Chiba Child Welfare Admits Mishandling Kurihara Case

Chiba Child Welfare Officials Address The Media

10-year-old Mia Kurihara who died in January after a series of physical and sexual assaults by her father had been released from protective custody despite the father's abuse of her, Noda, Chiba Prefecture government sources said Tuesday.

While 41-year-old Yuichiro Kurihara has already been indicted on assault-related charges after his daughter Mia was found dead in the bathroom of their home in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, the sources said the girl told child welfare center officials in interviews in 2017 that her father had woken her up at night and did sexual things to her.

She said her underwear were pulled down by the father, and when she told him to stop and pulled her pants up, Kurihara told her that other family members "will notice if you say that, so be quiet" and them he would sexually and physcially assault her according to multiple documents during the 3 year investigation.

During the interviews conducted while she was in protective custody at the Kashiwa child welfare center, the girl also gave accounts of her father's physical abuse, such as trying to suffocate her while she slept.

The center ended her protective custody, even though a doctor said she had been subjected to muiltiple assaults as well as many sexual abuses and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder. The national and prefectural governments are now admitting the decision at the time was not appropriate.

Mia was taken into protective custody at the center on Nov. 7, 2017 after she reported in a school questionnaire that her father "hurt" her.

But after 2 months she started saying she wanted to go home, the center concluded the abuse was not serious and ended her protection as of Dec. 27 that year so she could stay with relatives. She was allowed to return home on Feb. 28, 2018.

The girl's 32-year-old mother Nagisa Kurihara has also been indicted on a charge of assisting in assault.

The case has revealed an apparent lack of coordination among authorities on the situation and questionable responses.

Officials of local governments apparently failed to share information on the family despite the abuse allegations and a local education board provided a copy of Mia's complaint to her father. Welfare officials also failed to check on the girl's safety after her protective custody ended.

Nikko Hotels To Open Their Largest Hotel In Nagoya

Concept Drawing Of Nikko Style Nagoya

Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co., Ltd., announced today its conclusion of a contract with Meieki Management LLC to manage Nikko Style Nagoya, the first hotel under the new upscale, select-service Nikko Style brand, which will open in 2020.

Nikko Style Nagoya will be located in Nagoya’s popular Meieki district, which combines offices, retail outlets and other downtown conveniences, including Nagoya Station, within the fast-redeveloping Chukyo metropolis that extends well beyond Nagoya.

Mr. Marcel P. van Aelst, CEO of Okura Nikko Hotel Management, remarked, “We are delighted that we will be opening Nikko Style Nagoya in 2020. This will be our first property branded under Nikko Style, our new lifestyle brand targeting customers who are especially interested in new and creative hotel experiences. We look forward to opening this and other Nikko Style hotels in major locations worldwide to create an all-new customer base.”

Nagoya’s Meieki district is a principal transportation hub with intersecting JR, Nagoya Railroad and Kintetsu Railway lines. In recent years, Meieki has become the main gateway to the Nagoya metropolitan area and surrounding region. The district’s distinctive atmosphere is defined by its highly regional character, including historic Yanagibashi Central Market, the local “pantry of citizens.” Chubu Centrair International Airport is within easy reach and is expected to bring in many more overseas visitors as Japan’s inbound tourism continues to surge.

Nikko Style Nagoya will offer 191 rooms, a communal lobby, all-day dining and a fitness gym. This will be Okura Nikko Hotels’ first select-service lifestyle hotel targeting at a new customer base. The upscale facility will be specifically geared to satisfying the needs and preferences of millennials interested in culture, health, the environment and creative hotel experiences. It is forged from the brand concept of a hotel that fascinates people by offering them new travel styles and experiences.

One of the hotel’s many appealing features will be its communal lobby, which is designed to facilitate interaction among hotel guests, local people and other visitors. Additionally, a special event area in the lobby will provide a unique space for culinary events featuring tasty local ingredients, workshops on Nagoya’s distinctive cuisine and performances by local musicians, allowing guests to absorb Nagoya culture and experience its charms even before venturing outside.

All-day dining will include a tempting mix of all-round and local Japanese cuisine, including fresh, high-quality produce supplied by local farmers, as well as representative local beers and Japanese sake.

Standard rooms will offer an above-average 30 m² of floor space with 5 meters of frontage, providing spacious living areas and bathrooms allowing enhanced relaxation. Interiors will incorporate motifs inspired by the traditional crafts of Nagoya, imbued with Japan’s world-famous manufacturing culture, and in the same spirit, Nikko Style Nagoya will provide their own original amenity products which are gentle on the skin and environmentally friendly.

The 24-hour fitness gym will invigorate guests with an exhilarating open design enhanced by an extra-large picture window. As a people-friendly and earth-friendly hotel, Nikko Style Nagoya will offer guests environmentally friendly choices such as the option to decline replacement towels or bed linen.

The development of the hotel facilities is being carried out by Support 27 LLC. And ORIX Real Estate Investment Advisors Corporation performs asset management and project management work, which has been commissioned by Support 27.

Location: 5-2011-1 Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture
Access: JR, Meitetsu, Higashiyama and Sakura Dori Subway, Nagoya City Bus

No. of floors: 13
Total floor area: About 9,542 m²

Mayor Kawamura And Council To Discuss Integrated Resort Bid

Takashi Kawamura, Mayor of Nagoya

A recent survey conducted by the Kyodo news agency revealed that only three locations in Japan had positively confirmed their desire to host an integrated resort (IR). These include Osaka, Wakayama and Nagasaki, while others were either “considering making an application” or had no interest. One of those that was said to be considering vying for an IR was Nagoya, which has now confirmed that it is contemplating whether or not to place a bid, adding that it will make a decision by this summer.

The mayor Nagoya, Takashi Kawamura, has acknowledged that his administration is preparing to hold exploratory discussions May 20 on the subject with consultants and resort operators. GGRAsia states that one of its correspondents learned that Kawamura expects any IR to be located within no more than 30 minutes from Nagoya JR/Meitetsu Station and could possibly cover between 12.4 and 24.8 acres.

If Nagoya waits too long to make its decision, it might be too late. Japanese officials have already indicated that they would start reviewing bids by the summer and a serious amount of schmoozing between casino operators and target cities began more than a year ago. Given the popularity of the three cities that have already confirmed their interest, Nagoya may have a hard time competing unless it can provide a plan that would blow the others away.

For any local government to submit an IR bid, it must first find a gambler partner. This would most likely only occur following a lengthy study into the logistics of hosting an IR, as well as research into suitable partners.

Since the IR Implementation Act stipulates that bids can be submitted from any local government down to the “ordinance level,” GGRAsia points out that it is possible to have two bids appear from Nagoya – one for the prefecture and another for the city.

Should Nagoya choose to enter the race, it reportedly has already picked out an ideal location. It has selected an artificial island on Ise Bay where the Chubu Centrair International Airport is located. That airport services as many as 20 million passengers annually.

Police Bust Nagoya Prostitution Ring

Aichi Prefectural Police have busted a prostitution ring that is believed to have recruited tens of thousands of customers through a smartphone application, reports the Sankei Shimbun

Among those arrested was Kohei Kino, the 27-year-old leader of Akatsuki, which took its name from the famous animated film. Between October, 2016 and this past February, the ring is believed to have collected around 600 million yen from about 30,000 customers.

Thus far, police have accused Kino and eight other men of working together to dispatch women to hotels in the Sakae area of Naka Ward to provide honban, or full sex, to male customers on January 23 and the following day.

Kino, who has been accused of violating the Anti-Prostitution Law, denies the allegations. “Since there is no evidence, I have nothing to say,” the suspect was quoted by police. Meanwhile, the other eight suspects admit to the charges.

After receiving an anonymous tip last February, police launched an investigation.

The members competed with one another in the recruitment of the customers, which was done with them posing as women on a smartphone deai-kei dating app. Streets scouts recruited the women to serve as prostitutes, police said.

Tokyo Reporter

Nagoya Ready For Rugby World Cup

Toyota Stadium, Toyota Shi, Aichi

While the city of Nagoya is not hosting the Rugby World Cup matches, near by Toyota Shi is in the newly built Toyota Stadium.  This means Nagoya will be a destination for hotel stay, shopping, dining, and site seeing.

Throughout the city one can see parks being revitalized, store fronts being remodeled, and  hotels polishing their staff English skills.  Banners wave in the breeze near Nagoya Station announcing Aichi as a sports destination.

Matches at Toyota Stadium
Monday September 23, 7:15pm, Wales vs Georgia
Saturday September 28, 6:45pm, South Africa vs Namibia
Saturday October 5, 7:30pm, Japan vs Play Off Winner
Saturday October 12, 1:45pm, New Zealand vs Italy