Volume 109 - July 15, 2016

78 days until the National Sports Festival, and 99 days until the National Sports Festival for People with Disabilities!

Community Bonds Deepened at the 2016 Takata Smile Festival （Rikuzentakata）

On July 3rd, 2016 （Sun）, the 2016 Takata Smile Festival was held at the Kamiosabe grounds in Rikuzentakata.

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the Kawasaki Frontale J-League soccer team sent mathematics teaching materials to children in Rikuzentakata. This became the catalyst for soccer classes and other regular activities, eventually leading to the signing of a friendship agreement called the “Takata Frontale Smile-ship” in September last year. This event was a part of that program.

On this day, Kawasaki Frontale players helped run a soccer class for local children. There was also a stall selling products and foods from both cities, which attracted long lines of people.

The main event was the “Smile Dream Match”, an exhibition game between Frontale and Vegalta Sendai, both of whom are in the J1 league. Almost 3,000 enthusiastic fans from inside and outside of the prefecture gathered to watch the pros face off against each other.

Iwate Prefecture is Now Recruiting Fixed-Term Employees for the 2016 Year

Application period: 7/19 （Tue） - 8/26 （Fri）

Like last year, Iwate Prefecture is once again recruiting people to assist with the reconstruction by working with local businesses or in disaster-hit areas.

[Form of employment: 3-year employees]
As a rule, the period of appointment begins on April 1st, 2017, but it’s possible to begin earlier.

Clerical work

Number of positions: Roughly 31

Duties

• Clerical work relating to various reconstruction and restoration efforts.
• Approval and authorization. Other general work.

Construction work

Number of positions: Roughly 59

Duties

• Planning, surveying, commissioning construction projects, and supervising, with regard to reconstruction projects

Main places of employment

•  When assigned to a prefectural organization:
  Branch offices （such as regional development bureaus）, or the Prefectural Government.
•  When assigned to a village, town or city:
  Ofunato, Rikuzentakata, Otsuchi, Yamada, Tanohata

* Appointments in Ofunato and Yamada are in construction only.

Examination eligibility criteria

1. Clerical work: Must be born before, or on, April 1st, 1999. （Must be above 17 years of age in the year period starting April 1st, 2016）
2. Construction: Must fit one of the following criteria:
   （As of late June, 2016）
   1. First- or Second-class engineer operation & management engineer qualification
   2. Practical experience equivalent to a Second-class engineer operation & management engineer qualification

Selection process

1. Clerical work: Formal test / Essay / Personal interview
2. Construction: Application essay / Degree of experience / Personal interview

Examination dates

Clerical work:
Test date #1 - September 18th （Sun）
Morioka venue: Morioka Commercial High School
Tokyo venue: Prefectural Assembly Hall

Test date #2 - Late October – Early November

Construction:
Test date #1 - Application-based selection
Test date #2 - Late October – Early November

Contact

Iwate Prefectural Government
Personnel Commission Secretariat
Phone: 019-629-6241
*Inquiries in Japanese, please.

• For more information （JPN）（外部リンク）

Spreading the joy. Giving thanks. The Land of Hope Iwate National Sports Festival and National Sports Festival for People with Disabilities

Event: Rubber baseball
Date: October 2, 2016 （Sun）
Venue: 40 Degrees North Baseball Park
Contact Phone: 0194-35-2111 （Fudai Village Hall）
*Inquiries in Japanese, please.

FUDAI INFORMATION

A village of 2,850 people at the northern end of the Iwate coast, blessed with the natural beauty of both mountain and sea. The grandeur of the white sand beaches, the sweeping views of the Pacific from its 140-meter cliffs, and the famously picturesque Kurosaki cliffs all help reset your daily outlook. The “Miracle Flood Gates” protect the village from tsunami damage. There’s also a 15.5 meter seawall.

Aomori and Iwate Goods Shop - Grand Opening in Umeda, Osaka!

On July 5th, 2016 （Tue）, Aomori and Iwate Prefecture opened up a joint store selling regional goods in Dojima Chika Center in Dojima, Kita-ku, Osaka.

An opening ceremony was held on the same day, where Governor Takuya Tasso of Iwate and Governor Shingo Mimura of Aomori cut the ribbon. The first 30 guests to the ceremony received a gift set with Nanbu Senbei crackers （Iwate） and apple juice （Aomori）.

The 128-square meter store offers roughly 800 products from the two prefectures, including the three big noodles of Morioka （Morioka reimen, jajamen, wanko soba） and Sanriku wakame seaweed from Iwate, and apple juice and garlic from Aomori. Customers can eat what they buy right away in the eat-in corner, too.

Address
Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Dojima Icchou-me
Dojima Chikagai 6-gou （Dojima Chika Center）
Business hours
10 AM - 8 PM
（Closed every 3rd Sunday）

• For more information - Aomori and Iwate Goods Shop （JPN）（外部リンク）

A film festival in a town with no cinema: Kamaishi Film Screening

On August 26th （Fri） to the 28th （Sun）, Kamaishi will hold a three-day film festival called the Kamaishi Teppan Film Festival.
Kamaishi has no movie theaters. The event was organized with the hope of reenergizing the people the city through films, and also to revive the movie culture within the city. A total of nine films will be shown at the main venue inside the Kamaishi Information & Community Center at "Team Smile - Kamaishi PIT", which opened up in January earlier this year.

The residents were able to submit votes for the films they wanted to see. Six films （"The Bucket List", "Kamome Shokudou", "Minions", "I Girasoli", "Hula Girls", and "Begin Again"） had been chosen out of a list of movies that 14 local movie fanatics had recommended.

The remaining three films were decided by the planning committee. A pre-event will be held on July 31st （Sun.）.

Contact
Kamaishi Teppan Film Festival Planning Committee
Phone: 080-1823-1571
*Inquiries in Japanese, please.

Feature

Many young people are diligently helping the affected area of Sanriku move toward a full reconstruction. The section “People for Sanriku’s Future” introduces these young people and their powerful feelings.

Click the link to read about Urara Sakurai and her music teaching program in Otsuchi.

• Urara Sakurai of El Sistema Japan Otsuchi

Casualties and Damage in Iwate （as of June 30, 2016）

• Deaths: 4,672; Missing: 1,123
• Buildings destroyed （residences only, total/partial）: 26,075

Thank you for all of your support! （as of June 30, 2016）

Donations for survivors: Around 18.49874 billion yen （93,530 donations）
Donations for reconstruction projects: Around 19.77718 billion yen （7,791 donations）
Iwate Learning Hope Fund donations: Around 8.48074 billion yen （17,971 donations）
※ This fund is to assist in the study and daily life of affected
children by encouraging sport and study activities.

• To make a donation to aid in Iwate's reconstruction, click here.

Contact

News from Iwate’s Reconstruction, Volume 109. July 15, 2016.
Published by the General Affairs Division, Bureau of Reconstruction, Iwate Prefecture.
Phone: 019-629-6945
Editing & Printing: SYNAPSE

*News from Iwate's Reconstruction Volume 110 will be published on August 1st.