Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s major news headlines for January–June 2024. Second half to be posted at the end of 2024.
Updated: July 7, 2024
Jan. 1, 2024: The devastating Noto Earthquake off Wajima, Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture occurring at 4:10 pm was also felt in Shiga Prefecture. Magnitude M4 in Nagahama, Hikone, and Omi-Hachiman, and M3 in Otsu, Kusatsu, and Moriyama. The shinkansen and local trains running in Shiga were suspended following the quake, but restarted by evening. No earthquake damage in Shiga was reported. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Noto_earthquake
Jan. 11, 2024: Los Angeles Dodgers pro baseball superstar Ohtani Shohei’s gift of baseball gloves to all Japanese elementary schools has also reached Shiga. Azai Elementary School in Nagahama received three baseball gloves today. The kids opened the box and played catch with the gloves (two right-hand gloves and one lefty glove). They faced Los Angeles and shouted out their thanks to Ohtani. #浅井小学校
Jan. 22, 2024: Otsu Mayor Sato Kenji (50) was reelected for another four-year term as Otsu mayor with 54,970 votes vs. rival Narita Seiryu’s 47,122 votes. Sato is a former NHK reporter and promised to make Otsu more resistant to natural disasters. Need to start with Otsu City Hall which is not earthquake resistant enough.
Jan. 29, 2024: Ishiyama-dera Temple in Otsu opens the Taiga Drama-kan exhibition hall to promote this year’s NHK Taiga Drama “Hikaru Kimi e” about author Lady Murasaki who wrote the epic “Genji Monogatari” (Tale of Genji) novel. Kimono used in the drama and other items are displayed. Runs until Jan. 31, 2025. #大河ドラマ館 https://otsu-murasakishikibu.jp/
Jan. 29, 2024: Ministry of Education has found that the average obesity rate among Shiga’s children in almost all grades up to high school was lower than the national average during the last school year. Among high school sophomores in Shiga, the obesity rate was only 6.7%, the lowest in Japan. It seems Shiga’s kids have found ways to remain physically active even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jan. 30, 2024: Lake Biwa’s water level is still -64 cm as of this morning. There was a slight increase in the water level since last summer due to snow melt. Still 42 cm lower than usual. Sakamoto Castle’s stone wall rocks on the shore remain exposed. Oku-no-su island in Nagahama now has a footpath from the lakeshore. Water conservation efforts in effect.
Feb. 1, 2024: Sleepy JR Omi-Nagaoka Station in Maibara opened a small, new cafe named Cafe Lumière (カフェ・ルミエ) today. Run by three people who moved to Maibara. The cafe occupies part of the station’s spacious waiting room. It serves organic coffee/tea and pastries using local ingredients like Ibuki Milk. It has nine seats and operates only on Sundays from noon to 5 pm and Wednesdays from 2 pm to 7:30 pm for now. With the cooperation of JR Tokai, Maibara providing a subsidy, and crowd funding, the cafe became a reality and the operators hope to revitalize the place. #近江長岡大好き倶楽部 https://www.instagram.com/cafe._.lumiere
Feb. 7, 2024: A 30-meter long, one-meter high stone wall from Sakamoto Castle in Otsu has been discovered while the land was being surveyed for a housing construction project. It is believed to be part of the castle’s Sannomaru keep and moat and the most outermost part of the castle. The discovery may shed light on the size or scale of the little-known castle. The lakeside Sakamoto Castle was built by Akechi Mitsuhide as ordered by warlord Oda Nobunaga. However, it was abandoned after only 15 years.
Feb. 8, 2024: In 2023, Otsu residents spent an average of ¥10,321 on supermarket coffee products (excluding canned coffee and coffee shop spending). This is the highest amount in Japan compared to other municipalities. Otsu has kept this No. 1 ranking for three years in a row. (No. 2 is Kyoto city, at ¥10,311/resident.)
Feb. 18, 2024: Ropeway ticket vending machines on the summit station of Biwako Valley ski grounds in Otsu was broken into and a total ¥280,000 was stolen. Ticket machine for the restaurant was also broken into. Apparently, the thief hid on the summit or climbed the mountain (takes 3 hours) during after-hours to steal the money. #びわ湖バレイ
Feb. 24, 2024: At almost 11 am, large falling rocks near the summit on Mt. Ibuki hit two male alpine climbers in their 50s from Kobe. One of them, Ogawa Takuma (55, 小河 拓磨), died. The other was injured.
Feb. 26, 2024: In Miyama, Fukuoka Prefecture, a 1st grade boy choked and died from a quail egg stuck in his throat during school lunch. Thus has prompted Aisho Town to prohibit quail eggs in kindergarten lunches from next month. Otsu BOE has also issued a notice to all schools to make sure students chew food well to prevent choking on food in school lunches.
Feb. 27, 2024: Due to the lack of bus drivers, Kojaku Kotsu (江若交通) will reduce the number of local bus runs in Otsu and Moriyama from March 16, 2024. Six bus routes will be affected: Hama-Otsu, Biwako Ohashi, Higashi Chiku Rose Town, Nishi Chiku Rose Town, Ogi-no-Sato, Hiyoshidai, and Otsu-Moriyama. Ohmi/Kokoku Bus has also already announced decreased bus runs on five bus routes including Omi-Hachiman from April 2024. https://www.kojak.co.jp/bus/
Mar 16, 2024: Congrats to Fukui Prefecture and our neighboring city of Tsuruga for finally joining the shinkansen club today! The Hokuriku Shinkansen has been extended from Kanazawa to Tsuruga. Feels good to have a bullet train in your neighborhood, huh? It will eventually be extended to Osaka via Obama and Kyoto.
Meanwhile, Tokkyu Shirasagi Limited Express trains which ran from Nagoya and Maibara to Fukui/Kanazawa since 1964 will now run only up to Tsuruga where you can transfer to the shinkansen to go further to Kanazawa. Note that from Tsuruga and Maibara, it is still cheaper and faster to take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Tokyo instead of the Hokuriku Shinkansen.
With the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension to Tsuruga, northern Shiga is working to attract Hokuriku tourists to visit Shiga as well. https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/routemaps/hokurikushinkansen.html
March 10, 2024: At a Paris 2024 Paralympic swimming qualifier meet in Fuji, Shizuoka, Paralympic butterfly swimmer Kimura Keiichi (木村 敬一) from Ritto qualified to represent Japan at the Paris 2024 Paralympics this summer. After training in Tokyo, he will fly to Paris in early Aug. 2024. At Tokyo 2020, Kimura won the gold medal for Paralympic butterfly 100m.
Mar 25, 2024: Hikone-native Olympic gold medalist Ohashi Yui (28, 大橋 悠依) joyfully earned a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer by winning the Olympic qualifier in Tokyo today for the 200-meter women’s individual medley. Although she failed to qualify for the 400-meter women’s individual medley by coming in fourth, she will look forward to her second consecutive Olympics in Paris.
Mar 26, 2024: Lake Biwa’s water level is finally back to normal for the first time in 7 months, thanks to adequate rain since last month. Rice farmers are relieved along with the native fish.
Mar 28, 2024: Lake Biwa Canal Cruise between Keage in Kyoto and Miidera in Otsu has extended its route to Otsu Port from today. The extension adds 1.5 km to the normal 7.8 km canal route. The first boat from Keage to Otsu Port was greeted by Otsu mayor and Miss Otsu in a short ceremony. Only certain boat runs will be extended to Otsu Port. The boat normally operates in spring and autumn (until June 9, 2024 this spring). https://biwakososui.jp/biwakososui/?lang=en
Mar 28, 2024: In Maibara, Tokugen-in Temple completed major renovations of its three-story pagoda thanks to crowd funding. New roofing and interior parts replaced. Renovations started in June 2023. It’s been 50 years since the last major renovation.
Mar 28, 2024: Tobidashi-boya is marking its 50th anniversary in Higashi-Omi where it was invented in 1973. Shaped as a young boy or girl darting onto the road, tobidashi-boya is a roadside warning sign for cars to slow down in child zones. An exhibition of a wide variety of tobidashi-boya is being held at Notogawa Museum (能登川博物館) until May 5, 2024. #飛び出し坊や
April 1, 2024: Both Mainichi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun newspapers have stopped the home delivery of their evening editions in Shiga due to the lack of demand and increase in delivery costs.
April 1, 2024: Teisan Konan Kotsu in southern Shiga have reduced their number of bus runs on 11 routes starting from Ishiyama Station, Seta Station, Kusatsu Station, and Minami-Kusatsu Station due to the lack of bus drivers and shorter working hours.
April 1, 2024: Ohmi Railways today reorganized into a new business structure where the rail tracks and train stations will be owned and maintained by local governments (10 cities and Shiga Prefectural Government) and the trains to be operated by Ohmi Railways.
Next year, Ohmi Railways will start accepting ICOCA cards for train fares to make it easier for passengers to transfer to other train lines. They also plan to hold events near train stations to attract more passengers to the train line bleeding red ink.
April 8, 2024: A Tokyo company announced plans to build a water park on Karasuma Peninsula in Kusatsu. The big plot of land next to Lake Biwa Museum that stood empty for over 30 years will finally be developed into a leisure facility named “Wave Park Biwako” offering surfing on artificial waves. Construction will begin in May 2026 and the facility is slated to open in May 2028.
April 9, 2024: In Koka, one of the 29 stone Buddha sculptures at Tarao Falls Waki-magai was reported stolen today. A local resident noticed the missing stone sculpture which is round, about 40 cm diameter and 8 cm thick, weighing 20 kg. Inscribed with a symbol for the Fudo-myoo deity. (多羅尾滝の脇磨崖石仏群).
April 12, 2024: The number of foreign residents in Shiga as of Dec. 31, 2023 was a record 39,366, an increase of 3,200 over 2022. For the first time, Vietnamese nationals made up the largest group with 9,585 (increase of 1,500 over 2022), surpassing the 9,251 Brazilians in Shiga. Third largest was Chinese (4,740), followed by Koreans (3,724) and Filipinos (3,165). Permanent residents numbered the most with 15,569, followed by technical trainees at 5,743. Many work in factories.
April 15, 2024: Shiga Prefectural Government employee Sasaki Tadashi (佐々木忠志, age 46) arrested for hugging and groping a woman in her 20s on the street in Otsu on late night of March 8, 2024. He admits that he groped her rear end but denies hugging her first. Sasaki works in Shiga’s Civil Engineering and Transportation Dept. However, he was later not charged. Police gave no reason.
April 23, 2024: At Lake Biwa Museum in Kusatsu, the aquarium tunnel reopened today after completing repairs to cracks found over a year ago following the shattered water tank for the Giant Lake Biwa catfish in Feb. 2023. Repairs attained with crowd funding.
April 26, 2024: The busy lakeside road (Route 161) in front of Shirahige Shrine in Takashima, famous for the torii in the lake, now has a dedicated, marked bicycle lane going south for 5 km. Hopefully, it will make it safer for drivers and cyclists alike. The lakeshore also has a fence to prevent people from entering the shore and water.
May 4, 2024: A rare cobalt-blue Biwa-masu salmon/trout at Samegai Trout Farm in Maibara was widely reported. It hatched out of 250,000 fry in fall 2022 and has reached adulthood. Really stands out in the water.
May 19, 2024: Shiga Lakes pro basketball team won their B2 Division this season and will be rewarded with a promotion to the top B1 Division next season.
May 23, 2024: Japan Post Offices in Shiga Prefecture have started selling limited edition stamps featuring “Tale of Genji,” novelist Murasaki Shikibu, and Ishiyama-dera Temple in concert with the NHK Taiga Drama TV series. They are on ¥84 stamps on a sheet of 10 stamps priced ¥1400.
May 29, 2024: Shiga Lakes pro basketball team will have a new head coach in Maeda Kenjiro (33, 前田健滋郎) who was the head coach of the Nagasaki Velca team which moved up to the top B1 Division after last season. He’s originally from Osaka. Interesting that his name Kenjiro includes the kanji for “Shi” in Shiga. https://www.lakestars.net/roster/staffs/detail/id=20124
May 29, 2024: Hybrid species between the native Japanese giant salamander and the Chinese giant salamander (A. davidianus) has been designated as an invasive species by the Japanese Environmental Ministry. From July 1, 2024, it will be illegal to import, raise, sell, or release these hybrid salamanders in Japan. The hybrid species are currently found in Shiga, Gifu, Okayama, and other prefectures. They squeeze out native Japanese salamanders from their natural habitats and have a long lifespan, making it difficult to eradicate. Chinese giant salamanders were imported to Japan for food in 1972 when the ongoing introgressive hybridization began. They now threaten the native Japanese giant salamander’s survival.
May 31, 2024: Konan City Hall deputy dept. head (age 50s) punished today for inappropriate remarks to two foreign subordinates in his/her dept. Punishment was a 90% salary cut for 3 months.
From June 2023 to Feb. 2024, the deputy dept. head gave disparaging, anti-foreigner remarks repeatedly to the foreign employees. “I’m prejudiced against foreigners.” “If more foreigners don’t work, welfare assistance will also increase.” “If there’s a fire, a Japanese putting it out would be an act of extinguishing the fire, but a foreigner doing it would be an act of destruction.”
The unnamed deputy dept. head apparently remains employed at Konan City Hall. Takeuchi Noriyuki (竹内範行) head of the General Policy Department (総合政策部) offered his apologies for the offending employee.
June 5, 2024: In 2023, women in Shiga gave birth to an average of 1.38 babies in their lifetimes, the lowest on record and a decrease for three years in a row. This is still slightly higher than the national average (1.20) with Shiga ranking 13th highest among all 47 prefectures. In 2020, Shiga Prefectural Government set a goal of increasing this number to 1.80 by 2060. In 2023, there were 9,249 childbirths and 14,955 deaths in Shiga Prefecture.
June 6, 2024: Mayor of Maibara announced the city’s approval of a proposal to finally develop the large vacant plot of land on the east side of JR Maibara Station. A group of northern Shiga companies plan to build a multi-purpose complex comprising a research facility, shops, and condominiums to open in three years. This large plot has laid empty since 2007 after the city and prefecture bought it from the defunct Japan National Railways (JNR) in 1999. 米原駅東口周辺まちづくり事業
June 15, 2024: In Takashima, an event was held to celebrate the completion of two-year renovations of Omizo Jinya Somon Gate to make it look like an Edo period structure. It’s near Omi-Takashima Station. Jinya was a local samurai government office.
June 21, 2024: The start of the rainy season today in the Kinki Region (includes Shiga) was announced by the Meteorological Observatory. This is 15 days later than usual and 23 days later than last year. More photos here…
July 7, 2024: The sixth and final Biwako Music Festival (第６回びわ湖音楽祭) was held at Omi-Hachiman Bunka Kaikan hall with singer Kato Tokiko, special guest and local boy Nishikawa Takanori (T.M.Revolution), and local school choirs performing for 1,100 people. This six-concert series had been held annually since 2017 to celebrate Biwako Shuko no Uta song’s 100th anniversary. The concert was held every summer (except during Covid) in a place connected to the song: Otsu, Omi-Maiko (Wani), Imazu, Nagahama, Hikone, and Omi-Hachiman.
July 20, 2024: JR Kosei Line along the western shore of Lake Biwa celebrates its 50th anniversary. It was 50 years ago when Japan National Railways (JNR) started operating this train line to replace the old Kojaku Railway (江若鉄道) between Hama-Otsu and Omi-Imazu.
Aug. 22, 2024: Under construction since Oct. 2023, Costco in Higashi-Omi will open with a floor space of 10,000 sq. meters and 750 parking spaces. Japan’s 34th Costco store expects to see 4,000 to 9,000 customers per day. コストコ東近江倉庫店
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/sc1V1wSWJ8xm6v9s7
Oct. 1, 2024: Hikone Castle admission fees will increase for the first time since 2017. Adult admission fee will increase from ¥800 to ¥1000. Kids admission from ¥200 to ¥300.
Hikone Castle Museum admission fees will also increase from ¥500 to ¥700. Kids admission from ¥250 to ¥350.
To be continued…
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