part-owner of G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) The 4-year-old won the G1 National Stakes at two and added runner-up finishes in both the G3 International S he was sixth in the GI Manhattan Stakes in America in June he was an encouraging second in the G1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown behind City Of Troy (Justify) in early July it was a fantastic run at Sandown,” O'Brien told the Nick Luck Daily “The Arc is a big target for him in the autumn It would be great if we could have a good run in Germany at the weekend on the way there “I think we always had it in our minds that he would stay a mile-and-a-half His dam is a sister to a horse that was placed in the Ascot Gold Cup so there's plenty of stamina in his family He's a Group 1 winner at seven furlongs and it was a big run in the Eclipse last time at 10 [furlongs] last time in the Eclipse We have always expected that the best of him would be seen when he gets to go 12 furlongs He was a big yearling and was a high class 2-year-old That was why we decided not to run him again after the National Stakes He had a little setback on the eve of the Champion Stakes and he's come back on the back of a career best at Sandown This looks like an open Group 1 and it's a logical spot for him.” Not a subscriber? 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Copy Article Link Editor / News Stories:editor@thetdn.com Advertising:advertising@thetdn.com Customer Service:customerservice@thetdn.com Click Here to sign up for a free subscription Home » Archive » Top News Europe » Wootton Bassett's Al Riffa Triumphs In The Matsushima Silks In Berlin Proving that the mile-and-a-half trip holds no fears Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}–Love On My Mind {Ire} by Galileo {Ire}) made his first start in the Masaaki Matsushima silks a resoundingly impressive one as he got back on the group 1-winning trail in Sunday's Grosser Preis von Berlin Always happy in the box seat under Dylan Browne McMonagle the Joseph O'Brien-trained Arc hopeful stayed on powerfully to take control 300 metres from the finish and stormed to a five-length success from Narrativo (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) with Best Of Lips (Ire) (The Gurkha {Ire}) beaten another 4 1/2 lengths in third The win was Al Riffa's first at this level since the G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at two and added ballast to the G1 Eclipse Stakes in which he had pushed Justify) close last month “It means a lot to get a winner on my first ride in Germany and he's such a special horse,” the winning rider said “He was my first group 1 winner as a 2-year-old and he had a little setback last year but has come back as good as ever It's his first time over a mile and a half and he was very good–we always thought he was going to improve for the step up in trip.” G1 Westminster 134th Grosser Preis von Berlin over 2400m @RennbahnBerlin AL RIFFA is bred by @Haras_d_Etreham and others, and owned by Al Riffa Syndicate and Masaaki… pic.twitter.com/zuzQu9rbXq — Deutscher Galopp (@DeutscherGalopp) August 11, 2024 Copy Article Link head coach and general manager of the Bloomington Bison speaks with reporters following the team's 2-0 loss to the Toledo Walleye in the season opener at Grossinger Motors Arena BLOOMINGTON — A hockey franchise charting its maiden voyage has chosen its on-ice leader And Bloomington Bison captain Eddie Matsushima takes the mantle of leadership seriously I try to lead by example,” Matsushima said Saturday after Bison dropped a 2-0 decision to Toledo in the first regular season game in franchise history “And to know that the coaching staff and the team believe in me that much to wear the C is you try to do my best to lead these guys.” Bloomington also lost to Toledo 4-2 on Sunday at Grossinger Motors Arena Toledo Walleye forward Conlan Keenan (23) leads Bloomington Bison defender Jake Murray (5) down the ice Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena Matsushima sees additional importance in leading — along with assistant captain Jonny Evans — an ECHL expansion team big responsibility in that sense of a new team,” said Matsushima “I’m just trying to continue to do the things that I do on and off the ice try to pick guys up when they need to be picked up.” Bison general manager/head coach Phillip Barski is leaning on a 30-year-old veteran of four ECHL seasons “Eddie exemplifies what we expect from this organization and aligns with our values and culture that we are building,” Barski said and demands the best from him and others around him He will not only be a strong leader for our team but be an outstanding member to the community of Bloomington." The Bison and their fans had to wait 83 minutes 31 seconds for the team’s first goal of the season Bryce Montgomery did the honors in the second period Sunday on assists from Jamie Engelbert and Chongmin Lee We were looking for it the whole weekend,” Montgomery said "To get an opportunity like that to score the first goal is awesome Montgomery found himself in the open on a rush “I got a quick lane to jump on the rush,” he said I fired it right away and it went in from there.” Montgomery remains optimistic about the Bison despite the 0-2 start “We’ve got all the skill and talent in the world,” said the 2021 sixth round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes “It’s all the little things and making sure we’re on the same page I think we have what it takes to win a lot of games and do great things here listening to the coaches and getting better every day.” Bloomington Bison forward Brett Budgell (10) knocks over Toledo Walleye defender Jalen Smereck (5) during the first period on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena Bloomington’s second goal was scored by Case McCarthy on a one-timer to convert a five on three power play in the third period Blake McLaughlin and Brett Budgell were credited with assists the Bison faced a Walleyes team that posted a 48-14-4-5 record last season and advanced to the Western Conference finals they are very dialed in on what they’re doing,” Barski said we’re trying to install concepts and have our guys understand how we need to play in order to be successful.” After pointing to a lack of activity around the Toledo net Saturday Barski saw progress Sunday as Bloomington outshot the visitors 40-27 We had more traffic,” said the Bison coach “Such a small sample size and a very good Toledo team but we need some of our top guys to help us produce especially early on while we’re finding our game.” Matsushima lamented his missed opportunities Saturday when Toledo goalie Jon Bednar turned away all 24 Bloomington shots on goal I look at it as I need to bury those,” Matsushima said we put one of those in I think it’s a completely different game.” About 100 Toledo fans made the trip for the weekend games often countering the home crowd’s “Let’s Go Bison” chants with their own “Let’s Go Walleyes.” Bloomington Bison goalie Mark Sinclair (29) surveys the ice during the first period of Saturday's inaugural season opener against the Toledo Walleye at Grossinger Motors Arena with the Walleye claiming a second while the net was empty Bloomington netminder Mark Sinclair allowed just one goal while facing 34 shots on Saturday “I think it took a second,” Sinclair said of feeling comfortable in the first game of the season It kind of just allows me to settle in a little bit.” Bloomington Bison goalie Mark Sinclair protects the net during the ECHL team's regular season debut Saturday Sinclair also took over in the second period on Sunday and stopped 11 of 12 shots after Ruslan Khbazheyev surrendered three goals “He’s been a staple in this league for a couple years now “He’s just a consummate pro day in and day out We’re very fortunate to have him here and be a part of our organization.” Matsushima was similarly impressed with Sinclair it’s even more fun playing with him,” Matsushima said “He is a guy that’s working on and off the ice last guys out like working before practice Bloomington appeared to score to cut its deficit to 3-2 in the second period Sunday on a scrum in front of the Walleyes net "They just said he (the Toledo goalie) had covered it with his pad and our guy had pushed the pad into the net," said Barski Players for the Bloomington Bison celebrate after they believed they had scored a goal during the second period of a game against the Toledo Walleye on Sunday at Grossinger Motors Arena Bison attendance was 4,027 on Saturday and 1,576 on Sunday “We really appreciate the crowd and the fans They were electric,” said Matsushima after Saturday’s game has been granted a franchise for the 2025-26 season The addition will put the league at 30 teams The Twin Cities welcomed the return of professional hockey on Saturday with the Bloomington Bison's inaugural season opener Check out game photos + the team's first postgame interviews takes the ice ahead of the team on Saturday Bloomington Bison forward Chongmin Lee (77) tries to regain control of the puck from Toledo Walleye's Mitchell Lewandowski (67) in the first period on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena Bloomington Bison players line up before the National Anthem is played at their first season opener against Toledo Walleye on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe and Hallett Sports and Entertainment CEO Sean Hallett pose for a photo before dropping the puck to start the Bison's first season at Grossinger Motors Arena on Saturday Behind Matsushima is ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin Bloomington Bison goalie Mark Sinclair (29) guards the net in the second period of the Bison's first home game Saturday The Bloomington Bison's shutout loss to the Toledo Walleye on Saturday was "definitely a dagger for us," said team captain Eddie Matsushima (15) shown here during the second period at Grossinger Motors Arena "We really appreciate the crowd and the fans; they were electric Bloomington Bison forward Jonny Evans (67) skates during the second period on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena The Bloomington Bison's inaugural season opener at Grossinger Motors Arena ended in a shutout loss to the Toledo Walleye Bloomington Bison defender Chase Pauls grapples with a player for the Toledo Walleye on Saturday during the team's season opener at Grossinger Motors Arena Pauls earned the Bison's first penalty that night Bloomington Bison defender Case McCarthy (7) and Toledo Walleye forward Trenton Bliss race for the puck Saturday during the season opener at Grossinger Motors Arena Toledo Walleye forward Trenton Bliss looks to recover after hitting the ice during Saturday's season opener for the Bloomington Bison at Grossinger Motors Arena A linesman restrains Toledo Walleye defender Colin Swoyer during the Bloomington Bison season opener at Grossinger Motors Arena on Saturday Bloomington Bison forward Maxim Barbahev (14) looks to control the puck away from Toledo Walleye forward Tyler Spezia (17) while Bison forward Sahil Panwar (16) looks on Saturday during the season opener at Grossinger Motors Arena Bloomington Bison forward Blake McLaughlin (21) breaks away to pursue the puck in the third period against Toledo Walleye on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena Fans cheer for the Bloomington Bison in the second period of the team's inaugural season opener against Toledo Walleye on Saturday night at Grossinger Motors Arena "We really appreciate the crowd and the fans," captain Eddie Matsushima said after the game Bloomington Bison forward Linus Hemstrom (9) and Toledo Walleye defender Colin Swoyer (24) grapple during the third period on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena Bloomington Bison goalie Ruslan Khazheyev (35) speaks with goalie Mark Sinclair (29) after the team's shutout loss to the Toledo Walleye on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena Follow Randy Reinhardt on Twitter: @Pg_Reinhardt Email notifications are only sent once a day Follow our complete coverage of the Bloomington Bison as they mark their first season in the ECHL speaks with reporters following the team's 2-0 loss to the Toledo Wal… A new era in Bloomington professional hockey begins Saturday and Jonny Evans is eager to be a part of it It's always exciting to see the start of something new That's what fans are getting with the Bloomington Bison — on the ice and behind the glass "Was it a little disappointing that the Bison did not come out of last weekend with a win Are you struggling to keep up with the Bison's ever-changing roster Here's why the new Bloomington hockey team is uniquely … Grossinger Motors Arena has upped its concession game for concertgoers and Bison fans As the Bloomington Bison near their inaugural season halfway point here's a look at some "firsts" fans have seen so far — and a few predictio… Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account Share your travel photos with us by hashtagging your images with #visitjapanjp Anyone who’s looking to delight in Japan’s most exquisite vistas will doubtless be satisfied with a trip to Matsushima whose charms have attracted visitors for generation after generation The sight of some 260 islands of all sizes dotting Matsushima Bay is so stunningly beautiful that it stands alongside the winding sandbar of Amanohashidate in Kyoto and the iconic torii gate at Miyajima in Hiroshima as one of the three best views in all of Japan Matsushima is thought to have taken on its archipelagic shape some five thousand years ago Tectonic shifts following the last ice age caused a portion of this hilly region to sink eventually giving rise to the 260 or so islands here when warming temperatures drove up sea levels it is a scene that profoundly communicates the grandeur of nature untouched by human hands that has the power to put this gorgeous marriage of islands and sea on par with the most beautiful sights in the world: the light of the full moon in autumn For a few days on either side of the full moon Matsushima Bay turns golden as it reflects the light of the just-rising autumn moon—creating a phenomenon known as kinpa the water sparkles with silvery ginpa waves This stunning moment-by-moment transformation as moon and islands dance together creates an unfolding visual delight that happens nowhere else in the world Western cultures also celebrate the autumn full moon and Korea—where the culture of gazing at the moon in adoration has the deepest delighting in the sight of the autumn moon poised perfectly in the fresh clear skies is one of the most treasured delights of the season The beautifully rounded mid-autumn moon (known as chushu no meigetsu) is thought to be particularly lovely inspiring moon-viewing events across the country (see note 1) Note 1: The mid-autumn moon falls on September 24 in 2018 and will become perfectly full the following day Japan also has a tradition of viewing the following moon on the thirteenth night of its cycle (jusanya) Matsushima has long been one of Japan’s most famous moon-viewing spots a beloved scene that has inspired countless poems The daimyo even had the Kanrantei teahouse constructed here for the purpose of gazing at the moon to be later enjoyed by successive heads of the family The characters used to write “kan-ran” mean “admiring the ripples”; the teahouse is also sometimes known as the “moon-viewing palace” The sight of Matsushima Bay spreads out before the structure which is positioned perfectly to gaze at the moon rising out of the sea and offers an extraordinary sight each year around the night of the Harvest Moon Haiku poetry (see note 2) is known for its ability to condense vivid scenes and deep emotion into a tiny composition highlighted by key seasonal themes The world-famous haiku master Matsuo Basho loved the moon at Matsushima his passion for it driving him to make the journey to see it himself he kept a travel journal that he filled with haiku poems—though mysteriously he never actually composed one about Matsushima itself “Basho was likely so overcome with feeling at the beauty of the scene that words failed him rendering him incapable of producing a haiku.” Illustrious figures came from outside Japan as well The renowned physicist Albert Einstein is among the great men and women who have been captivated by the Matsushima moon a local newspaper reported that Einstein “was so moved gazing at the sight of the rising moon that he let out a cry of deep feeling.” Note 2: Haiku are short poems comprised of seventeen syllables in three lines One of the three lines must contain a seasonal expression No matter how beautiful the moon at Matsushima may be travelers on a nighttime sightseeing adventure want to be able to relax and enjoy their evening meal and accommodations as well Matsushima puts all those concerns at ease Scenic inns and hotels offering lovely views are dotted along Matsushima Bay ensuring that visitors can enjoy a comfortable stay as well as the breathtaking sights Some of them offer ocean views in every room and outdoor hot spring pools that make it possible to admire the moon while enjoying a relaxing soak You may come to Matsushima for the nighttime views but it would be a shame to miss out on its daytime charms The best way to take in all the beauty of its many lovely islands is from a cruise boat gliding along the water There are several cruise packages available so it’s easy to pick one that fits your schedule Tours are available with and without reservations There are also some great vantage points from land as well The Yukan and Reikan outlooks are in the town of Matsushima and the Sokan outlook is in Higashi-Matsushima city All are located a bit outside the center of Matsushima and require some walking from their respective parking areas but rest assured that any effort will be richly rewarded by the stunning views of Matsushima that await Nature offers some additional bounty during fall in Matsushima in the form of delicious local oysters Don’t miss out on these delicacies when you make your trip visit the Matsushima Tourism Association website: Browse the JNTO site in one of multiple languages The San Diego Gulls today announced the American Hockey League (AHL) club has reassigned forwards Eddie Matsushima and Kyle Crnkovic to the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL He has posted 24-24=48 points with 36 penalty minutes (PIM) and an ECHL career-best +18 rating in 40 games with Tulsa this season Matsushima has earned 68-72=140 points with 133 PIM in 190 career ECHL games with the Tulsa Oilers led all Oilers in goals and points and was named a 2022-23 ECHL All-Star Matsushima has also skated in six career Kelly Cup Playoff games tallying 3-1=4 points with four PIM and a +5 rating He chipped in 3-2=5 points in four postseason contests He also earned SPHL Second All-Star Team honors native spent three seasons with the NCAA Division III’s University of Wisconsin – River Falls scoring 38-46=79 points with 127 PIM in 109 games from 2015-19 Matsushima earned NCAA III (WIAC) All-Conference Team honors after posting 14-14=28 points in 26 games he earned NCAA III (AHCA) Second Team All-American (West) honors and finished as a NCAA III (WIAC) All-Conference Team member and NCAA III (WIAC) Scholar-Athlete has appeared in six games with San Diego in 2023-24 He tallied 15-30=45 points with a +2 rating and 18 PIM in 49 games for Tulsa this season ranking second among Oilers skaters in points and leading in assists AB native recorded 111-178=289 points with 90 PIM and a +68 rating in 277 career Western Hockey League (WHL) games with the Saskatoon Blades and Seattle Thunderbirds He posted 30-38=68 points with 27 PIM and a +48 rating in 67 games with Seattle in 2022-23 ranking second on the team in goals and fourth in points He added 3-11=14 points with 10 PIM and a +9 rating in 19 postseason contests helping the Thunderbirds win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as the WHL’s champion Crnkovic led the club in Memorial Cup scoring finishing the tournament with 5-3=8 points in five games and earning CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team honors He also skated in 34 career WHL postseason contests collecting 10-15=25 points with 16 PIM and a +10 rating a member of Bangladesh’s SAFF-winning women’s national football team lodged a General Diary (GD) at Motijheel Police Station in the capital on Wednesday after she reportedly received death and rape threats in recent days Media Manager of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Khaled Mahmud Nowmee was present at the time Sumaya expressed her distress: “Over the past few days I have received countless death and rape threats—words that have shattered me in ways I never imagined.” Her statement comes amid an ongoing dispute between national team players and the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) over the head coach Peter Butler National women’s booters threatened to boycott all football activities and quit the national camp unless the BFF removed head coach Peter Butler They also threatened to retire if their demands were not met the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) strongly condemned the threats and harassment targeting Sumaya The BFF said they asked the authorities concerned to take immediate and appropriate action against those responsible which formed a seven-member probe committee last Thursday to investigate the complaints of national women’s footballers against their British coach Peter Butler is scheduled to submit its report to the BFF President by Thursday (6 February) Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon took a big step toward a ONE Featherweight World Title fight with a dominant grappling display against #3-ranked Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, who came into the bout as the #5-ranked featherweight, had complete control of his Japanese opponent for most of the contest at ONE: BIG BANG winning by clear decision after three rounds It did not take “The Lion Killer” much time to shoot for a takedown and though Matsushima sprawled hard to defend Tonon stayed tight to him and soon scrambled to take the back the American locked up a body triangle and started threatening with his trademark submission – the rear-naked choke Tonon worked an arm under his rival’s chin The second round started with some striking but more Tonon dominance followed when he hit a double-leg takedown and passed to the back again he trapped Matsushima’s right arm with his right leg Despite the Japanese athlete’s impressive defensive display he could do little to turn the bout in his favor His only offense before the end of the second round came when he worked to top position and struck with elbows and a knee in the final seconds Tonon began the final stanza with a leg lock attempt but “Moushigo’s” defense was on point once again The Japanese star invited Tonon to stand with him for the rest of the match but he could not land enough strikes to threaten a finish or swing the contest in his favor the American held his own on the feet and did a good job of circling away from danger as he cruised to the final bell All three judges scored the bout for Tonon, who improved to 6-0 as a mixed martial artist and called out ONE Featherweight World Champion Thanh Le after his hand was raised Whether he gets a shot at the gold is uncertain but “The Lion Killer” definitely improved on his #5 position in the divisional rankings Read more: ONE: BIG BANG – Full Results And Highlights For Grigorian Vs. Kondratev has claimed she received numerous death and rape threats in recent days “I don’t know how long it will take for me to heal from this trauma but I do know that no one should have to go through this just for following their dreams.” my dream was to inspire young students whose parents only wanted them to focus on studies I wanted to show that passion and dedication can break barriers I sit here with regret—regret for sacrificing my education all to serve a country that doesn’t know how to appreciate our struggles.” Her statement comes amid an ongoing dispute between national team players and the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) over the reinstatement of head coach Peter Butler Defender of first SAFF winning Bangladesh Women’s team Ankhi Khatun set to marry her fan who led the team during their SAFF Women’s Championship title defence in Nepal last year In a three-page statement issued before a press conference at the BFF House on Thursday including Sabina Khatun and Sanjida Akhter accused Butler of “questioning the players’ personal lives “We won’t train under Peter Butler in the camp until the BFF president takes necessary steps to resolve the issue,” the statement read The players also highlighted the uncertainty regarding their status noting that their contracts were not renewed after October “As the BFF did not renew our contracts after October they have no legal grounds to take action against us if they consider punishing us and remain adamant about keeping Butler we will resign together,” the letter added Global Times reporter following Australia and Japan issues also with a focus on social issues and overseas studies Japan and NATO are reportedly finalizing plans to establish a line for sharing highly confidential security information during .. Japan will host the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting Having rediscovered his motivation for the game while playing club rugby in France, Japan star Kotaro Matsushima is ready to set Rugby World Cup 2023 alight on his return to the country appeared to have the world at his feet four years ago as his five tries – including a first-ever Rugby World Cup hat-trick by a Japanese player – helped to propel the Brave Blossoms to an historic quarter-final place on home soil Japan coach Jamie Joseph labelled Matsushima a ‘Ferrari’ of his team during RWC 2019 but in the aftermath of the tournament the skilful back found it hard to stay driven That was until he received an offer from Top 14 powerhouse ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2020 moving to Europe to play two seasons at Stade Marcel Michelin “While I was playing matches at different levels in France I felt my motivation and desire to play for Japan growing [again],” Matsushima said His exploits in the famous yellow jersey of Clermont led to him being nominated for the EPCR European Player of the Year award in 2021 having scored four tries during that season’s Champions Cup Matsushima is hopeful he can “show some exciting and entertaining rugby” for those who supported him during his Top 14 adventure as he prepares for the Brave Blossoms’ opening Pool D fixture against Chile on Sunday that he is a better player now than he was at the last two Rugby World Cups Matsushima played as a winger in both but has arrived back in France as a full-back helping to support the squad’s stock of wide players Semisi Masirewa and Siosaia Fifita – will be appearing at their first Rugby World Cup “I can display myself better at full-back,” Matsushima said “I have more opportunities to play with the ball and it frees me up to do what I think is best at that moment if I can communicate that with my team-mates as I am expecting to play with the ball more.” Matsushima has enjoyed a fruitful 2023 so far having returned to Tokyo Sungoliath and helped the club to the Japan Rugby League One semi-finals before winning his 50th test cap for the Brave Blossoms in August but the full-back insists that has not slowed him down “Age doesn’t bother me at all,” Matsushima said “I want to take this coming tournament and put all I have learned [into it].” Matsushima is one of 13 players included in Joseph’s 33-player squad for RWC 2023 with previous tournament experience meaning more than half of the group that arrived in Toulouse on 2 September are preparing for their first Rugby World Cup The team’s results during their five-match warm-up series in Japan in July and August which were played in extremely hot weather were erratic with four defeats and only one victory insisting that the time spent together as a squad will prove invaluable and that performances have improved ahead of RWC 2023 “It was so hot that we couldn’t do well in attacks in some parts and we were playing those matches while doing very tough trainings there were moments that we couldn’t move as much as we wanted or we had to during the game “In the recent training sessions [after the RWC 2023 squad was named] we played smoothly without making mistakes even in the high heat “Our connections and combinations are getting better Following their meeting with Chile at Stadium de Toulouse on Sunday Samoa and Argentina in what looks to be one of the most competitive pools in the tournament is determined to make sure the Brave Blossoms reach the knockout stages for a second successive Rugby World Cup The San Diego Gulls today announced the American Hockey League (AHL) club has signed forward Eddie Matsushima and defenseman Anthony Costantini to a one-year standard player contracts (SPCs) through the 2023-24 AHL season.  posted 46-48=94 points with 97 penalty minutes (PIM) in 151 career ECHL games with the Tulsa Oilers posting 28-19=47 points in a career-best 65 games led all Oilers in goals and points and was named a 2022-23 ECHL All Star Matsushima also skated in six Kelly Cup Playoff games scoring 3-1=4 points with four PIM and a +5 rating.  he earned NCAA III (AHCA) Second Team All-American (West) honors and finished as a NCAA III (WIAC) All-Conference Team member and NCAA III (WIAC) Scholar-Athlete.  posted 11-58=69 points with 50 penalty minutes (PIM) and a +33 rating in 193 career Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games with the Ottawa 67’s posting 7-29=36 points with 12 PIM and a +26 rating in 67 games he led team defensemen in games played and ranked second in assists and tied for third in goals He added two assists in nine 2023 OHL Playoff games as Ottawa advanced to the Second Round before falling to the Peterborough Petes Costantini collected three points – all assists – and two PIM The defenseman was teammates with current Anaheim Ducks prospect Pavol Mintyukov.  185-pound defenseman made his OHL debut in 2019-20 posting 0-7=7 points with 22 PIM and a +21 rating in 59 games He ranked first among the team’s first year blueliners in games played and finished second in points and tied for second in assists.  a goaltender who spent four seasons in the OHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Kitchener Rangers Best in Travel is here! Discover 2025’s destinations The 30 best countries, cities and regions to visit in 2025 Plan your trip with Elsewhere, by Lonely Planet See where a Lonely Planet Membership takes you Subscribe to our weekly newsletters to get the latest travel news, expert advice, and insider recommendations Explore the world with our detailed, insightful guidebooks Stay ahead of the curve with our guidebooks Uncover exciting new ways to explore iconic destinations Every month, we release new books into the wild Search Search Close search menu Explore Best in Travel 2024 Africa Close menu Countries Antarctica Antarctica Close menu Regions Asia Asia Close menu Countries Australia & the Pacific Australia & the Pacific Close menu Countries The Caribbean The Caribbean Close menu Countries Central America Central America Close menu Countries Europe Europe Close menu Countries Middle East Middle East Close menu Countries North America North America Close menu Countries South America South America Close menu Countries it may surprise you to learn that I've always hated the prospect of long walks Why feel the need for them when vehicles are near and in abundance I used to find walks boring with the unwelcome bonus of chafing on the ole thighs I can typically walk for a total of 25 minutes because I start looking for the nearest bus stop When I began my journey to the beautiful city of Matsushima in northeastern Japan, I was well aware that a planned highlight included hiking the newly reopened Oku-Matsushima Trail; a 10km hike that is part of the Miyagi Olle To say I was initially apprehensive would be an understatement – as a plus-sized and asthmatic woman my first instinct is often to put myself down and assume I'll fail in keeping with my promise to stay positive and be open to new experiences from now on I decided to believe in myself and tackle the trail Now we have a post-Oku-Matsushima-Trail Steph Post-Oku-Matsushima-Trail Steph has a different outlook on walking Post-Oku-Matsushima-Trail Steph doesn’t flinch at the prospect of walking a mile or two She’s even bought new trainers and a travel water bottle for upcoming walk-related endeavours Let me give you an insight into this incredibly beautiful place and why it was such a turning point for me and my approach to hiking it has become one of the biggest tourist hotspots for foreigners and locals alike despite the tragic tsunami that devastated the Miyagi Prefecture in 2011 are a testament to the unique structure of Matsushima Bay itself The famed cluster of about 260 islets served as a natural buffer weakening the impact of the waves and largely sparing the coastal town from utter devastation despite its proximity to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake’s epicentre in the Pacific Ocean Read more: Japan's nature paradise won't be a secret for much longer My new favourite hike is a 10km course that is located on one of the bay's biggest islands and the Nobiru coastline that stretches along the Pacific Ocean The trail takes you through prehistoric landmarks dating back to the Jōmon period (a vast expanse of time that covers Japan's Neolithic period) The trail passes by the Satohama Shell Mound a prehistoric refuse heap of shells and other evidence of human occupancy The course is marked by blue and red ribbons depending on the direction you choose at the outset Because I was a bit of a newbie to the whole hiking thing and I realised hiking boots would have been a better option for me I’ll admit that the vertical climbs weren’t my favourite part of the trail and there were stages where I considered turning back as I didn’t think I could do it but I dug deep to find the mental will to push ahead and my body followed Even though it took us a bit longer to complete I was so immensely proud that I was able to accomplish the climb to the top Along the trail we also passed by local wildlife going about their daily life as well as trees and bushes native to the area There is a whole bamboo forest nestled deep in the mountain – not only is it the perfect Instagram location I found that the next hour and a half went by quite swiftly you are treated to absolutely extraordinary panoramic views of the majority of the 260 islets within Matsushima Bay; the kind of once-in-a-lifetime scenes that made the entire hike worth it We spent a few minutes taking in the sights and loading up on some water A note here for people who may have vertigo or frequently suffer with dizzy spells – it’s important to listen to your body and pause to catch your breath when needed I unfortunately tripped over an exposed tree root due to feeling a little woozy Not the ideal souvenir from such a wonderful experience but in retrospect I wish I'd listened to my body more and rested when I needed it Our hike eventually reached flat land and we walked along the beautiful beach on the coastline The trail led us to a large area of grassland; an area of land that was hit by the tsunami It was a reflective moment as we viewed the tsunami shelters embedded within the trees that protected the population and also a testament to the incredible strength tenacity and will of the locals who were able to rebuild the area and re-harvest crops; turning something tragic into beauty and abundance There is also a residential area along the coast where you can get a bite to eat and relax after your hike (I recommend the oysters – Matsushima is nationally famous for them) As my wobbly yet euphoric legs hobbled back to the Visitor Centre after hours of climbing and walking I reflected on the fact that I’d just completed a four-hour hike The realisation of what my plus-size body could do and achieve hit me like a ton of bricks – aside from the initial vertical climbs (and the ankle injury!) being surrounded by the natural landscape and taking in the breathtaking views was definitely a treat for the senses and I would do it again in a heartbeat The closest station to the Aomina Visitor Centre is Nobiru station You can hire a car from central Matsushima You may also like:Everything you need to know about visiting an onsen in JapanMy experience travelling as a black womanWhat happened when we won the travel job of our dreams Stephanie Yeboah travelled to Japan with support from the Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organization. Lonely Planet contributors do not accept freebies in exchange for positive coverage. Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report July 1 marked 70 years since Japan created the Self-Defense Forces The anniversary falls at a time of deepening engagement with allies on defense matters including a steep increase in joint exercises and the visibility of Tokyo's security partnerships We look at how the SDF is changing and what this will lead to A constant theme is whether the changes are consistent with Article 9 of Japan's pacifist Constitution The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Hachinohe Air Base in Aomori Prefecture faces the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Sanriku flying in from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture an MSDF fuel tanker approached and began refueling the aircraft military aircraft landing at the SDF base in 70 years Also at Hachinohe were an MSDF P3C maritime patrol aircraft and an MSDF SeaGuardian patrol drone The F-16s later maneuvered with MSDF fighter aircraft as if to give an aerial show of unity between Japan and the United States Senior officials of the Defense Ministry said the U.S jets were practicing deployments under the U.S a plan to redistribute assets from major air bases to other locations during a conflict One such scenario might be a missile attack by China While Hachinohe Air Base was engaged with the F-16s a similar drill was taking place at the Air Self-Defense Force’s Matsushima Air Base in Higashimatsushima The Matsushima and Hachinohe maneuvers this time were within the U.S large-scale integrated exercises that are held every two years involved more than 10,000 service personnel from all branches of the U.S For the first time in Valiant Shield’s history “These exercises were originally carried out by the U.S military as integrated training for a Pacific war,” said Tetsuo Kotani a U.S.-Japan security expert at Meikai University But this year the maneuvers had a sharp new profile “The exercises were conducted at the largest scale ever and Japan’s SDF participated in them for the first time,” Kotani said “(This) means Japan and the United States are increasingly unified looking ahead of contingencies against China." Valiant Shield tested a range of contingencies military carried out live-fire exercises against vessels of the decommissioned fleet in waters near Guam the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier maneuvered with the JS Izumo MSDF destroyer and JS Jingei in waters off the eastern Philippines and Taiwan exercises took place at SDF bases in Tokyo and in eight prefectures These included the simulated repair of a runway on the remote Iwoto island Warfare training also took place on Amami-Oshima island and elsewhere in the first island chain which stretches from Japan to the South China Sea The first island chain training included anti-ship missiles which in combat might be deployed against Chinese warships parachute drops took place within an island defense scenario on June 16 the MSDF participated in the Maritime Cooperative Activity with the militaries of the United States The Japanese destroyer JS Kirisame joined the event which took place in the South China Sea within the first island chain “Valiant Shield is usually carried out near the second island chain But what was remarkable about the exercises this time was that the U.S military focused on the first island chain including Japan.” it meant something that Japan joined the exercises for the first time.” (This article was written by Nen Satomi and Taketsugu Sato Two Japan MSDF helicopters crash in Pacific base commander calls Chinese Guam attack video ‘propaganda’ Flight data show nothing unusual before crash of MSDF choppers EDITORIAL: Comprehensive probe called for following MSDF chopper accident 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 Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text Lindquist's Washington Heights Memorial Park This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors Image of the pancreas of a diabetic mouse to show autoimmune disease: Cytotoxic T cells attack the pancreatic cells as a young postdoc in the 1980s at the National Cancer Institute in the US that help attract white blood cells to infection sites Matsushima made antibodies against different types of these ‘chemokines’ and their receptors; that eventually led to an anti-leukaemia drug Matsushima’s lab at Tokyo University of Science’s Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences is progressing cancer immunotherapy Discoveries of immune regulators are almost commonplace at this institute established in 1989 to facilitate collaborative research between biomedical scientists and companies Its strong immunology focus is largely attributed to the leadership of Tomio Tada—director from 1995-1999—renowned for highlighting specialized cells that disarm the immune system from attacking one’s own organs Immunologists at the institute continue to uncover interactions and malfunctions of various components of our immune systems to develop therapeutic strategies for challenging diseases of our times Professor Matsushima’s anti-cancer drug targets a chemokine receptor on some T cells targets the chemokine receptor CCR4 expressed on some T cells patients receive allogeneic bone marrow and stem cell transplants that sometimes lead to life-threatening graft versus host disease Matsushima found that an antibody that targets the CD4 protein expressed on T cells saved mice from this deadly reaction Subsequent research by others showed that anti-CD4 antibody had a surprising anti-cancer effect on tumour-bearing mice “Why was the depletion of the CD4+ T cell population in tumour-bearing mice showing anti-tumour activity?” Further research by Matsushima found that CD4+ T cell depletion led to the proliferation of cancer-killing T cells in tumour-bearing mice He has since conducted promising early-stage clinical trials to test the efficacy of the anti-CD4 antibody oesophageal and colorectal cancers in human patients in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) is a technique to purify immune cell populations and the state of immunity Immunologists often need engineered mice to clarify the functions of immune molecules Yoichiro Iwakura has generated more than 100 lines of immune-deficient disease models by modifying immune-related genes he has used these engineered mice to study rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis and found that inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 IL-17 and TNF-α play important roles in this process Recently he showed the protein CTRP6 suppresses an immune pathway and can be used to treat arthritis in mouse models Iwakura suggests excess activation of this pathway could lead to autoimmune diseases in humans Iwakura has also clarified the roles of an immune receptor implicated in host defence against fungal infection inhibition of its signalling in healthy individuals suppresses inflammation in the intenstine caused by irritants and allergens Too much inhibition prevents dectin-1 from initiating an anti-fungal response when it senses beta glucans in fungal walls Its excessive activation by beta glucans in foods or fungi can aggravate colitis “A balance between the agonistic and antagonistic dectin-1 ligands helps control intestinal immunity,” explains Iwakura Masato Kubo’s team at the institute is investigating another molecule involved in intestinal immunity NFIL3 is a rhythmically expressed transcription factor that is a key regulator of body metabolism Kubo found that gut microbes regulate energy storage and body fat accumulation by controlling the amplitude of NFIL3’s circadian oscillation Professor Kubo shows how immune cells can be isolated and sorted Much of Kubo’s career has focused on immune responses against influenza infection Recently he found that the dominant response to inactivated influenza vaccines involves type 1 T helper cells triggering the release of antibodies that can only target the type of influenza virus in the vaccine including after vaccination with a live attenuated virus leads to a dominant T follicular helper cell response that produces broadly reactive antibodies that can respond to several influenza virus strains If he can reveal the detailed mechanisms underlying the advantages conferred by natural infection Kubo says it could inform innovative vaccine strategies for influenza viruses and for COVID-19 Iwakura is developing new mouse models to progress understanding of why some infected people develop an over-aggressive inflammatory response Studying the roles of individual cytokines in the development of a cytokine storm could help determine the best anti-cytokine antibodies for treatment Matsushima is also building on his many years of research on the anti-alcoholism drug disulfiram for treating lung fibrosis He hopes to investigate the drug’s anti-viral and anti-inflammatory potential for treating COVID-19 For all research outputs for Tokyo University of Science refer to the Nature Index This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the 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The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version Garry Tonon def. Koyomi Matsushima at ONE Championship 122: Best photos American grappling ace Garry Tonon continued his rise up ONE Championship's featherweight ladder by claiming a dominant victory over former title challenger Koyomi Matsushima at ONE Championship 122 in Singapore then staked his claim for a title shot of his own Tonon (6-0) successfully closed the distance on Matsushima (12-5) and after initially grabbing a guillotine choke on the Japanese contender moved to his opponent's back and dragged the action to the mat "The Lion Killer" locked up a body triangle and relentlessly pursued a rear-naked choke while Matsushima did well to fend off the American's submission attack and survive the round despite having Tonon on his back for the final three minutes of the round It didn't take Tonon long to take matters to the mat in Round 2 as he once again took Matsushima's back and looked to work his way toward another submission opportunity the Japanese athlete stayed composed under intense pressure and countered Tonon well to stay alive in the matchup and even managed to finish the round on top and score with some heavy ground strikes to register a little offense of his own before the bell Tonon switched gears at the start of Round 3 and dived for a leg lock who had prepped for the fight by training with Japanese leglock legend Masakazu Imanari Matsushima looked to make a late impact with his striking as he pursued Tonon across the cage in search of a knockout ensured the jiu-jitsu ace avoided trouble before the final bell to go the distance for the first time in his MMA career Tonon's complete dominance of the fight through the first two rounds meant the three judges – scoring the fight in its entirety – all awarded the fight to Tonon as he improved his perfect record and positioned himself for a possible shot at newly-crowned featherweight champion Tonon issued his challenge to Le by cutting a pro-wrestling-style promo in his post-fight interview I'm coming for the gold that you've hoarded around your waist The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission Environmental PollutionCitation Excerpt :In 2018 the mean concentrations of all heavy metals exceeded their background values Heavy metal concentrations in sediments of the Modaomen Estuary were comparable with those reported in the Pearl River Estuary (Ip et al. and other estuarine systems in the world (Coxon et al. Environmental PollutionCitation Excerpt :Heavy metals have substantial biological toxicity and non-degradability and their bioaccumulation in food chains can ultimately threaten human health (Loska and Wiechuła anthropogenic activities such as the mining process and the smelting of steel have released large quantities of heavy metals into the aquatic systems (Ota et al. most of which are enriched in sediments through physical or chemical processes (Farkas et al. The sediments are discharged into seas and accumulate in the offshore areas (Alexander et al. possibly leading to heavy metal enrichment in offshore marine sediments (Pan and Wang All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience which has more than 200 stores in Japan and abroad who took over as creative director last year the company has embarked on a full-fledged rebranding effort the company turned to Cantate's Shin Matsushima as a collaboration partner "Cantate" has been a brand that has caught the attention of stylists and others in the fashion industry with a keen sense of fashion with its clothes made with the utmost attention to material and workmanship We asked the three designers to share their perspectives on the story of ZOFF eyewear which they created together with the most up-to-date designers of the moment Fascinated by vintage clothing and French vintage After graduating from Bunka Fashion College she worked in production planning and design for a number of brands before launching her own brand which are made with the utmost care and attention to detail from material to sewing especially by people in the fashion industry he founded the women's brands "furfur" > and "Balcony" he was appointed general creative director of " Zoff and design for several eyewear manufacturers and is in charge of planning and designing eyewear for " ZOFF " while making use of his unique connections with factories and fabric makers please tell us how ZOFF came to collaborate with you and Mr we came up with a number of ideas for the future direction of the company One of the ways to do this was through collaboration but I didn't want to do it in a loveless way "We have a budget of 10 million yen and expect to make a profit of this amount so we'll do dozens of collaborations a year I thought that with Shin (Matsushima) I could add a new story to "ZOFF," with an eye toward the next step I did some research on the company to see where ZOFF stood in the eyeglass industry I found that they were doing a lot of new things and I had a hunch that it would be interesting and bringing it to the masses," and I think this project is similar to that idea We originally met as friends without business but when I saw his craftsmanship at an exhibition He does not spend money like a high-brand designer but rather tries to spend money to create truly good products and he makes clothes that suit both large and small people fat or skinny people should choose them if they think "this is good Maybe the characteristics of his manufacturing are oriented toward glasses I think this is the first experience for Mr MatsushimaI think it is important to have a bird's eye view of the whole process and I believe that if you can grasp the whole picture and I was able to easily decide on the direction to take TidaWhen we asked Shin to collaborate with us and the brand was known only among fashion insiders who were sensitive and eccentric That is why I thought that if I could work with someone like him he would create a new sense of value for ZOFF marshlandZOFF also wanted to create a product that would embody Mr I have seen the glasses we collaborated on and the price of 18,000 yen including lenses is astounding for glasses of this quality and material I think that glasses sold in the world are expensive it is common for celluloid glasses to be sold for around 40,000 yen but I want to sell them at a price that is appropriate for their quality "I would like to do it if it is made in Japan and priced at a level that I can sell it as "ZOFF there are multiple intermediaries that intervene before the product reaches the consumer ZOFF" is an SPA company that handles everything from planning and production to sales in-house so we are able to sell our products at a fair price Taking the Sun Platinum metal frames made in this collaboration as an example the price would be about 30,000 to 40,000 yen if the same quality were made at an ordinary eyeglass shop often selling them under a brand name or touting "Sabae" or "craftsmanship Selling only by brand name is no good if the quality is poor and I can confidently recommend this product because of the gentleman's good design MatsushimaWe first drew the design in actual size and then fine-tuned it based on the assumption that people with various face shapes would wear the glasses but I think we ended up with a pair of glasses that would look good on anyone The three celluloid frames in this collection include dead stock celluloid fabric Celluloid gives a texture and classic feel that acetate does not have I think what is unique about this collaboration is the choice of materials: celluloid and samplatina I first consider the weight of the garment when it is hung on a hanger The weight is the first thing that the customer feels when he or she picks up the item The first thing that is important to me is the texture of the glasses when they are picked up in the store and the temples are opened The transparency and hardness of celluloid and the luster and weight of sunplatina can be felt with your own hands and you can feel the high quality and luxury that acetate and titanium do not have MatsushimaThe celluloid used in this project was selected from among celluloid found by Mr and the fabric has been dried for many years making it dry to the core and giving it a firmness This is a rare material that is rarely used in recent years "I want to work with celluloid and sunplatinum," to be honest I had tried to make a product with samplatina before this project Since samplatina is a material that is about two generations old there are almost no manufacturing facilities left in Japan for samplatina and it takes a lot of time and effort to polish and braze it Celluloid frames with a classic 3-pin clasped 7-piece hinge at the wick The frame has become an icon of this collaboration Seven-piece hinges connect the front and temples This allows for smooth opening and closing and reduces loosening of the screws We also requested that the celluloid and hardware be polished flat We also used 7-piece hinges that have been carefully deburred so the temples are slippery and smooth when opened The beauty of Japanese-made products is that the beauty of their movement lasts for a long time which also produces high-end brands from overseas The way the front and temples are aligned and the way they look when folded are also very beautifully finished Celluloid frames with a raw clear (clear color) that allows the other side to show through The temples have a core metal for easy adjustment MatsushimaI first designed a model with a ball shape somewhere between Boston and Wellington but I personally would like to make sunglasses with green lenses in the raw clear color model The color allows you to enjoy the transparency of celluloid the most and the polished core metal does not spoil the beauty of the model marshlandIt is possible to make celluloid frames using the no-core manufacturing method (frames are made without a core) but the thickness of the temples would be doubled with the no-core manufacturing method the thickness of the temples would be about twice as thick with the no-core method MatsushimaI designed the glasses by applying them to various pictures of faces and my goal was to create glasses that would look good on anyone without being too sharp I am confident that even if they were mixed in with a thousand other eyeglasses "I like these eyeglasses," regardless of the price The ZOFF × SHIN MATSUSHIMA collaboration model is made in Sabae While glasses made of celluloid or samplatina tend to have a nostalgic design this collaboration aimed to create eyewear that is sophisticated and modern Wellington type with 8mm celluloid on the upper rim and 6mm celluloid on the lower rim the transparency of the celluloid is utilized to create a color contrast and a thermont-like look I heard that it was very difficult to make the step The ball shape is between Boston and Wellington The temples are also set at the top of the rim so that the entire face looks sharp when viewed from the side "The core metal is also thoroughly polished so that the wearer can enjoy the transparency that only celluloid can provide The combination frames use a Boston-type ball shape and metal for the bridge and nose pads and the gradation of the frames is designed to be easy to wear especially for those who are not used to wearing glasses" ZT182002_15E1 ¥18,000+TAX / ZT182001_15E1 ¥18,000+TAX The polishing process takes nearly three times longer than usual giving the frames an extremely beautiful luster Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima predicted he would get a finish in Jakarta Matsushima stopped “The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong with a third-round TKO to cap an exhilarating featherweight clash at ONE: WARRIOR’S CODE at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta Koyomi Matsushima 🇯🇵 SWARMS Kim Jae Woong 🇰🇷 Koyomi Matsushima 🇯🇵 SWARMS Kim Jae Woong 🇰🇷 with a devastating ground-and-pound finish 🤜💥📺: How to watch 👉 http://bit.ly/ONEWCWatch📱: Watch on the ONE Super App 👉 bit.ly/ONESuperApp🏷: Shop official merchandise 👉 bit.ly/ONECShop Posted by ONE Championship on Friday “Moushigo” punished the legs of his foe with low kicks then swiftly shot in for a takedown Kim worked back to his feet and created distance with punches The 27-year-old Japanese athlete shot for another double-leg and as he pressed “The Fighting God” against the ropes It took a moment for Kim to collect his composure before he could scramble up again and resume the striking battle Matsushima started to find a home for his right hook and hit another takedown early on but his opponent recovered to start firing back with hard punches to the head and body the South Korean was caught coming in by a counter right hand that put him on his back That was not enough to put “The Fighting God” away and he was still a threat when the stand-up exchanges started again “Moushigo” threw everything he had at his rival at the start of the final frame and then caught the man from Seoul clean on the chin with a perfect overhand right “The Fighting God” was wobbled and Matsushima pounced with another right hand that sent him to the ground again Kim could not defend himself from the ground and pound and referee Kemp Cheng jumped in to stop the action after just 24 seconds of round three The win improved Matsushima’s record to 12-4 and put him back on track in his quest for the ONE Featherweight World Title.