Announcements in the August 1st, 2022 Issue

１．Be careful about food poisoning

Food poisoning is an illness that can be caused by the food you eat. August is an especially dangerous month for food poisoning, so please be careful! Some important ways to avoid food poisoning are:

1) Thoroughly wash your hands with soap.
2) Use separate utensils. For example, during a barbeque, use two different sets of chopsticks to handle the raw meat and the cooked meat.
3) When you buy food, put it in the refrigerator as soon as possible. Keep the temperature in the refrigerator at 10° Celsius or below. For frozen foods, please put them in the freezer as soon as possible. Keep the temperature in the freezer at -15° Celsius or below.
4) When cooking meat and fish; make sure that the center of the meat or fish has reached a temperature of 75° Celsius or higher for at least one minute.
5) Be certain that the utensils you use for cooking have been thoroughly washed with dishwashing detergent.

If you have any questions about this article, please ask the Sanitation Division. Their phone number is 918-5426, and their fax number is 918-5584.

２．Watch out for illnesses carried by mosquitos

Mosquitos are an insect that can carry many kinds of illness. If you are bitten by a mosquito, you may end up getting sick. The illnesses that mosquitos carry include “Dengue fever” and the “Zika virus.” The Zika virus is contagious and can potentially pass from person to person. Please try to be careful to avoid mosquito bites.

Here are some steps you can take to avoid being bitten by a mosquito:
1.When going outside, try to cover up any exposed skin as much as possible.
2.Use insect repellent. If you use insect repellent, you can keep mosquitos away from you.

Here are some steps you can take to keep the number of mosquitos around you from increasing:
1.Mosquitos breed in pools or puddles of still water. Try to clean up and get rid of any pools of still water around you.
2.Get rid of the pools of water that collect beneath any flowerpots you may have.
3.Mosquitos like to hide in places with a lot of grass growing. Cut down any grass you might have and get rid of any hiding places for mosquitos.

If you have any questions about this article, please ask at the Public Health and Disease Prevention Division, Infectious Diseases Department. Their phone number is 918-5421, and their fax number is 918-5441.

３．Notification about the Coronavirus vaccine

(For the most current information, please check the Akashi City homepage.)

・This is a notification about the 3rd Coronavirus vaccination.
Anyone who is over 12 years old and who had their 2nd Coronavirus vaccination 5 months ago or more is able to receive a 3rd vaccination.
・The ticket needed to receive the 3rd vaccination will be sent out by Akashi City.
The ticket has already been sent out for anyone who received their 2nd vaccination by March 31st.
For those who received their vaccination in the period between April 1st and April 30th, the ticket will be sent out on August 10th.

・For anyone who doesn’t have a ticket but still wishes to receive the vaccine:
For those who have not received a ticket by August 17th, have lost their ticket, or were born August 1st 2017 or later, please use one of the following 3 methods to receive your ticket:
1. Call 0120-712-160
2. Check the website for Coronavirus vaccine information and support at ( https://v-sys.mhlw.go.jp/application/3rd-inoculation.html )
3. Send an application to “Coronavirus Countermeasures Headquarters, Akashi City, Okubo-cho, Yurinoki-doori 1-4-7, postal code 674-0068”
*For more detailed information, please check the Akashi City homepage at ( https://www.city.akashi.lg.jp/kansentaisaku/wakutin/wakutin-hakkou4.html )
＊When applying using methods 1, 2, or 3 above, your ticket may take several days to arrive.
＊Those who received their 2nd or 3rd vaccination on May 1st or later cannot receive a ticket yet.

•You can make a reservation for your vaccination on the Akashi City homepage at ( https://vaccine-yoyaku.jp/akashi/ )
•The phone numbers for vaccinations are as follows:
○For the 4th vaccination, 0120-227-710
○For the 3rd vaccination, 0120-080-404
○For the 1st or 2nd vaccination, 0120-712-160
•The fax number is 0570-041-489
•Operating hours for phone calls are from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

４．“30% Bonus! Akashi Special Gift Certificates”

Akashi City is selling “30% Bonus! Akashi Special Gift Certificates”. These are certificates that can be used just like money. After paying for the Akashi Special Gift Certificates, you can then use them for shopping. One book of these gift certificates costs 5000 yen. However, these books have 13 certificates worth 500 yen each. In other words, you will be able to shop with 6500 yen worth of certificates (a 30% bonus!).

The Akashi Special Gift Certificates can be used at 500 different stores in Akashi City. From September 1st until October 31st, you can use these tickets for shopping or dining.
If you wish to purchase “30% Bonus! Akashi Special Gift Certificates”, please apply to do so.
The application process is as follows:
1) Akashi City Hall will send the papers needed to apply to every household in the city. These will be sent out on around August 8th.
2) When the papers arrive, you can apply from the website. You can also apply using the postcard included with the papers. The deadline for applications is August 17th. This deadline is the last day on which you can apply for the gift certificates.
•One person can apply for up to 4 gift certificate books.
•If many people submit applications, then Akashi City will conduct a lottery. This lottery will determine how many gift certificate books can be purchased. The lottery will be decided by chance.
3) Once the number of gift certificate books that can be purchased has been decided, then Akashi City will send exchange tickets to each household that made an application. These tickets can be used to buy the “30% Bonus! Akashi Special Gift Certificates.”
•When the exchange tickets arrive, please go to the location where the Akashi Special Gift Certificates can be purchased. This location will be shown in the papers sent by Akashi City.
•The Akashi Special Gift Certificates can be purchased from August 30th until September 3rd.

５．The 25th Akashi Bonfire Noh Performance

In Akashi Park, you will be able to watch a nogaku performance (Nogaku is a performance of two types of Japanese theater, noh and kyogen). This is a special performance in which bonfires are lit all around the stage.

The titles of the performances are as follows:
The kyogen performance will be “Mizugake Muko” (“Son-in-law Giving Water to the Fields”) This is a story about a son-in-law and father-in-law battling over distributing water to their rice fields.
The noh performance will be “Kogaji ~ Shirogashira” (“The Swordsmith ~ White Head”) This is a story about a famous swordsmith who is tasked with forging a sword, and the challenges he faces in doing so. “White head” means that in this noh performance, one of the roles will be played by an actor wearing a special mask with a white wig.

The Bonfire Noh performance will be on Saturday, October 1st from 5:30 pm. Entry will be permitted starting at 4:30 pm. The event will be cancelled if it rains.
The location will be Akashi Park, West Lawn.

If you wish to see the Bonfire Noh performance, please buy a ticket. Tickets can be bought either in advance or on the day of the performance. Advance tickets can be bought until September 30th, and cost 3000 yen.
Tickets bought on the day of the event (October 1st) will cost 3500 yen.
For children (up to high school-aged children), advance tickets and same-day tickets will both cost 1000 yen.
The advance tickets will be on sale from August 3rd.
They can be purchased from:
-The Akashi Arts and International Exchange Foundation (on the 7th floor of the Akashi ASPIA North Building)
-Akashi Seibu City Hall
-Akashi Information Center (Akashi Piole West Building)
-Ticket PIA (The P-Code is 513-256)

Nogaku is a theatrical art that has been passed down in Japan from ancient times. In noh, the performers cover their faces with wooden masks and move along to the music. This music is a traditional style played using the same kind of instruments used long ago. Bonfire noh is a performance done on summer nights, where light is cast by fires that are lit all around the stage. Kyogen is another traditional kind of Japanese theater. It is performed before or after a noh performance.