This July, Sakai will see the opening of a brand new hospital in Nishi-ku, the Sa-kai City Medical Center, which will take over from the old Sakai Municipal Hospital as the main public hospital in the city. Spanning 27 specialties, the hospital will be a hub for cutting edge specialist and emergency medical care, equipped with all the won-ders that modern medical technology has to offer. Its 487 beds include 30 for emergency medical care and seven for the treatment of infectious diseases. The new hospital will also house an emergency pedi-atric centre which will pro-vide year-round primary

JUNE / JULY 2015 EDITION

CITY LIFE

Food Safety in Summer 2

Sakai Citizens Noh 3

Grand Evening Fish Market 3

Sakai City Museum 4

Sofia Sakai Planetarium 4

Financial Assistance 5

Fire Prevention Visits 6

Inside this issue:

Message from the Editor

Greetings all! Things area starting to heat up and it looks like another hot summer - I can say this before the rainy season (tsuyu) has even arrived!

Theres still plenty to do in Sakai through the summer though, de-spite the heat.

In this edition there wasnt any space to put in details of Sakais public swimming pools, but rest assured, theyll be up on the website.

This summer Ill be doing my best to re-member to drink plenty of water and get out into the forests and hills to the west from time to time to unwind.

Felix

Sakai City Medical CenterNew!

1-L5-15-0052

care for children, including on weekends and holidays and at night. The hospital incorporates base isolation (earthquake-proofing) technology, high performance off-the-grid power generation capaci-ty and a helipad to allow it provide continuation of care and fulfill its role as a regional base for medical care in the event of a large-scale natural disaster. The hospitals ad-dress will be 1 Ebaraji-cho, Ni-shi-ku, Sakai City.

(Note: medical treat-ment will not be avail-able here until the hospital has officially opened.)

Watch out for food poisoning during the rainy season!

Every year between June and Octo-ber cases of food poisoning abound. In particular, germs are very active during the hot and humid rainy sea-son. Even though food poisoning bac-teria may be present in your food and multiplying, there may be no change in the foods appearance, smell or taste, making it very difficult to detect.

Pay attention to the following pointers to keep yourself and your family safe.

When buying food:

Before buying, check the use-by date and level of freshness. Only buy what you need. When buying food that needs to be kept refrigerated or fro-zen, aim to purchase it last. After buy-ing such food, get it into the fridge or freezer as soon as you can.

Storage:

Generally speaking, fridges should be kept below 10 degrees centigrade and freezers below -15 degrees centi-grade. Leaving the door of your fridge or freezer open, or putting too much inside it can cause the inside temper-ature to increase, so aim to close the door as soon as you can when taking things out, and try not to fill your fridge or freezer above 70 percent.

When cooking:

Always wash your hands before pre-paring food. Make sure you also wash your chopping board and knives in hot water to kill germs before you start cooking. In particular, after handling raw meat or fish, be sure to wash your hands and cooking utensils before handling other food.

When heating food, ensure that it is cooked through (i.e. that the centre of the piece of meat etc. is thoroughly cooked).

Eating:

After food has been prepared, try to eat it straight away. If it is likely to be a while before you eat the food, do not

Summer Food Safety

PAGE TWO CITY LIFE

Emergency NumbersRemember These!

In the event of a fire or medical emer-gency please call 119. If you require the police or there has been an acci-dent, call 110.

Ambulances are free to use in Japan; however, they are only for emergen-cies, and must not be used in cases of minor illness or injury.

Emergency calls can be made for free in public phone boxes:

1. Pick up the receiver

2. Press the red button

()

3. Dial 119 or 110 depending on the nature of the emergency.

Beginner Japanese Lessons

Free beginner level Japanese lessons for adults will be taking place in Sakai International Plaza from September 1st. There will be 15 lessons, held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Participants must live, work or study in Sakai City.

Applications will be accepted from July. For more information please con-tact Sakai International Plaza

(TEL) 072-228-7499

email: kokusai@city.sakai.lg.jp

190th View 21 Concert

The 190th View21 Concert will be held in the 21st Floor Observation Lobby at Sakai City Hall on Friday, June 12th from 12:10. Junes concert is titled The Rainy Concert to celebrate Tsuyuthe plum rains which typically fall in June. The performance will be by pianist, Ms Okamura Hoshimi. Pieces include: Raindrop by Chopin Reflets dans leau by

Debussy Hitsuji (The Ram) by Okamura Ho-

shimi

On July 9th, 2012, the system manag-ing the registration of foreign residents changed. Residents who still possess an Alien Registration Card from the old system need to swap their card for a Residence Card by

1. Their 16th birthday or July 8th this year (which ever comes first) for permanent residents,

2. Their 16th birthday, July 8th this year, or the end of their stay (which ever comes first) for those on Des-ignated Activities Visas,

3. Their 16th birthday or the end of their stay (which ever comes first) for all others.

Mid/long term residents should bring:

Passport (if they have one), Alien Registration Card, 1Xpassport photo (40mm X 30mm)

Present the items listed above at the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau (9:00 16:00 weekdays).

Enquiries: Osaka Regional Immigra-tion Bureau (TEL) 06-4703-2100

Enquiries can also be directed to your local ward office civic affairs division or the City Hall Family and Resident Registration Division (TEL) 072-228-7739 (FAX) 072-228-0371.

If you require language assistance, you can use the trio-phone interpreta-tion service which is available at Sakai International Plaza. (TEL) 072-228-7499 The service is available for Eng-lish speakers 9:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. For Chinese speakers: Friday 9:00-12:00, and Monday and Wednesday 13:00 16:00.

End of Alien Registration Card System

leave it at room temperature put it in a shallow dish where it will cool easily, and then place the dish in the freezer or fridge. When you eat it after that, be sure to reheat it thoroughly.

Finally, when you have a barbeque, keep chopsticks used for handling the raw meat separate from the ones used for eating.

Enquiries: Food San-itation Division (TEL) 072-222-9925

In addition to fuels such as gasoline and kerosene hazardous materials also include substances used in paints, agricultural chemicals, cosmet-ic and pharmaceuticals and more. They are all around us and while we may be familiar with them, one mis-step in their usage or handling can lead to fires, endangering life and property.

At home, always be sure to keep haz-ardous materials out of reach of chil-dren and away from places that get

Sakai Grand Evening Fish Market be-gan as a market for Sakais fishermen to sell off fish left over from the offerings they made at Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine to ensure bountiful catches and safe navi-gation. The market dates back 700 years to the Kamakura period; truly a time-honoured Sakai tradition.

This year the market will be held on July 31st, a Friday. Stage events begin, and stall and booth trading starts from 1:00 pm. After 7:00 pm anyone can enjoy bartering with wily fish sellers and participating in the auction for the freshest seafood around.

Event Information

Date: July 31st (Friday)

Time: 1:00 pm 9:30 pm

Venue: Ohama Park (4 5 Ohama Kitamachi, Sakai-ku) 800 metres west of Sakai Station (Nankai Line)

Entry: free

Parking: unavailable (incl. Ohama Park)

Please direct enquiries to the Grand Sakai Night Fish Market Executive Committee (2-2-3 Nakanocho Nishi, Sakai Ward) (TEL) 072-227-8841

hot. Use them only in well ventilated spaces, away from naked flames, and take care to store and use them cor-rectly and safely.

Enquiries: Sakai City Fire Bureau, Fire Prevention Department, Hazard-ous Materials Safety Division

(TEL) 072-238-6006

From the Fire Bureau: Beware of Hazardous Materials

Sakai Grand Evening Fish Market

PAGE THREE

THE 45th SAKAI CITIZENS NOH

JUNE / JULY 2015 EDITION

Date July 25th (Sat)

Time Performance starts at 13:45 (venue opens at 13:00)

Venue Westy Hall (Sakai City Nishi Culture Hall)

Tickets Tickets are available from Toga, Higashi, and Mihara Cultural Halls, the Sakai City Cultural Foundation, Lawson Ticket (L-code: 52422) and e+.

Discount rates apply to those 18 and under, senior citizens (65+), and people with disabilities and their carers.

Discount tickets and tickets for wheelchair users cannot be pur-chased through Lawson Ticket or e+.

Not suitable for pre-school aged children.

Enquiries Sakai City Cultural Foundation (TEL) 072-228-0440

Weekdays 9:0017:30

Ticket Prices Presales Door Sales

General Discount General Discount

Designated seat-ing only

3,500 3,000 4,000 3,500

Come down to Westy Hall in Otori, home of Sakai Takigi Noh, to see na-tionally famous Noh actors, including Nagayama Reizaburou, in action.

The afternoons spectacles will in-clude the noh play, Tsuchigumo, a lion dance, and a comical kyogen performance titled Nawanai.

Tickets are on sale now!

In Sakai June is Hazardous Materials Safety Month and the week from June 7th to June 13th is Safety Priori-ties Promotion Week. During the week, Sakai City Fire Bureau will be working to increase citizens aware-ness of hazardous materials fire pre-vention practices, and conducting a publicity and education campaign aimed at improving hazardous materi-als safety and strengthening self-preservation frameworks in work spaces.

PAGE FOUR CITY LIFE

The Sakai City Museum is located in Daisen Park. It holds thematic exhibi-tions in addition to its general exhibi-tion on the history and culture of Sa-kai.

Time Trip back to the Showa Period The Panoramic World of Yoshida

Hatsusaburo

May 30th (Sat) July 12th (Sun)

The Sakai City Museum, now in its 35th year of operation, has in storage a particularly excellent collection of pan-oramic maps drawn by Yoshida Hatsusaburo, painter of modern Japa-nese landscapes. The museum has exhibited the collection before, mes-merizing the many visitors who saw it.

Last year (2014) marked the 130th anniversary of Yoshidas birth and this year marks 60 years since his death. As such, his panoramic maps will be displayed in various parts of the coun-try. The Sakai City Museum, however, will be examining its collection from a new angle.

Yoshidas panoramic world, which

What s on a t Saka i Ci ty Museum?

depicts the Showa period landscape in a distinctive way, will be at once nostalgic to the Showa generation and fresh to the Heisei generation.

Delve into the fascinating and nostal-gic world of maps through Yoshidas panoramas. You will not be disap-pointed.

1st Floor Exhibition Area Temporary Exhibition Corner

Temporary Exhibition: Summers

from Days Gone By, Sakai Summers

July 18th (Sat) August 30th (Sun)

This exhibition looks at various items related to summers the way they used to be.

1st Floor Exhibition Area Temporary Exhibition Corner

Remember, the museum also has permanent exhibitions detailing the history of Sakais kofun (ancient burial mounds) and its years as a bastion of self rule and hub for foreign trade. More or less in front of the museum are the Shin-an and Obai-an tea houses. Shin-an keeps the same hours as the museum and visitors can

try matcha green tea and traditional tea cer-emony sweets there.

Opening Hours

Open Tuesday-Sunday 9:30-17:15 (enter by 16:30)

Closed

Mondays (except public holidays)

Year-end and New Year Holidays

Contact museum for details TEL:072-245-6201)

Admission Museum Entry only

Adults 200 yen

University/senior high students 100 yen

Elementary/junior high students 50 yen

Discounts apply for groups (20 persons or more). Junior high school students and elementary pupils attending schools or living in Sakai, as well as foreign exchange students with suitable identification are admitted for free.

Planetarium Film: Mt. Fuji by Kagaya Studio Inc.

On Saturday, Sunday and public holi-day nights until June 28th the Sofia Sakai Planetarium will be screening Mt. Fuji by Kagaya Studio Inc. The screening lasts 40 minutes during which images of Mt. Fuji and the night sky over four seasons spread out across the dome to a soundtrack by Himegami.

Dates: May 9th June 28th (Saturdays, Sundays and public holi-days)

Times: 18:00-18:40

Fee: Adults 510 yen Children 250 yen (4y/o junior high school age)

Venue: Sofia Sakai Gallery (1426 Fukaishimizu-cho, Naka-ku)

Nearest station: Fukai station on the Semboku Rapid Railway

Link: http://sofia-sakai.jp/planetarium/

Enquiries: Sofia Sakai Planetarium

(TEL) 072-270-8110

Sofia Sakai Planetarium and Observatory

Flea Market 2015 (and Fure-ai Mini Festival) at Sofia Sakai

Fun for all the familyYou never know what you might find!

Date: June 28th (Sun) Time: 11:00-16:00 Entry: Free

Venue: Sofia Sakai Gallery (1426 Fukaishimizu-cho, Naka-ku)

Nearest station: Fukai station on the Semboku Rapid Railway

Mini Festival: Yo-yo Fishing, Super Ball scooping (100 yen per play)

Sakai City provides rent assistance for young single workers, young married couple households, and families with small children that have moved into rental accom-modation in Semboku New Town. The second enrolment period for the 2015 fiscal year is from July 1st to July 31st (excluding weekends and public holi-days).

Enrolment during this peri-od is for households who have finished the residents registration within Semboku New Town by July 1st.

There are certain restrictions on the types of households and housing eli-gible for assistance so be sure to take these into account if planning a move.

Young married couple households and families with small children can receive monthly assistance of up to 20,000 yen towards the portion of their rent above the first 50,000 yen for a maximum of five years.

Young, single workers can receive monthly assistance of up to 10,000 yen towards the portion of their rent above the first 30,000 yen for a maximum of three years.

For those individuals eligi-ble for the citys single per-sons rent assistance who moved into UR (Urban Renaissance) rental housing, benefits are also avail-able from the Urban Renaissance Agency.

For more details on conditions and restrictions, please see information pamphlets available at the City Hall Administrative Information Centre and ward office Administrative Information Corners, or see the Sakai City Homepage (in Japanese).

For enquiries, please con-tact the New Town Region Revitalization Office:

(TEL) 072-228-7530

People who require language assis-tance can make use of the Triophone interpretation service offered at Sakai International Plaza (English: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri: 9:00-12:00, 13:00-16;00 Chinese; Mon, Wed: 13:00-16:00, Fri: 9:00-12:00).

(TEL) 072-228-7499

Housing Assistance in Semboku New Town

PAGE FIVE JUNE / JULY 2015 EDITION

In June and July at the Sakai Machiya Town House Museum Seigakuin and Yamaguchi Residence, they will be putting on a wazarashi and yukata exhibition and putting up Tanabata (Star Festival) decorations to highlight Sakais traditional industries and brighten things up with some season-al furnishings. Information panels will also describe Sumiyoshi Festival and Mikoshi-togyo (a type of parade fea-turing portable shrines), both im-portant festivals closely linked to the people and history of Sakai. Towards the end of June, various fittings inside these old buildings are swapped for summer fittings, for in-stance, fusuma sliding doors are re-placed with light bamboo sudo doors. In the heat of summer the buildings make the perfect spot to seek out a bit of shade.

Exhibition Schedule: Wazarashi/Yukata/Tenugui Hand-towel Exhibition: June 3rd (Wed) - 29th (Mon) Tanabata decorations: July 1st (Wed) -6th (Mon) Sumiyoshi Festival Mikoshi-togyo Panel Exhibition: July 1st (Wed) - August 8th (Mon) Entry: 100 yen (Seigakuin), 200 yen (Yamaguchi Residence), 250 yen (entry to both) Entry is free for junior high school students and children, 65+ and people with disabilities.

Closed: Tuesdays Access (No parking facilities are available at either site): Seigakuin

1-3-13 Kitahatagocho-nishi, Sakai-ku (TEL/FAX) 072-228-1501 5 minutes on foot from Hankai Tram Takasu Jinja Station or Nan-kai Main Line Shichido Station

Yamaguchi Residence 1-2-31 Nishikinocho-higashi, Sa-kai-ku (TEL/FAX) 072-224-1155 3 minutes on foot from Ayanocho Station on the Hankai Tram Line.

Enquiries: Cultural Properties Division (TEL) 072-228-7198 ext. 4651

Sakai Machiya Town House Museum Seigakuin and Yamaguchi Residence For households facing financial diffi-

culties in sending their children to senior high school etc., assistance of up to 32,000 yen a year is available. Financial assistance is granted follow-ing the results of a screening process with assistance administered on a needs basis for a maximum of 480 students. Households meeting the following criteria may be eligible.

Students living in Sakai City and at-tending one of the following types of schools on July 1st, 2015:

First year students (those who en-tered from this school year only) at senior high school, secondary school (senior levels only), technical colleges, vocational schools (senior courses lasting two or more years only), and students in years 1 3 at support school (senior levels only, excludes specialist courses)

To be eligible total household income for 2014 should be within the following:

2 person households: 2.18m yen or less 3 person households: 2.69m yen or less 4 person households: 3.06m yen or less 5 person households: 3.52m yen or less

Households eligible to receive the Osaka Prefectural Governments Support payments for attending school (families who receive public assistance (seikatsuhogo) or municipal tax income-based tax relief) are not eligible. Applications are accepted July 1st July 10th (excluding week-ends) and must be made at the appli-cants local ward office. Applicants should bring with them their name seal (inkan) and documentation showing a bank account in their childs name.

Applicants will be notified of the result of their application by post in October. People who intend to apply but who have not made an income declaration should do so. People who moved into Sakai on or after January 2nd, 2015 should provide a tax certificate (kazeishomeisho) for the 2015 fiscal year from their previous municipal government in September.

Enquiries: School Affairs Division(TEL) 072-228-7485

For use of the Triophone interpreta-tion service or to have a free volun-teer interpreter present during your application, enquire at Sakai Interna-tional Plaza (TEL) 072-228-7499

Volunteer interpretation requires application at least 10 days prior to use.

Application for Financial Assis-tance for High School Students

Fire Retardant Products

Fire retardant products incorporate special ma-terials which are flame-resistant and work to stop the spread of fire even if they do catch. Their use is not compul-sory but making sure your bedclothes and curtains are fire retard-ant can help prevent the occurrence and spread of fire in your home.

http://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/english/visitors/newsletter/ind

ex.html

CITY LIFE

Please call the Public Sanitation Division on 072-228-7429 if you have any questions.

Please be aware that theres a city-wide ban on smoking and littering on streets and roads in Sakai, and that theres an awareness raising campaign being held in the areas around major stations in city.

In particular, the areas in front of Sakai Higashi Station and Sakai Station, around the Sakai City Office, and along Oshoji St. have been designated as a smoke-free zoneif youre caught smoking or littering, you could face a 1,000 fineeven if youre riding a bike or scooter at the time!

Lets all work together as a city to make Sakai a safe and comfortable community, free from litter and second-hand smoke!

Smoking and Littering Ban on Sakai Streets

PAGE SIX

City Life provides English speaking residents and visitors with information about daily life and events in Sakai.

Published by the Interna-tional Division, Sakai City Government, 3-1 Mina-mikawara-machi, Sakai-ku, Sakai, Osaka 590-0078

Tel:072-222-7343

Fax:072-228-7900

This issue was compiled by Felix Campbell, Coordina-tor of International Rela-tions. Published on the 1st of every second month.

Pick up your next copy of City Life from the 6th floor of Sakai City Hall or from:

Ward Offices

Libraries

Sakai City Museum

Public health centres

Public gyms

Cultural halls

Foreigners living in Sakai are eligible for free delivery. Please email us with your name and address.

If you would like to give feedback or contribute something to City Life (event information, hints for living in Japan, recipes etc.) please contact Felix at:

kokusai@city.sakai.lg.jp

Readers can now sign up to be sent the link to each new City Life as it becomes available online. Use the QR Code above or the link on the City Life homepage to go to the registration websitethe registration process is all in Japanese but there is an English guide on the page.

Payment of Municipal and Prefectural Tax

Of house fires that the Sakai Fire Bureau dealt with in 2014, half occurred in hous-es with elderly occupants. To help en-sure senior citizens safety at home, starting in June, the Fire Bureau will be conducting fire prevention home visits to houses in which all residents are 75 or over. If this includes you and fire bureau personnel visit your house, please greet them appropriately. In some instances personnel may visit in a fire engine.

Preventing house fires requires effort from everyone. To strengthen your household fire readiness, here are some things to bear in mind:

Household Fire Alarms

Many house fire deaths occur where people have left it too late to evacuate. In particular, this includes people who were asleep when the fire broke out. To combat this, it is now compulsory to have fire alarms installed in bedrooms. If your house doesnt yet comply with this requirement, please have alarms in-stalled as soon as possible.

If you already have smoke detectors fitted, please be sure to keep them well maintained.

Household Fire Extinguishers

The best way to stop fires is using a fire extinguisher, when they first break out. While fire extinguishers are not compul-sory in houses, their installation is strongly recommended.

Municipal and Prefectural income taxes are paid in quarterly installments the year after the

income is earned. The first payment for this tax year is due by Tuesday, June 30th, 2015. You can pay at financial institutions, post offices, most convenience stores or at any city tax office. Please check your bank balance first if you wish to pay by

automatic transfer (the funds will be trans-ferred on June 30th), and please contact your local tax office with any questions.

Office Phone

Sakai Ward City Tax Office 072-228-7411

Naka Ward City Tax Office 072-270-8187

Higashi Ward City Tax Office 072-287-8106

Nishi Ward City Tax Office 072-275-1907

Minami Ward City Tax Office 072-290-1806

Kita Ward City Tax Office 072-258-6724

Mihara Ward City Tax Office 072-363-9318

Tax Collection Division 072-228-3957

From the Fire Bureau: Fire Prevention Home Visits