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Asakura, Fukuoka

Asakura (朝倉市) is a city located in south central Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 50,488 in 22168 households, and a population density of 200 persons per km². The total area of the city is 246.71 km2.

Geography
Asakura is located in the central part of Fukuoka Prefecture, about 40 km southeast of Fukuoka and about 20 km northeast of Kurume.

Adjoining municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture Ōita Prefecture
 * Chikuzen
 * Kama
 * Kurume
 * Tachiarai
 * Tōhō
 * Ukiha
 * Hita

Climate
Asakura has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa). The average annual temperature in Asakura is 15.9 C. The average annual rainfall is 1953.0 mm with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.4 C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Asakura was 38.8 C on 16 July 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was -8.3 C on 25 January 2016.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Asakura in 2020 is 50,273 people. Asakura has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History
The area of Asakura was part of ancient Chikuzen Province. It is also one of the locations theorized to have been the location of Yamatai, based on the similarity of local place names to those in Yamato Province. According to the Nihon Shoki, after the fall of the Kingdom of Baekje to the combined forces of Tang China and Silla, Empress Saimei relocated the capital of Japan to the Tachibana no Hironiwa Palace in Asakura in 661 AD in preparation for a counter-invasion of the Korean Peninsula; however, he died the same year and the invasion never took place. In 1203, during the Kamakura period, the area was awarded as a shōen landed estate to Harada Tanekatsu, who took the name of "Akitsuki" and who began construction of Akizuki Castle. The Akizuki clan would rule the area for 17 generations to the end of the Sengoku period. Following the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, the area became part of the holdings of the Kuroda clan of Fukuoka Domain. Kuroda Nagamasa's third son, Kuroda Nagaoki, was assigned 50,000 koku of the domain's kokudaka and allowed to establish Akizuki Domain as a subsidiary domain. The Kuroda continued to rule to the Meiji restoration. In October 1876, the Akizuki rebellion occurred in which former samurai of the domain attempted to overthrow the Meiji government.

With the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 the town of Amagi; and 18 villages: Akizuki, Asakura, Haki, Hinashiro, Fukuda, Fukunari, Kamiakizuki, Kanagawa, Takagi, Kugumiya, Mada, Masue, Minagi, Miyano, Ōba, Shiwa, Tateishi and Yasukawa were created. Akizuki was elevated to town status on December 27, 1893.

 * June 15, 1909 - Fukunari and Ōba were merged to create Daifuku Village.
 * April 17, 1939 - Haki was elevated to town status.
 * April 1, 1951 - Kugumiya, Masue and Shiwa were merged into Haki Town.
 * April 1, 1954 - Amagi, Akizuki, Fukuda, Hinashiro, Kamiakizuki, Kanagawa, Mada, Minagi, Tateishi and Yasukawa were all merged to create Amagi City.
 * March 10, 1955 - Takagi was merged into Amagi City.
 * March 31, 1955 - Daifuku and Miyano were merged into Asakura Village.
 * April 1, 1962 - Asakura was elevated to town status.
 * March 20, 2006 - Amagi, Asakura and Haki were merged to create the city of Asakura.

Government
Asakura has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 318 members. Asakura, together with the town of Chikuzen and village of Tōhō contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
Asakura is a regional commercial center. Bridgestone and Kirin Beer have large factories in Asakura, however, the mainstay of the local economy is agriculture.

Education
Asakura has 11 public elementary schools and six public junior high schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education.

Prefectural senior high schools

 * Asakura Kōyō Senior High School
 * Asakura Higashi Senior High School
 * Asakura Senior High School

Municipal junior high schools

 * Amagi Junior High School
 * Akizuki Junior High School
 * Haki Junior High School
 * Hiramatsu Junior High School
 * Jūmonji Junior High School
 * Nanryō Junior High School

Municipal elementary schools

 * Amagi Elementary School
 * Asakura Higashi Elementary School
 * Akizuki Elementary School
 * Daifuku Elementary School
 * Fukuda Elementary School
 * Haki Elementary School
 * Hinashiro Elementary School
 * Kanagawa Elementary School
 * Mada Elementary School
 * Minagi Elementary School
 * Tateishi Elementary School

Railway
Amagi Railway Amagi Line
 * Amagi

Nishi-Nippon Railroad Amagi Line
 * Amagi - Mada - Kamiura

Highway

 * JP Expressway E34.svg Ōita Expressway

Local attractions

 * Akizuki Historical Preservation District
 * Akizuki Castle Ruins
 * Horikawa Canal and Asakura Water Wheels
 * Eso Hachiman Shrine
 * Hagi Kōgoishi
 * Hiratsuka Kawazoe Site
 * Oda Chausutsuka Kofun

Festivals and events

 * Dorouchi Festival
 * Oshiroi Festival

Notable people from Asakura

 * Michiko Kichise, actress and model
 * Suu Minazuki, manga artist

title: Asakura, Fukuoka


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Miwa, Fukuoka

Miwa (三輪町) was a town located in Asakura District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 12,746 and a density of 587.10 persons per km2. The total area was 21.71 km2.

On March 22, 2005, Miwa, along with the town of Yasu (also from Asakura District), was merged to create the town of Chikuzen.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Miwa, Fukuoka


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Yasu, Fukuoka

Yasu (夜須町) was a town located in Asakura District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 16,568 and a density of 364.37 persons per km2. The total area is 45.47 km2.

On March 22, 2005, Yasu, along with the town of Miwa (also from Asakura District), was merged to create the town of Chikuzen.

title: Yasu, Fukuoka


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Koishiwara, Fukuoka

Koishiwara (小石原村) was a village located in Asakura District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

The village gave its name to a style of pottery called Koishiwara ware.

On March 28, 2005, Koishiwara, along with the village of Hōshuyama (also from Asakura District), was merged to create the village of Tōhō.

title: Koishiwara, Fukuoka


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Hōshuyama, Fukuoka

Hōshuyama (宝珠山村) was a village located in Asakura District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the village had an estimated population of 1,663 and a density of 73.71 persons per km2. The total area was 22.56 km2.

On March 28, 2005, Hōshuyama, along with the village of Koishiwara (also from Asakura District), was merged to create the village of Tōhō.

title: Hōshuyama, Fukuoka


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Trellis coded modulation

Trellis coded modulation (TCM) is a modulation scheme that transmits information with high efficiency over band-limited channels such as telephone lines. Gottfried Ungerboeck invented trellis modulation while working for IBM in the 1970s, and first described it in a conference paper in 1976. It went largely unnoticed, however, until he published a new, detailed exposition in 1982 that achieved sudden and widespread recognition.

In the late 1980s, modems operating over plain old telephone service (POTS) typically achieved 9.6 kbit/s by employing four bits per symbol QAM modulation at 2,400 baud (symbols/second). This bit rate ceiling existed despite the best efforts of many researchers, and some engineers predicted that without a major upgrade of the public phone infrastructure, the maximum achievable rate for a POTS modem might be 14 kbit/s for two-way communication (3,429 baud × 4 bits/symbol, using QAM).

14 kbit/s is only 40% of the theoretical maximum bit rate predicted by Shannon's theorem for POTS lines (approximately 35 kbit/s). Ungerboeck's theories demonstrated that there was considerable untapped potential in the system, and by applying the concept to new modem standards, speed rapidly increased to 14.4, 28.8 and ultimately 33.6 kbit/s.

A new modulation method
The name trellis derives from the fact that a state diagram of the technique closely resembles a trellis lattice. The scheme is basically a convolutional code of rates (r, r+1). Ungerboeck's unique contribution is to apply the parity check for each symbol, instead of the older technique of applying it to the bit stream then modulating the bits. He called the key idea mapping by set partitions. This idea groups symbols in a tree-like structure, then separates them into two limbs of equal size. At each "limb" of the tree, the symbols are further apart.

Though hard to visualize in multiple dimensions, a simple one-dimension example illustrates the basic procedure. Suppose the symbols are located at [1, 2, 3, 4, ...]. Place all odd symbols in one group, and all even symbols in the second group. (This is not quite accurate, because Ungerboeck was looking at the two dimensional problem, but the principle is the same.) Take every other symbol in each group and repeat the procedure for each tree limb. He next described a method of assigning the encoded bit stream onto the symbols in a very systematic procedure. Once this procedure was fully described, his next step was to program the algorithms into a computer and let the computer search for the best codes. The results were astonishing. Even the most simple code (4 state) produced error rates nearly one one-thousandth of an equivalent uncoded system. For two years Ungerboeck kept these results private and only conveyed them to close colleagues. Finally, in 1982, Ungerboeck published a paper describing the principles of trellis modulation.

A flurry of research activity ensued, and by 1984 the International Telecommunication Union had published a standard, V.32, for the first trellis-modulated modem at 9.6 kilobit/s (2,400 baud and 4 bits per symbol). Over the next several years further advances in encoding, plus a corresponding symbol rate increase from 2,400 to 3,429 baud, allowed modems to achieve rates up to 34.3 kilobits/s (limited by maximum power regulations to 33.8 kilobits/s). Today, the most common trellis-modulated V.34 modems use a 4-dimensional set partition—achieved by treating two two-dimensional symbols as a single lattice. This set uses 8, 16, or 32 state convolutional codes to squeeze the equivalent of 6 to 10 bits into each symbol the modem sends (for example, 2,400 baud × 8 bits/symbol = 19,200 bit/s).

Relevant papers

 * G. Ungerboeck, "Channel coding with multilevel/phase signals," IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, vol. IT-28, pp. 55–67, 1982.
 * G. Ungerboeck, "Trellis-coded modulation with redundant signal sets part I: introduction," IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 25-2, pp. 5–11, 1987.

title: Trellis coded modulation


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Asakura District, Fukuoka

Asakura (朝倉郡) is a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 50,658 and a density of 255.01 persons per km2. The total area is 198.65 km2. Water wheels form one of the attractions of the district.

Towns and villages

 * Chikuzen
 * Tōhō

Mergers

 * On March 22, 2005 the former towns of Miwa and Yasu merged, becoming the town of Chikuzen.

 * On March 28, 2005 the former villages of Hōshuyama and Koishiwara merged, becoming the village of Tōhō.

 * On March 20, 2006 the former towns of Asakura and Haki merged with the city of Amagi to form the new city of Asakura.

title: Asakura District, Fukuoka


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User:Rbil88

my articles on Wikipedia: rbil88, not yest set up link comming soon.

title: User:Rbil88


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Nijō, Fukuoka

Nijō (二丈町) was a town located in Itoshima District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of November 2009, the town had an estimated population of 13,011 and a density of 227.98 persons per km2. The total area is 57.07 km2.

On January 1, 2010, Nijō, along with the city of Maebaru, and the town of Shima (also from Itoshima District), was merged to create the City of Itoshima. Itoshima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Nijō, Fukuoka


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William S. McArthur

William Surles McArthur Jr. (born July 26, 1951) is a retired United States Army colonel and NASA astronaut and a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one expedition to the International Space Station via the Russian Soyuz capsule.

Army career and education
Born July 26, 1951, and raised in Red Springs, North Carolina, McArthur was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. He attended the United States Military Academy, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science and Engineering in 1973, and earned his commission in the U.S. Army. After serving with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, McArthur attended the U.S. Army Aviation School and served tours of duty in Korea and Georgia, where he earned a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1983.

NASA career
In 1987, McArthur attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was trained as an experimental test pilot. He was assigned to a post as a flight test engineer at NASA and was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1990. McArthur's first spaceflight was in 1993 aboard STS-58. Subsequent missions included STS-74 in 1995 and STS-92 in 2000.

A Master Army Aviator, McArthur has logged over 9,000 flight hours in 41 different aircraft and spacecraft.

McArthur is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and honors including the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (Oak leaf cluster), the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the NASA Space Flight Medal. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2001.

McArthur was on board the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 12, having been launched on Soyuz TMA-7. He lived aboard the station from October 3, 2005, until April 8, 2006.

McArthur served as the Director of Safety and Mission Assurance for the Johnson Space Center until his retirement in June of 2017.

Expedition 12
In April 2006, McArthur and Expedition 13 flight officer Jeffrey Williams tested a new method of preparing for spacewalks by "camping out" or spending the night in the Quest airlock, the decompression capsule through which astronauts enter and exit space. In the chamber the pressure was reduced from the normal 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi. The more commonly used method of preparing for spacewalks involves breathing pure oxygen for several hours to purge the body of nitrogen and avoid the bends. The "campout" method was intended to shorten that lengthy preparation time. Four hours into their sleep an error tone prompted mission controllers to cut short the activity, though it was still deemed a success.

Personal life
McArthur is married to the former Cynthia Kathryn Lovin with two daughters, and enjoys cycling, photography, and working with personal computers. In May 2009 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde in recognition of his contribution to space science and engineering, as well as his outreach work with the Scottish Space School. He resides in Friendswood, Texas.

title: William S. McArthur


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Shima, Fukuoka

Shima (志摩町) was a town located in Itoshima District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of November 2009, the town had an estimated population of 17,432 and a density of 319.56 persons per km2. The total area was 54.54 km2.

On January 1, 2010, Shima, along with the city of Maebaru, and the town of Nijō (also from Itoshima District), was merged to create the City of Itoshima. Itoshima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Shima, Fukuoka


text:
William McArthur

William McArthur may refer to:

 * William Pope McArthur (1814–1850), US naval officer and hydrologist
 * William McArthur (Lord Mayor of London) (1809–1887), Irish businessman, MP and Lord Mayor of London
 * William Alexander McArthur (1857–1923), British politician
 * William S. McArthur (born 1951), US astronaut
 * Sir William MacArthur (British Army officer), Director General Army Medical Services

title: William McArthur


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Itoshima District, Fukuoka

Itoshima (糸島郡) was a district located in northwestern Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Before its dissolution, the district comprised two towns: Shima (志摩町) and Nijō (二丈町). On January 1, 2010, the towns of Nijō and Shima – along with the city of Maebaru – were merged to create the city of Itoshima. Itoshima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

Municipalities at the time of the formation

 * Village of Imajuku (今宿村)
 * Village of Susenji (周船寺村)
 * Village of Motooka (元岡村)
 * Village of Imazu (今津村)
 * Village of Kitazaki (北崎村)
 * Village of Maebaru (前原村)
 * Village of Kafuri (加布里村)
 * Village of Nagaito (長糸村)
 * Village of Raizan (雷山村)
 * Village of Ito (怡土村)
 * Village of Hatae (波多江村)
 * Village of Kaya (可也村)
 * Village of Sakurano (桜野村)
 * Village of Kofuji (小富士村)
 * Village of Keya (芥屋村)
 * Village of Ikisan (一貴山村)
 * Village of Fukae (深江村)
 * Village of Fukuyoshi (福吉村)

Municipal Timeline

 * September 15, 1901 - The village of Maebaru was elevated to town status to become the town of Maebaru. (1 town, 17 villages)
 * April 1, 1931 - The town of Maebaru, and the villages of Hatae and Kafuri were merged to create the town of Maebaru. (1 town, 15 villages)
 * October 15, 1941 - The village of Imajuku was merged into the City of Fukuoka. (1 town, 14 villages)
 * April 1, 1942 - The village of Imazu was merged into the city of Fukuoka. (1 town, 13 villages)
 * January 1, 1955: (1 town, 6 villages)
 * The town of Maebaru, and the villages of Raizan and Nagaito were merged to create the town of Maebaru.
 * The villages of Ikisan, Fukae and Fukuyoshi were merged to create the village of Nijō.
 * The villages of Kaya, Sakurano, Kofuji and Keya were merged to create the village of Shima.
 * April 1, 1955 - The village of Ito was merged into the town of Maebaru. (1 town, 5 villages)
 * April 1, 1961 - The villages of Motooka, Susenji and Kitazaki were merged into the city of Fukuoka. (1 town, 2 villages)
 * April 1, 1965: (3 towns)
 * The village of Nijō was elevated to town status to become the town of Nijō.
 * The village of Shima was elevated to town status to become the town of Shima.
 * October 1, 1992 - The town of Maebaru was elevated to city status to become the city of Maebaru. (2 towns)
 * January 1, 2010 - The towns of Nijō and Shima, along with the city of Maebaru, were merged to create the city of Itoshima. Itoshima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Itoshima District, Fukuoka


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The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans

"The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow (1917), and is the second and final main appearance of Mycroft Holmes. It was originally published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom and in Collier's in the United States in 1908.

Doyle ranked "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" fourteenth in a list of his nineteen favourite Sherlock Holmes stories.

Plot summary
The monotony of thick smog-shrouded London is broken by a sudden visit from Holmes' brother Mycroft. He has come about some missing, secret submarine plans. Seven of the ten missing papers were found with Arthur Cadogan West's body, but the three "most essential" papers are still missing. West was a young clerk in a government office at Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, whose body was found next to the Underground tracks near the Aldgate tube station, his head crushed. He had little money with him (although there appears to have been no robbery), theatre tickets, and curiously, no Underground ticket.

Inspector Lestrade tells Holmes that a passenger reported hearing a thud, as though a body had fallen on the track, close to where West's body was found. The passenger could not see anything, however, owing to the thick fog. After an examination of the track near Aldgate, Holmes concludes that West had been killed elsewhere, was deposited on the roof of an Underground train, and fell off when the jarring action of going across a railway point at Aldgate shook the coach.

Holmes decides to visit Sir James Walter, who was in charge of the papers. He has, however, died, apparently of a broken heart from the loss of his honour when the papers were stolen, according to his brother Colonel Valentine Walter. On visiting West's fiancée, Holmes learns that West had something on his mind for the last week or so of his life; he had commented on how easily a traitor could get hold of "the secret" and how much foreign agents would pay for it. On the night in question, West and his fiancé were on their way to the theatte, when he suddenly dashed off into the fog and did not return.

Holmes next goes to the office from which the plans were stolen. Sidney Johnson, the senior clerk, tells Holmes that, as always, he was the last man out of the office that night, and that he had put the papers in the safe. Anyone coming in afterwards to steal them would have needed three keys (for the building, the office, and the safe), but no duplicates were found on West's body, and only the late Sir James had all three keys. Johnson also mentions that one of the seven recovered papers includes a unique invention, without which the submarine could not be properly built. Holmes also discovers that it is possible to see what is happening inside the office from outside, as the iron shutters do not close properly.

After leaving, Holmes finds that the clerk at the nearby Underground station remembers seeing West on the evening in question. Deeply shaken by something, he had taken a train to London Bridge.

Acting on information from Mycroft, and on what he has learnt thus far, Holmes identifies a person of interest: Hugo Oberstein, a known foreign agent who left town shortly after West's murder. Some small reconnaissance shows Holmes that Oberstein's house backs onto an above-ground portion of the Underground line; furthermore, owing to traffic at a nearby junction, trains often stop right under his windows. It seems clear that West's body was laid on the train roof just there.

Holmes and Dr. Watson break into Oberstein's empty house and examine the windows, finding that the grime has been smudged, and there is a bloodstain. An Underground train stops right under the window. Some messages from the Daily Telegraph agony column, all seeming to allude to a business deal, are also found, posted by "Pierrot". Holmes posts a similarly cryptic message in the Daily Telegraph demanding a meeting, signing it Pierrot, in the hopes that the thief might show up at Oberstein's house.

It works. Colonel Valentine Walter shows up and is stunned to find Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, and Mycroft all waiting for him. He confesses to the theft of the plans, but swears that it was Oberstein who killed West. West had followed the Colonel to Oberstein's and then intervened, and Oberstein had dealt West a fatal blow to the head. Oberstein then decided, over the Colonel's objections, that he had to keep three of the papers, because they could not be copied in a short time. He then got the idea of putting the other seven in West's pocket and putting him on a train roof outside his window, reasoning that he would be blamed for the theft when his body was found.

Deep in debt, Colonel Walter had acted out of a need for money. He redeems himself somewhat by agreeing to write to Oberstein, whose address on the Continent he knows, inviting him to come back to England for the fourth, vital page. This ruse also works; Oberstein is imprisoned, and the missing pages of the plans are recovered from his trunk. Colonel Walter dies in prison, not long after starting his sentence. For his efforts, Holmes is given an emerald tie pin by "a certain gracious lady", implied to be Queen Victoria, as the pin was received at Windsor in the 1890s.

Publication history
"The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" was published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in December 1908, and in the US in Collier's on 12 December 1908. The story was published with six illustrations by Arthur Twidle in the Strand, and with five illustrations by Frederic Dorr Steele in Collier's. The story was included in the short story collection His Last Bow, which was published in the UK and the US in October 1917.

Film and television
A 1922 entry in the Stoll film series was an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans". It starred Eille Norwood as Sherlock Holmes and Hubert Willis as Dr. Watson, and featured Lewis Gilbert as Mycroft Holmes and Malcolm Tod as Cadogan West.

The story was adapted by Giles Cooper as an episode of the 1965 BBC television series Sherlock Holmes starring Douglas Wilmer as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Watson. Only the first of two reels of the 16mm telerecording of the episode exists, although the full soundtrack survives. The episode was one of those remade for the West-German WDR Sherlock Holmes series (1967–1968), which exists in full.

The 1986 television film The Twentieth Century Approaches, the fifth instalment of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, features the story.

The story was adapted for a 1988 episode of the television series The Return of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Edward Hardwicke as Doctor Watson and Charles Gray as Mycroft Holmes. In this version, Inspector Lestrade is replaced by Inspector Bradstreet, who allows Colonel Valentine to go free after assisting with Oberstein's capture.

The plot of the Matt Frewer 2001 TV movie The Royal Scandal is a combination of "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Bruce-Partington Plans".

The story is partially used in the episode "The Great Game" (2010) of the television series Sherlock.

Radio
The story was adapted by Edith Meiser as an episode of the American radio series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The episode, which aired on 22 October 1931, featured Richard Gordon as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr. Watson. Other productions of the story aired in March 1935, with Louis Hector as Holmes and Lovell as Watson, and October 1936, with Gordon as Holmes and Harry West as Watson.

The story was also adapted by Meiser as an episode of the American radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes that aired in 1939, with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson. Additional episodes in the series adapted from the story aired in 1941 and 1943 (both with Rathbone as Holmes and Bruce as Watson) and 1948 (with John Stanley as Holmes and Ian Martin as Watson).

John Gielgud played Sherlock Holmes and Ralph Richardson played Watson in an adaptation of the story that aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1954. John Gielgud's brother Val Gielgud played Mycroft Holmes. John Cazabon played Inspector Lestrade, and William Fox played Colonel Valentine Walter. The production aired on NBC radio in 1955.

The story was adapted for the BBC Light Programme in 1967 by Michael Hardwick, as part of the 1952–1969 radio series starring Carleton Hobbs as Holmes and Norman Shelley as Watson. Felix Felton played Mycroft Holmes.

"The Bruce-Partington Plans" was dramatised for BBC Radio 4 in 1994 by Bert Coules as part of the 1989–1998 radio series starring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson, featuring Jamie Glover as Cadogan West and Stephen Thorne as Inspector Lestrade.

In 2010, the story was adapted as an episode of The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a series on the American radio show Imagination Theatre, starring John Patrick Lowrie as Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Watson, with Rick May as Lestrade.


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Yoshii, Fukuoka

Yoshii (吉井町) was a town located in Ukiha District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 17,223 and a density of 608.80 persons per km2. The total area was 28.29 km2.

On March 20, 2005, Yoshii, along with the former town of Ukiha (also from Ukiha District), was merged to create the city of Ukiha.

title: Yoshii, Fukuoka


text:
Tanushimaru, Fukuoka

Tanushimaru (田主丸町) was a town located in Ukiha District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 21,204 and a density of 415.85 persons per km2. The total area was 50.99 km2.

On February 5, 2005, Tanushimaru, along with the town of Kitano (from Mii District), and the towns of Jōjima and Mizuma (both from Mizuma District), was merged into the expanded city of Kurume and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

Tanushimaru was famous for its hot springs, the best being Mino Onsen, as well as its plant farming, unagi, and kappa. Legend is that the nearby river is the origin of all Japanese kappa, and many monuments to the river monster can be seen around the town. Many of the local inhabitants offer cucumbers and sake to the kappa shrines. There are also many grape fields, and grape picking is a popular tourist activity.

Tanushimaru is home to seven fine elementary schools, Mino, Mizuwake, Takeno, Shibakari, Tanushimaru, Kawaii, and Funagoshi, as well as Tanushimaru Middle School and Ukiha Technical High School.

Until recently Tanushimaru was classified as part of Ukiha-Gun. Close ties remain with the neighboring city of Ukiha, particularly with Yoshii town.

title: Tanushimaru, Fukuoka


text:
Ukiha, Fukuoka

Ukiha (うきは市) is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 27,723 in 11449 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 117.46 km2.

Geography
Ukiha is located in southern Fukuoka Prefecture, adjacent to Hita City in Oita Prefecture. It borders Asakura City across the Chikugo River Tanushimaru-cho, Kurume City to the west, and Hoshino-mura, Yame City to the south.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture Ōita Prefecture
 * Kurume
 * Asakura
 * Yame
 * Hita

Climate
Ukiha has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ukiha is 13.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1875 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Ikiha is as shown below

History
The area of Ukiha was part of ancient Chikugo Province. During the Edo Period the area was under the control of Kurume Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the village of Ukiha was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Ukima merged with the village of Tsubago on April 1, 1929 to form the village of Miyuki, which was raised to town status on January 1, 1951. Three months later, Miyuki merged with the villages of Oishi, Himeji and Yamaharu to form the town of Ukiha. Ukiha absorbed the town of Yoshii and was raised to city status on March 20, 2005.

Government
Ukiha has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 14 members. Ukiha, collectively with the city of Kurume, contributes five members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 6th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
The economic of Ukiha is overwhelmingly based on agriculture (grapes, strawberries, pears, persimmons, peaches) and food processing.

Education
Ukiha has seven public elementary schools and two public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education.

Railways
JR Kyushu - Kyūdai Main Line
 * ■ Chikugo-Yoshii - Ukiha - Chikugo-Ōishi

Sister city relations

 * 🇯🇵 Esashi, Hokkaido, Japan(since 31 October 2009 ) - It is associated with The Crab and the Monkey folktale

Local attractions

 * Chikugo-Yoshii, designated under the Groups of Traditional Buildings

National Historic Sites

 * Yakata Kofun Cluster
 * Tsukahanazuka Kofun
 * Kusumyō-Shigesada Kofun
 * Hinooka Kofun

Notable people from Ukiha

 * Hideo Murata - rōkyoku and enka singer
 * Kenji Darvish - drummer of Golden Bomber, Japanese rock band.
 * Shinichi Ikejiri - writer and physician
 * Shinya Izumi - politician
 * Shuntaro Torigoe - journalist
 * Yasunoshin Shinohara - inspector general and jujutsu master of Shinsengumi

Related people

 * Ellison Onizuka - His grandfather and mother were born in this city, and he visited there in 1983. There is "Ellison Onizuka Bridge" commemorate him.

title: Ukiha, Fukuoka


text:
Ukiha District, Fukuoka

Ukiha (浮羽郡) was a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Mergers

 * On February 5, 2005 - the town of Tanushimaru, along with the town of Kitano (from Mii District), and the towns of Jōjima and Mizuma (both from Mizuma District), was merged into the expanded city of Kurume.
 * On March 20, 2005 - the former town of Ukiha absorbed the town of Yoshii to create the city of Ukiha. Ukiha District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Ukiha District, Fukuoka


text:
Kitano, Fukuoka

Kitano (北野町) was a town located in Mii District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 17,263 and a density of 842.51 persons per km2. The total area was 20.49 km2.

On February 5, 2005, Kitano, along with the towns of Jōjima and Mizuma (both from Mizuma District), and the town of Tanushimaru (from Ukiha District), was merged into the expanded city of Kurume and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

title: Kitano, Fukuoka


text:
Tachiarai, Fukuoka

Tachiarai (大刀洗町) is a town located in Mii District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 16,065 in 6283 households, and a population density of 700 persons per km². The total area of the town is 22.84 km2.

Geography
Tachiarai is located in southern Fukuoka Prefecture and the northern part of the Chikugo Plain, approximately 15 kilometers northeast of Kurume City and approximately 30 kilometers southeast of Fukuoka City. The topography is flat and the Chikugo River flows through the southeastern part of the town, forming the border with Kurume City. Tachiarai is divided into three neighborhoods: Ozeki, Hongō and Kikuchi.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Kurume
 * Asakura
 * Ogōri
 * Chikuzen

Climate
Tachiarai has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tachiarai is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1946 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Tachiarai is as shown below

History
The area of Tachiarai was part of ancient Chikugo Province and during the Edo Period was part of the holdings of Kurume Domain. The village of Tachiarai was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Tachiarai was home to an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Base, established in 1919 and the Tachiarai Army Flight School, established in 1940, before American bombers destroyed them in 1945. On March 31,1955 Tachiarai merged with the villages of Ōzeki and Hongō and was raised to town status.

Kakure Kirishitan community
During the Edo Period (1603-1867), Tachiarai was home to a community of Japanese hidden Christians (Kakure Kirishitans) who were present in the area since the 16th century, centered in the village of Imamura. They were one of the very few Kakure Kirishitan communities in Kyushu outside present-day Nagasaki prefecture. The community was quite successful in remaining hidden, avoiding being targeted by any crackdowns by the Tokugawa shogunate, which had banned Christianity on pain of death. As with other Kakure Kirishitan communities, the so-called "Imamura Christians" had unique practices and beliefs, such as the cult of a saint-like figure called "Joan Mataemon" whose historicity remains uncertain.

In 1867, the community was "discovered" by Christians from Urakami, triggering a process of conversion to Roman Catholicism. This attracted attention from the local authorities as Christianity was still banned in Japan, resulting in a large number of arrests, although all were released by 1868. By 1912, there were 2,712 Catholics in Tachiarai, but those began to emigrate en-masse to Brazil and later to other South American countries. In contrast to its centuries of hiding in Japan, Tachiarai's Catholic diaspora was highly active in Brazil, having participated in the foundation of the Colégio São Francisco Xavier in São Paulo, which for decades was the most renowned educational institution for Brazilian nikkeis, and of churches in the cities of Registro and Promissão.

The present-day Brick Gothic Imamura Church was constructed with materials donated from Germany and inaugurated in 1913. In 2006, it was declared as a Tangible Cultural Heritage of Fukuoka prefecture, and in 2015, an Important Cultural Property of Japan.

Government
Tachiarai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Tachiarai, collectively with the city of Ogōri, contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 6th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Tachiarai houses a Defense Intelligence Headquarters signals intelligence facility, which is used to monitor communications from transiting satellites, as part of a program codenamed MALLARD.

Economy
The economy of Tachiarai is based on agriculture. Much of the land is used for growing rice and other crops. A substantial portion of the population commutes to Kurume or Fukuoka for work.

Education
Tachiarai has four public elementary high schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Railways
Nishitetsu Amagi Line Amagi Railway Amagi Line
 * Hongō - Ōzeki
 * Nishi-Tachiarai

Local attractions

 * Site of Tachiarai Airfield (the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum is located in neighboring Chikuzen)
 * Shimotakahashi Kanga ruins, National Historic Site

Notable people from Tachiarai

 * Kentaro Koba, politician

title: Tachiarai, Fukuoka


text:
Mii District, Fukuoka

Mii (三井郡) is a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003 statistics (but following the merger of Kitano), the district has an estimated population of 15,378 and a density of 674 persons per km2. The total area is 22.83 km2.

Towns and villages

 * Tachiarai

Mergers

 * On February 5, 2005 the former town of Kitano merged with three other towns (from other districts) into the city of Kurume.

title: Mii District, Fukuoka


text:
Collecting duct system

The collecting duct system of the kidney consists of a series of tubules and ducts that physically connect nephrons to a minor calyx or directly to the renal pelvis. The collecting duct participates in electrolyte and fluid balance through reabsorption and excretion, processes regulated by the hormones aldosterone and vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone).

There are several components of the collecting duct system, including the connecting tubules, cortical collecting ducts, and medullary collecting ducts.

Segments
The segments of the system are as follows:

Connecting tubule
With respect to the renal corpuscle, the connecting tubule (CNT, or junctional tubule, or arcuate renal tubule) is the most proximal part of the collecting duct system. It is adjacent to the distal convoluted tubule, the most distal segment of the renal tubule. Connecting tubules from several adjacent nephrons merge to form cortical collecting tubules, and these may join to form cortical collecting ducts (CCD). Connecting tubules of some juxtamedullary nephrons may arch upward, forming an arcade. It is this "arcuate" feature which gives the tubule its alternate name.

The connecting tubule derives from the metanephric blastema, but the rest of the system derives from the ureteric bud. Because of this, some sources group the connecting tubule as part of the nephron, rather than grouping it with the collecting duct system.

The initial collecting tubule is a segment with a constitution similar as the collecting duct, but before the convergence with other tubules.

The "cortical collecting ducts" receive filtrate from multiple initial collecting tubules and descend into the renal medulla to form medullary collecting ducts.

It participates in the regulation of water and electrolytes, including sodium, and chloride. The CNT is sensitive to both isoprotenerol (more so than the cortical collecting ducts) and antidiuretic hormone (less so than the cortical collecting ducts), the latter largely determining its function in water reabsorption.

Medullary collecting duct
"Medullary collecting ducts" are divided into outer and inner segments, the latter reaching more deeply into the medulla. The variable reabsorption of water and, depending on fluid balances and hormonal influences, the reabsorption or secretion of sodium, potassium, hydrogen and bicarbonate ion continues here. Urea passively transports out of duct here and creates 500mOsm gradient.

The outer segment of the medullary collecting duct follows the cortical collecting duct. It reaches the level of the renal medulla where the thin descending limb of loop of Henle borders with the thick ascending limb of loop of Henle

The inner segment is the part of the collecting duct system between the outer segment and the papillary ducts.

Papillary duct
Papillary (collecting) ducts are anatomical structures of the kidneys, previously known as the ducts of Bellini. Papillary ducts represent the most distal portion of the collecting duct. They receive renal filtrate (precursor to urine) from several medullary collecting ducts and empty into a minor calyx. Papillary ducts continue the work of water reabsorption and electrolyte balance initiated in the collecting tubules.

Medullary collecting ducts converge to form a central (papillary) duct near the apex of each renal pyramid. This "papillary duct" exits the renal pyramid at the renal papillae. The renal filtrate it carries drains into a minor calyx as urine.

The cells that comprise the duct itself are similar to rest of the collecting system. The duct is lined by a layer of simple columnar epithelium resting on a thin basement membrane. The epithelium is composed primarily of principal cells and α-intercalated cells. The simple columnar epithelium of the collecting duct system transitions into urothelium near the junction of a papillary duct and a minor calyx.

These cells work in tandem to reabsorb water, sodium, and urea and secrete acid and potassium. The amount of reabsorption or secretion that occurs is related to needs of the body at any given time. These processes are mediated by hormones (aldosterone, vasopressin) and the osmolarity (concentration of electrically charged chemicals) of the surrounding medulla. Hormones regulate how permeable the papillary duct is to water and electrolytes. In the medullary collecting duct specifically, vasopressin upregulates urea transporter A1. This increases the concentration of urea in the surrounding interstitium and increases the osmolarity. Osmolarity influences the strength of the force that pulls (reabsorbs) water from the papillary duct into the medullary interstitium. This is especially important in the papillary ducts. Osmolarity increases from the base of the renal pyramid to the apex. It is highest at the renal apex (up to 1200 mOsm). Thus the force driving the reabsorption of water from the collecting system is the greatest in the papillary duct.

Cells
Each component of the collecting duct system contains two cell types, intercalated cells and a segment-specific cell type:
 * For the tubules, this specific cell type is the connecting tubule cell
 * For the collecting ducts, it is the principal cell. The inner medullary collecting ducts contain an additional cell type, called the inner medullary collecting duct cell.

Principal cells
The principal cell mediates the collecting duct's influence on sodium and potassium balance via sodium channels and potassium channels located on the cell's apical membrane. Aldosterone determines expression of sodium channels (especially the ENaC on the collecting tubule). Increases in aldosterone increase expression of luminal sodium channels. Aldosterone also increases the number of Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase pumps that allow increased sodium reabsorption and potassium excretion. Vasopressin determines the expression of aquaporin channels that provide a physical pathway for water to pass through the principal cells. Together, aldosterone and vasopressin let the principal cell control the quantity of water that is reabsorbed.

Intercalated cells

Intercalated cells come in α, β, and non-α non-β varieties and participate in acid–base homeostasis.

For their contribution to acid–base homeostasis, the intercalated cells play important roles in the kidney's response to acidosis and alkalosis. Damage to the α-intercalated cell's ability to secrete acid can result in distal renal tubular acidosis (RTA type I, classical RTA)(reference). The intercalated cell population is also extensively modified in response to chronic lithium treatment, including the addition of a largely uncharacterized cell type which expressed markers for both intercalated and principal cells.

Function
The collecting duct system is the final component of the kidney to influence the body's electrolyte and fluid balance. In humans, the system accounts for 4–5% of the kidney's reabsorption of sodium and 5% of the kidney's reabsorption of water. At times of extreme dehydration, over 24% of the filtered water may be reabsorbed in the collecting duct system.

The wide variation in water reabsorption levels for the collecting duct system reflects its dependence on hormonal activation. The collecting ducts, in particular, the outer medullary and cortical collecting ducts, are largely impermeable to water without the presence of antidiuretic hormone (ADH, or vasopressin).
 * In the absence of ADH, water in the renal filtrate is left alone to enter the urine, promoting diuresis.
 * When ADH is present, aquaporins allow for the reabsorption of this water, thereby inhibiting diuresis.

The collecting duct system participates in the regulation of other electrolytes, including chloride, potassium, hydrogen ions, and bicarbonate.

An extracellular protein called hensin (protein) mediates the regulation of secretion of acid by alpha cells in acidosis, and secretion of bicarbonate by beta cells in alkalosis.

Collecting duct carcinoma
Carcinoma of the collecting duct is a relatively rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), accounting for less than 1% of all RCCs. Many reported cases have occurred in younger patients, often in the third, fourth, or fifth decade of life. Collecting duct carcinomas are derived from the medulla, but many are infiltrative, and extension into the cortex is common. Most reported cases have been high grade and advanced stage and have not responded to conventional therapies. Most patients are symptomatic at presentation. Immunohistochemical and molecular analyses suggest that collecting duct RCC may resemble transitional cell carcinoma, and some patients with advanced collecting duct RCC have responded to cisplatin- or gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.

title: Collecting duct system


text:
Jōjima, Fukuoka

Jōjima (城島町) was a town located in Mizuma District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 13,772 and a density of 783.39 persons per km2. The total area was 17.58 km2.

On February 5, 2005, Jōjima, along with the town of Kitano (from Mii District), the town of Mizuma (also from Mizuma District), and the town of Tanushimaru (from Ukiha District), was merged into the expanded city of Kurume and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

Jojima has been famous for Japanese Sake blessed with rice from Chikugo plain and water from Chikugo river since Meiji Era. Every February, they celebrate the opening of a storehouse for the first time in the New Year.

title: Jōjima, Fukuoka


text:
Ōki, Fukuoka

Ōki (大木町) is a town located in Mizuma District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 13,716 in 5238 households, and a population density of 750 persons per km². The total area of the town is 18.44 km2.

Geography
Ōki is locatedi in southwestern Fukuoka Prefecture, approximately 15 kilometers southwest of the center of Kurume City. The entire town is part of the Chikugo Plain, and a creek runs through the town.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Kurume
 * Ōkawa
 * Yanagawa
 * Chikugo

Climate
Ōki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōki is 15.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1902 mm with September as the wettest month.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōki is as shown below

History
The area of Ōki was part of ancient Chikugo Province and in the Heian period was the site of a shōen landed estate owned by the Tokudaiji family. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Kurume Domain. The villages of Ōmizo, Kamachi, and Ōi were established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. On April 1, 1955 these villages merged to form the town of Ōki.

Government
Ōki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Ōki, collectively with the city of Ōkawa, contributes one member to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 6th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
The economy of Ōki is based on agriculture. Mushrooms are the major crop. A significant portion of the working population commutes to Kurume or the Fukuoka City.

Education
Ōki has three public elementary high schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Railways
Nishitetsu Tenjin Ōmuta Line
 * Ōmizo - Hatchōmuta

title: Ōki, Fukuoka


text:
Mizuma, Fukuoka

Mizuma (三潴町) was a town located in Mizuma District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 15,606 and a density of 969.32 persons per km2. The total area was 16.10 km2.

On February 5, 2005, Mizuma, along with the town of Kitano (from Mii District), the town of Jōjima (also from Mizuma District), and the town of Tanushimaru (from Ukiha District), was merged into the expanded city of Kurume and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

title: Mizuma, Fukuoka


text:
Marsha Ivins

Marsha Sue Ivins (born April 15, 1951) is an American retired astronaut and a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions.

Career
Ivins, born April 15, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland, graduated from Nether Providence High School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania in 1969, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1973. She is Jewish-American. She went to work for NASA's Johnson Space Center, and worked mainly on orbiter displays and controls, before being assigned as a flight engineer in 1980 and co-pilot on NASA administrative aircraft. In 1984, Ivins was selected as an astronaut candidate.

She has flown aboard five space missions: STS-32 (1990), STS-46 (1992), STS-62 (1994), STS-81 (1997), and STS-98 (2001). Ivins retired from NASA on December 31, 2010.

Spaceflight experience
STS-32 (January 9–20, 1990) launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on an eleven-day flight, during which crew members on board the Space Shuttle Columbia successfully deployed a Syncom satellite, and retrieved the 21,400-pound Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Mission duration was 261 hours, 1 minute, and 38 seconds. Following 173 orbits of the Earth and 4.5 million miles, Columbia returned with a night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

STS-46 (July 31 – August 8, 1992) was an 8-day mission, during which crew members deployed the EURECA (European Retrievable Carrier) satellite, and conducted the first Tethered Satellite System (TSS) test flight. Mission duration was 191 hours, 16 minutes, and 7 seconds. Space Shuttle Atlantis and her crew launched and landed at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, completing 126 orbits of the Earth in 3.35 million miles.

STS-62 (March 4–18, 1994) was a 14-day mission for the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP) 2 and Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) 2 payloads. These payloads studied the effects of microgravity on materials sciences and other space flight technologies. Other experiments on board included demonstration of advanced teleoperator tasks using the remote manipulator system, protein crystal growth, and dynamic behavior of space structures. Mission duration was 312 hours, 23 minutes, and 16 seconds. Space Shuttle Columbia launched and landed at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, completing 224 orbits in 5.82 million miles.

STS-81 Atlantis (January 12–22, 1997) was a 10-day mission, the fifth to dock with Russia's Space Station Mir, and the second to exchange U.S. astronauts. The mission also carried the Spacehab double module providing additional middeck locker space for secondary experiments. In five days of docked operations more than three tons of food, water, experiment equipment and samples were moved back and forth between the two spacecraft. Following 160 orbits of the Earth, the STS-81 mission concluded with a landing on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 33 ending a 3.9 million mile journey. Mission duration was 244 hours, 56 minutes.

STS-98 Atlantis (February 7–20, 2001) continued the task of building and enhancing the International Space Station by delivering the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. The Shuttle spent seven days docked to the station while Destiny was attached and three spacewalks were conducted to complete its assembly. The crew also relocated a docking port, and delivered supplies and equipment to the resident Expedition-1 crew. Space Shuttle Atlantis returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California traveling 5.3 million miles in 203 orbits. Mission duration was 12 days, 21 hours, 20 minutes.

Interviews

 * , Budapest, December 6, 2012.
 * What It's Like to Spend 55 Days in Space, By Chris Mooney in Mother Jones, September 20, 2013, accessed May 7, 2014
 * An Astronaut Reveals What Life In Space Is Really Like, By Marsha Ivins as told to Caitlin Roper in WIRED Magazine, November 19, 2014, accessed November 23, 2014

title: Marsha Ivins


text:
Mizuma District

Mizuma (三潴郡) is a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003 statistics and counting the decrease in size and population due to the Kurume merger, the district has an estimated population of 14,305 and a density of 776 persons per km2. The total area is 18.43 km2.

Towns and villages

 * Ōki

Mergers

 * On February 5, 2005 the former towns of Jōjima and Mizuma merged with two towns (from other districts) into the expanded city of Kurume.

title: Mizuma District


text:
Kurogi, Fukuoka

Kurogi (黒木町) was a town located in Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 14,023 and a density of 103.50 persons per km2. The total area was 135.49 km2.

On February 1, 2010, Kurogi, along with the town of Tachibana, and the villages of Hoshino and Yabe (all from Yame District), was merged into the expanded city of Yame.

title: Kurogi, Fukuoka


text:
Jōyō, Fukuoka

Jōyō (上陽町) was a town located in Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,063 and a density of 68.49 persons per km2. The total area was 59.32 km2.

On October 1, 2006, Jōyō was merged into the expanded city of Yame.

title: Jōyō, Fukuoka


text:
Tachibana, Fukuoka

Tachibana (立花町) was a town located in Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 12,020 and a density of 138.73 persons per km2. The total area was 86.64 km2.

On February 1, 2010, Tachibana, along with the town of Kurogi, and the villages of Hoshino and Yabe (all from Yame District), was merged into the expanded city of Yame.

title: Tachibana, Fukuoka


text:
Hirokawa, Fukuoka

Hirokawa (広川町) is a town located in Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 19,215 in 8186 households, and a population density of 510 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 37.94 km2.

Geography
Hirokawa is located in an inland area of southern Fukuoka Prefecture. The western part of the town is on the eastern edge of the Chikugo Plain, and is close to the urban areas of Kurume and Yame.The eastern part of the town is a mountainous area with traditional hamlets.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Kurume
 * Chikugo
 * Yame

Climate
Hirokawa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hirokawa is 15.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1946 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.6 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hirokawa is as shown below

History
The area of Hirokawa was part of ancient Buzen Province. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Kokura Domain. The villages of Kamihirokawa, Nakahirokawa and Shimohirokawa were established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. On April 1, 1955 Kamihirokawa and Nakahirokawa Ueno merged to form the town of Hirokawa. Parts of Shimohirokawa were added on December 1, 1955.

Government
Hirokawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 13 members. Hirokawa, collectively with the city of Yame, contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 7th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
The economy of Hirokawa was traditionally based on agriculture, with products including strawberries, grapes, pears, and Yamecha tea. After plans to merge with either neighboring Kurume or Yame failed to gain popular support, the town developed an industrial park next to the Hirokawa Interchange on the Kyushu Expressway,

Education
Hirokawa has four public elementary high schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Railways
Hirokawa does not have any passenger railway service. Buses connect to the town from Nishitetsu Kurume Station, Hanabatake Station, and JR Kyushu Kurume Station. JR Kyushu Nishimuta Station and Nishitetsu Daizenji Station are close to the western part of the town and are accessible in about 15 minutes by car

Highways

 * JP Expressway E3.svg Kyushu Expressway

Sister city relations
🇨🇳 - Wujiang, Suzhou, China, friendship city

Notable people from Hirokawa

 * Kuniyoshi Noda, politician
 * Tatsuya Maruyama, politician

title: Hirokawa, Fukuoka


text:
Yabe, Fukuoka

Yabe (矢部村) was a village located in Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Yabe is located at 330m above sea level. The average temperature is 14 °C and the average annual precipitation is 2,706mm.

As of 2006, the village had an estimated population of 1,730 and a density of 21.50 persons per km2. The total area was 80.46 km2.

On 1 February 2010, Yabe, along with the towns of Kurogi and Tachibana, and the village of Hoshino (all from Yame District), was merged into the expanded city of Yame.

title: Yabe, Fukuoka


text:
Hoshino, Fukuoka

Hoshino (星野村) was a village located in Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the village had an estimated population of 3,707 and a density of 45.61 persons per km2. The total area was 81.28 km2.

On February 1, 2010, Hoshino, along with the towns of Kurogi and Tachibana, and the village of Yabe (all from Yame District), was merged into the expanded city of Yame.

title: Hoshino, Fukuoka


text:
Yame District, Fukuoka

Yame (八女郡) is a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of April 1, 2010, the district has an estimated population of 20,230 and a density of 534 persons per km2. The total area is 37.91 km2.

Towns and villages

 * Hirokawa

Mergers

 * On October 1, 2006, the town of Jōyō merged into the city of Yame.
 * On February 1, 2010, the towns of Kurogi and Tachibana, and the villages of Yabe and Hoshino merged into the city of Yame.

title: Yame District, Fukuoka


text:
Setaka, Fukuoka

Setaka (瀬高町) was a town located in Yamato District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 24,221 and a density of 641.96 persons per km2. The total area was 37.73 km2.

On January 29, 2007, Setaka, along with the town of Yamakawa (also from the Yamato District), and the town of Takata (from the Miike District), were merged to create the city of Miyama.

In 2006, the Setaka Town Assembly proposed inviting universities to consider establishing a campus in the town and asked for comments from the town's residents. One group of residents submitted a deposition asking that only universities that did not allow foreign student enrollment be allowed to open a campus in Setaka. The deposition was accepted by the town assembly without debate.

Notable Person from Setaka

 * Jun'ichi Yoda - poet
 * Makoto Koga - politician

title: Setaka, Fukuoka


text:
Mitsuhashi, Fukuoka

Mitsuhashi (三橋町) was a town located in Yamato District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 18,227 and a density of 1,079.16 persons per km2. The total area was 16.89 km2.

On March 21, 2005, Mitsuhashi, along with the town of Yamato (also from Yamato District), was merged into the expanded city of Yanagawa.

title: Mitsuhashi, Fukuoka


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Yamakawa, Fukuoka

Yamakawa (山川町) was a town located in Yamato District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 5,522 and a density of 209.33 persons per km2. The total area was 26.38 km2.

On January 29, 2007, Yamakawa, along with the town of Setaka (also from Yamato District), and the town of Takata (from Miike District), was merged to create the city of Miyama.

title: Yamakawa, Fukuoka


text:
Overkill (term)

Overkill is the use of excessive force or action that goes further than what is necessary to achieve its goal. It may be a literal term referring to physical damage, though it is also used in colloquial conversation as a metaphor.

Nuclear weapons
Overkill is especially used to refer to a destructive nuclear capacity exceeding the amount needed to destroy an enemy.

The term is attested from 1946 and was in common use during the Cold War era, referring to the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both nations possess more than enough nuclear weapons to destroy one another many times over – nuclear overkill. The term for this was "pounding the rubble" or, as military officers sometimes joked, "pounding the ruble". Overkill colloquially refers either to use of force or weapons or to satiate the desire to humiliate a rival. In Spanish, "overkill" is referred to as "matanza excesiva".

In video games
Overkill is a common feature implemented in many video games, typically representing the fact that the damage a single attack inflicted on an enemy or player character far exceeded the character's remaining health points. In many first-person shooters, starting with Doom, overkilling a character results in "gibbing" – the character exploding in a shower of gore.

title: Overkill (term)


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Yamato District, Fukuoka

Yamato (山門郡) was a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan..

As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 64,913 and a density of 625.49 persons per km2. The total area was 103.78 km2.

Former towns and villages

 * Setaka
 * Yamakawa

Merger

 * On March 21, 2005 - the towns of Mitsuhashi and Yamato were merged into the expanded city of Yanagawa.
 * On January 29, 2007 - the towns of Setaka and Yamakawa, along with the town of Takata (from Miike District), were merged to create the city of Miyama. Yamato District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

title: Yamato District, Fukuoka


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Takata, Fukuoka

Takata (高田町) was a town located in Miike District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 14,525 and a density of 354.18 persons per km2. The total area was 41.01 km2.

On January 29, 2007, Takata, along with the towns of Setaka and Yamakawa (both from Yamato District), was merged to create the city of Miyama.

title: Takata, Fukuoka


text:
Miike District

Miike (三池郡) was a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 14,525 and a density of 354.18 persons per km2. The total area was 41.01 km2.

Former towns and villages

 * Takata

Merger

 * On January 29, 2007 - the town of Takata, along with the towns of Setaka and Yamakawa (both from Yamato District), was merged to create the city of Miyama.

title: Miike District


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Kawara, Fukuoka

Kawara (香春町) is a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 10,164 in 5388 households, and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the town is 44.50 km2.

Geography
Kawara is located in the northeastern part of Fukuoka Prefecture, at the northeastern end of the Chikuho region. Most of the town area is mountainous, except for the southwestern edge. Mt. Ushizari in the western part of town and Ryugahana in the northern part of the town attract the largest number of climbers throughout the year, especially during the spring tourist season. Kaharudake, located in the western part of the town, is mainly made of limestone, and became famous after appearing in the novel The Gate of Youth by Hiroyuki Itsuki.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Kitakyushu
 * Tagawa
 * Fukuchi
 * Ōtō
 * Aka
 * Miyako

Climate
Kawara has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kawara is 15.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1560 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Kawara is as shown below

History
The area of Kawara was part of ancient Buzen Province, and its name appears as early as the Nara period in official documents as a location settled by toraijin immigrants from the Korean Peninsula. Many of the place names in the town are said to be derived from ancient Korean, and copper from mines in Kawara was used in the construction of the Nara Daibutsu. Duirng the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Kokura Domain. In 1866, during the Bakumatsu period, the forces of Chōshū Domain attacked and burned down Kokura Castle, forcing the domain to relocated its seat to a jin'ya constructed in Kawara. The village of Kawara was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on July 22, 1898. On September 30, 1956 Kawara annexed the neighboring villages of Kagane and Nidosho.

Government
Kawara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 13 members. Kawara, collectively with the other municipalities of Tagawa District contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
During the Meiji period, Kawara, along with the other municipalities of the Chikuho area, developed with the Kitakyushu industrial zone through coal mining, and is still considered part of to the Greater Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area. However, as the demand for coal decreased due to the energy revolution, the coal mines that had sponsored prosperity have closed, as have the cement plants and other industries, leading to depopulation. Kawara still has active limestone quarries.

Education
Kawara has one public combined elementary/Junior high school operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education.

Railways
JR Kyushu - Hitahikosan Line Heisei Chikuhō Railway - Tagawa Line
 * Saidōsho - Kawara - Ippommatsu
 * Kakishita-Onsen-Guchi - Magarikane

Highways

 * JP Expressway E3.svg Kyushu Expressway
 * JP Expressway E10.svg Higashikyushu Expressway

title: Kawara, Fukuoka


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Soeda, Fukuoka

Soeda (添田町) is a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8725 in 4496 households, and a population density of 66 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 132.20 km2.

Geography
Soeda is located in the southeastern part of the Chikuhō region, in the southern part of Tagawa District, and borders Oita Prefecture in the Chikushi Mountains, which is home to a series of mountains such as Mt. Hiko. The Aburagi Dam is located in the upper reaches of the Imagawa River, and much of the town is in the mountains.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture Ōita Prefecture
 * Kama
 * Ōtō
 * Kawasaki
 * Aka
 * Tōhō
 * Miyako
 * Nakatsu
 * Hiji

Climate
Soeda has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa). The average annual temperature in Soeda is 15.3 C. The average annual rainfall is 1970.5 mm with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Soeda was 37.8 C on 14 August 2018; the coldest temperature ever recorded was -7.5 C on 9 January 2021.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Soeda in 2020 is 8,801 people. Soeda has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History
The area of Soeda was part of ancient Buzen Province, and artifacts from as early as the late Jōmon period have bene found within town limits, including large jade stones which had been imported from distance Itoigawa, Niigata. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Kokura Domain. The village of Soeda was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on April 1, 1912. On February 11, 1942 Soeds annexed the neighboring village Hikoyama, and on January 1 1955 the village of Tsuno. The town was severely damaged by torrential rains on On July 5, 2017.

Government
Soeda has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 11 members. Soeda, collectively with the other municipalities of Tagawa District contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
During the Meiji period, Soeda, along with the other municipalities of the Chikuho area, developed with the Kitakyushu industrial zone through coal mining, and is still considered part of to the Greater Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area. However, as the demand for coal decreased due to the energy revolution, the coal mines that had sponsored prosperity have all closed, leading to depopulation. The main economic activity is now agriculture.

Education
Soeda has four public elementary high schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education.

Railways
JR Kyushu - Hitahikosan Line
 * Nishi-Soeda - Soeda - < Kanyūsha-Hikosan - Buzen-Masuda - Hikosan >*

Highways

 * JP Expressway E3.svg Kyushu Expressway
 * JP Expressway E10.svg Higashikyushu Expressway
 * JP Expressway E34.svg Ōita Expressway

Sister city relations

 * - Incheon, Republic of Korea

Local attractions

 * Mount Hiko
 * Hikosan Jingū

title: Soeda, Fukuoka


text:
Kanada, Fukuoka

Kanada (金田町) was a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 8,285 and a density of 1,110.59 persons per km2. The total area was 7.46 km2.

On March 6, 2006, Kanada was merged with the towns of Akaike and Hōjō (all from Tagawa District) to create the town of Fukuchi.

title: Kanada, Fukuoka


text:
Itoda, Fukuoka

Itoda (糸田町) is a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8448 in 4581 households, and a population density of 830 persons per km². The total area of the town is 8.04 km2.

Geography
Itoda is located almost in the center of Fukuoka Prefecture, in the northeastern part of the Chikuho region, approximately 50 kilometers east of Fukuoka City, approximately 40 kilometers southwest of Kitakyushu City, approximately 10 kilometers east of Iizuka City, and approximately halfway between Iizuka City and Tagawa City. The eastern part of the town is a basin, which is the urban center. The western part of the town contains mountainous region called Karasuo Pass, which was the border area connecting former Chikuzen Province and Buzen Province.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Iizuka
 * Tagawa
 * Fukuchi

Climate
Itoda has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Itoda is 15.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1560 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Itoda is as shown below

History
The area of Itoda was part of ancient Buzen Province. During the Edo Period the area was partly under the control of Kokura Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the villages of Itoda was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on January 1, 1939.

Government
Itoda has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Itoda, collectively with the other municipalities of Tagawa District contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
During the Meiji period, Itoda, along with the other municipalities of the Chikuho area, developed with the Kitakyushu industrial zone through coal mining, and is still considered part of to the Greater Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area. However, as the demand for coal decreased due to the energy revolution, the coal mines that had sponsored prosperity have closed, leading to depopulation. Since the 1970s, efforts have been made to maintain the economic base by creating industrial parks on former sites such as coal mines. In addition, horticultural crops such as roses, orchids, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes are cultivated, and wooden crafts are produced as special products.

Education
Itoda has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Railways
Heisei Chikuhō Railway - Itoda Line
 * ■ Buzen-Ōkuma - Matsuyama - Itoda

Highways

 * JP Expressway E3.svg Kyushu Expressway
 * JP Expressway E10.svg Higashikyushu Expressway

Notable people from Itoda

 * Masurao Hiroo, sumo wrestler

title: Itoda, Fukuoka


text:
Kawasaki, Fukuoka

Kawasaki (川崎町) is a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,219 in 8522 households, and a population density of 420 persons per km². The total area of the town is 36.140 km2.

Geography
Kawara is located in the central part of Fukuoka Prefecture, at the eastern end of the Chikuhō region. Most of the town area is mountainous.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Tagawa
 * Kama
 * Ōtō
 * Soeda

Climate
Kawasaki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kawasaki is 14.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1678 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Kawasaki is as shown below

History
The area of Kawasaki was part of ancient Buzen Province, and was part of the holdings of Kokura Domain during the Edo period. The village of Kawasaki was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on August 15, 1938. On September 20, 1960 the embankment of the Chumotoji River burst due to torrential rains and 67 people were killed when river water flowed into the Toyosu Coal Mine.

Government
Kawasaki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 16 members. Kawasaki, collectively with the other municipalities of Tagawa District contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
During the Meiji period, Kawasaki, along with the other municipalities of the Chikuho area, developed with the Kitakyushu industrial zone through coal mining, and is still considered part of to the Greater Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area. However, as the demand for coal decreased due to the energy revolution, the coal mines that had sponsored prosperity have closed, leading to depopulation.

Education
Kawasaki has four public elementary schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. There is one private high school. There is also a special education school for the handicapped operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education.

Railways
JR Kyushu - Hitahikosan Line
 * Ikejiri - Buzen-Kawasaki

Highways

 * JP Expressway E3.svg Kyushu Expressway
 * JP Expressway E10.svg Higashikyushu Expressway

title: Kawasaki, Fukuoka


text:
Akaike, Fukuoka

Akaike (赤池町) was a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was once a coal mining town.

As of 2005, the town had an estimated population of 9,592 and a density of 592.09 persons per km2. The total area was 16.20 km2. This is down from 9,870 (609.26/km2) in 2003.

On March 6, 2006, Akaike was merged with the towns of Hōjō and Kanada (all from Tagawa District) to create the town of Fukuchi, with an estimated population of 25,000 (September 1, 2011).

In 1992, it was the first municipality in Japan to become effectively bankrupt, with losses of 3.2 billion yen, or 1.3 times its annual budget. The town's rehabilitation process was completed at the end of fiscal 2001—two years earlier than initially planned. This was achieved through measures such as slashing the salaries of town officials, raising utility costs, and cutting back on public works projects.

title: Akaike, Fukuoka


text:
Hōjō, Fukuoka

Hōjō (方城町) was a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 7,831 and a density of 426.06 persons per km2. The total area was 18.38 km2.

On March 6, 2006, Hōjō was merged with the towns of Akaike and Kanada (all from Tagawa District) to create the town of Fukuchi.

title: Hōjō, Fukuoka


text:
Ōtō, Fukuoka

Ōtō (大任町) is a town located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 5,066 in 2615 households, and a population density of 360 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 151.34 km2. The town is known for its small, palm-sized mangoes.

Geography
Ōtō is located in the Chikuho region of northeastern of Fukuoka Prefecture. The Hikoyama River flowing from north to south through the center of the town, and much of the town belongs to the Tagawa Basin.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Tagawa
 * Kawara
 * Soeda
 * Kawasaki
 * Aka

Climate
Ōtō has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōtō is as shown below

History
The area of Ōtō was part of ancient Buzen Province and part of the holdings of Kokura Domain in the Edo Period. The village of Ōtō was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on January 1, 1960.

Government
Ōtō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 11 members. Ōtō, collectively with the other municipalities of Tagawa District contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The town mayor and government has frequently been involved in scandals involving corruption, fraud, and violent crime with frequent accusations of ties with organized crime.

Economy
During the Meiji period, Ōtō, along with the other municipalities of the Chikuho area, developed with the Kitakyushu industrial zone through coal mining, and is still considered part of to the Greater Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area. However, as the demand for coal decreased due to the energy revolution, the coal mines that had sponsored prosperity have all closed, leading to depopulation. Ōtō

Education
Ōtō has two public elementary schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Railways
Ōtō has had no passenger railway service since the closure of the Soeda Line in 1985. The nearest train station is Tagawa-Ita Station in neighboring Tagawa.

Highways
There are no expressways or national highways in the town.

title: Ōtō, Fukuoka


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Aka, Fukuoka

Aka (赤村) is a village located in Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 3,065 in 1509 households, and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the village is 31.98 km2.

Geography
Aka is located at the foot of Mount Hiko in the eastern part of Fukuoka Prefecture. It is approximately 40 kilometers due east of Fukuoka City, approximately 30 kilometers due south of Kitakyushu City, and 20 kilometers southwest of Yukuhashi City.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Kawara
 * Ōtō
 * Soeda
 * Miyako

Climate
Aka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Aka is as shown below

History
The area of Aka was part of ancient Buzen Province. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Kokura Domain. The village was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. On August 7, 1945 Aka was bombed by a formation of six American military aircraft, killing five people, injuring three people, and burning down four houses, despite being a purely civilian settlement with no military significance.

Government
Aka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of ten members. Aka, collectively with the other municipalities of Tagawa District contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
Aka has a mainly rural economy based on agriculture. There is very little in terms of industry or commerce. Unlike other municipalities in the Chukuhō region, there was no coal mine development in Aka, and thus it has not been affected much by the rise and fall of the coal industry.

Education
Miyako has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Railways
Heisei Chikuhō Railway - Tagawa Line
 * Genjiinomori - Yusubaru - Aka - Uchida

Highways
Aka is not on any national highway or expressway. The nearest interchange is the Yukuhashi Interchange on the Higashikyushu Expressway.

Noted people from Aka

 * Mineko Nishikawa, singer

title: Aka, Fukuoka


text:
Tagawa District, Fukuoka

Tagawa (田川郡) is a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2020, the district has an estimated population of 71,755 and a density of 232.1 persons per km2. The total area is 309.13 km2.

Towns and villages

 * Aka
 * Fukuchi
 * Itoda
 * Kawara
 * Kawasaki
 * Ōtō
 * Soeda

Merger history
On March 6, 2006, the following towns merged to form the new town of Fukuchi:
 * Akaike
 * Kanada
 * Hōjō

title: Tagawa District, Fukuoka


text:
Maurizio Cheli

Maurizio Cheli (born 4 May 1959, in Zocca) is an Italian air force officer, a European Space Agency astronaut and a veteran of one NASA Space Shuttle mission.

A native of Modena, Cheli attended the Italian Air Force Academy and trained as a test pilot in 1988 at the Empire Test Pilots' School, England. He was awarded the McKenna Trophy as the best student on his course, as well as the Sir Alan Cobham Award for the highest standard of flying and the Hawker Hunter Thropy for he best Preview Handling report. He studied geophysics at the University of Rome La Sapienza and earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Houston. He then trained with the United States Air Force and was selected as an astronaut candidate by the European Space Agency in 1992. He holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Italian Air Force. He flew aboard STS-75 in 1996 as a mission specialist.

That same year he joined Alenia Aeronautica, and two years later he became Chief Test Pilot for combat aircraft. His last test program was for the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Maurizio Cheli has more than 380 hours of space activity and more than 4500 flying hours on more than 50 different aircraft types.

He is married to fellow former ESA astronaut Marianne Merchez.

During the 2009 Torino World Air Games, on 12 June 2009 the SkySpark experimental aircraft piloted by Cheli logged the speed world record for its class, powered by an electric engine designed by the DigiSky, an aviation technologies firm founded by Cheli himself in 2005.

title: Maurizio Cheli


text:
Kanda, Fukuoka

Kanda (苅田町) is a town located in Miyako District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 37,626 in 18,877 households, and a population density of 770 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 48.98 km2.

Geography
Kanda is located in northeastern Fukuoka Prefecture. It is bordered by the Gulf of Suo on the Seto Inland Sea, and to the west by the Hiraodai, which is known for its karst plateau. The southern area adjacent to Yukuhashi City is a lush rural area on the Miyako Plain.

Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Kitakyushu
 * Yukuhashi

Climate
Kanda has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kanda is 15.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1663 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.2 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Kanda has been steadily increasing since the 1950s.

History
The area of Kanda was part of ancient Buzen Province. During the Edo Period, the area was part of the holdings of Kokura Domain. The village of Kanda within Miyako District, Fukuoka was established on May 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Kanda was raised to town status on August 1, 1924. Kanda annexed neighboring the villages of Obase and Shirakawa on January 1, 1955.

Government
Kanda has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 11 members. Miyako, collectively with the town of Kanda contributes one member to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Fukuoka 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Future merger
A majority of local residents favor remaining an independent municipality, but voices calling for a merger with the neighboring city of Kitakyūshū remain.

Economy
Kanda belongs to the Kitakyushu metropolitan area and serves partly as a commuter town with neighboring Kitakyushu City and Yukuhashi City. It is part of the Kitakyushu industrial zone (region) centered on automobiles, cement, electricity, etc., and has a large concentration of industry compared to its population size. In recent years, the automobile industry has become extremely concentrated, with the Nissan Motor Kyushu Plant (currently Nissan Motor Kyushu) starting operations in 1975 and the Toyota Motor Kyushu Kanda Plant starting operations in 2005. It is developing as an area that is responsible for the automobile industry in northern Kyushu.

Education
Kanda has six public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government and one combined public high school operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. The Nishinippon Institute of Technology is also located in Kanda.

Airports

 * Kitakyushu Airport (the airport terminal is located in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū; however half of the artificial island on which it is built is within the borders of Kanda.

Railways
JR Kyushu - Nippō Main Line
 * Kanda - Obase-Nishikōdai-mae

Highways

 * JP Expressway E10.svg Higashikyushu Expressway

Sister City relations
Samcheok, South Korea (since 1997)

Local attractions

 * Seiryu Cave, National Natural Monument
 * Ishizukayama Kofun, National Historic Site
 * Goshoyama Kofun, National Historic Site

Festivals

 * Kanda Float Festival, held annually in mid-September. The festival is famous for its 14 "fighting floats", and has been categorized as an "Intengible Folk Cultural Asset" by the Fukuoka prefecture.

title: Kanda, Fukuoka


text:
Saigawa, Fukuoka

Saigawa (犀川町) was a town located in Miyako District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 7,268 and a density of 74.16 persons per km2. The total area was 98.00 km2.

On March 20, 2006, Saigawa, along with the towns of Katsuyama and Toyotsu (all from Miyako District), was merged to create the town of Miyako.

title: Saigawa, Fukuoka


text:
Jean-François Clervoy

Jean-François André Clervoy (born 19 November 1958) is a French engineer and a CNES and ESA astronaut. He is a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions.

Early life and education
Clervoy was born 19 November 1958 in Longeville-lès-Metz, France, the son of Mireille Lemonde and Jean Clervoy, a former French Air Force pilot.

From an early age, he took an interest in space exploration and dreamt of becoming an astronaut:"When I was in second grade, Clervoy says, my teacher used to tell us that when we would be grown up, we would be able to fly in space, the same way he was able to buy a ticket to go to the United States." While born in the French region of Lorraine, Clervoy considers Toulouse to be his adopted hometown. He has a twin brother, Patrick Clervoy, a military psychiatrist.

He received his baccalauréat from Collège Militaire de Saint-Cyr-l'École in 1976; he passed Math. Sup. and Math. Spé. M' at Prytanée Militaire, La Flèche in 1978. He graduated from École Polytechnique, Paris, in 1981. He then became a member of the Corps of Armament. He graduated from École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace, Toulouse, in 1983; he graduated as a Flight Test Engineer from École du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception, Istres, in 1987.

Experience
In 1983 Clervoy was seconded from the Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) to CNES (French Space Agency) where he works on autopilot systems for various projects such as the earth observation satellite SPOT, the optical inter-satellite space link STAR, or the comet probe VEGA. Clervoy is Ingénieur Général de l'Armement in the Corps of Armament at the DGA.

He was selected in the second group of French astronauts in 1985 and started intensive Russian language training. From 1987 until 1992 he directed the parabolic flight program at the Flight Test Center, Brétigny-sur-Orge and provided technical support to the European human space program within the ESA Hermes crew office in Toulouse. From 1983 to 1987, Clervoy was also a lecturer in signal processing and general mechanics at the École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace, Toulouse.

In 1991, he trained in Star City, Moscow, on the Soyuz and Mir systems. In 1992, he joined the Astronaut Corps of the European Space Agency (ESA) at the European Astronaut Center EAC in Cologne. In August 1992 Clervoy was detached to the NASA Johnson Space Center/ Houston to gain the Space Shuttle mission specialist qualifications. In between his space flights, Clervoy was assigned as flight software verification lead in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) and as robotics display design lead for Shuttle and ISS. After his third spaceflight, he was assigned as the International Space Station display integration lead in the NASA-JSC Astronaut Office.

He flew twice aboard and once aboard  or a total of 675 hours in space. Due to the difficulty that American astronauts had in pronouncing his name, Clervoy was nicknamed "Billy Bob."

From 2001 through 2008, he was assigned Senior Advisor Astronaut of the Automated Transfer Vehicle ESA project in Les Mureaux (France). In 2008, he was also appointed member of the selection board for the new ESA astronaut class.

Clervoy holds military and civilian parachuting licenses, military and civilian scuba-diving licenses, and private pilot license.

Spaceflight experience

 * STS-66 (November 3 –14, 1994), the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) mission was part of an ongoing program to determine the Earth's energy balance and atmospheric change over an eleven-year solar cycle. Clervoy used the robotic arm to deploy the CRISTA-SPAS atmospheric research satellite 20 hours after lift-off, and logged 262 hours and 34 minutes in space and 175 earth orbits.
 * STS-84 (May 15 – 24, 1997) was NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Assigned as payload commander, Clervoy's primary tasks were the management of more than 20 experiments, the operation of the docking system and the double module SPACEHAB, and the transfer of 4 tons of equipment between Atlantis and Mir. He was also trained as a contingency spacewalker on this mission. He logged 221 hours and 20 minutes in space and 144 earth orbits.
 * STS-103 (December 19 – 27, 1999) primary objectives was the repair of the Hubble space telescope, which was put to sleep after successive failures of its gyroscopes, necessary to meet the telescope's very precise pointing requirements. Clervoy was the flight engineer for ascent, space rendezvous and entry. He used the robotic arm to capture and deploy the telescope, and to maneuver his crew mates during each of their three spacewalks each lasting more than eight hours. He logged 191 hours and 11 minutes in space and 120 Earth orbits.

Current assignment
Clervoy is a member of ESA’s European Astronaut Corps, based at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. As part of his ESA collateral duties, Clervoy provides support to the human spaceflight programme, the external relations department and the sustainable development office. He is also Chairman and strategy manager of Novespace, a subsidiary of French space agency CNES in charge of the parabolic flight programme based on the A310 Zero-G aircraft in Bordeaux-Mérignac, France.

Personal life
He is married to Laurence Boulanger and they have two children. Clervoy enjoys racquet sports, skill games, canyoning, skiing, and flying activities such as boomerang, frisbee, kites.

Organisations
Member, Association of Space Explorers (ASE). Distinguished member, French Aeronautics and Astronautics Association (3AF). Member, Air and Space Academy (ANAE). Member, International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Ambassador of the World Ocean Network. Patron of the marine life preservation non-profit association 'Te mana o te moana' in French Polynesia. JF Clervoy is also the ESA representative for the ocean exploration ‘SeaOrbiter’ project.

Special honours

 * Officer of the Legion of Honor
 * Knight of the National Order of Merit
 * NASA Space Flight Medals (three)
 * NASA Exceptional Service Medals (two)
 * Medal of Aeronautics
 * Komarov and Koroliev Awards from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

Tributes

 * A middle school is named after him in Franconville (Val-d'Oise) where he completed part of his schooling
 * A media library is named after him at Longeville-lès-Metz (Moselle)
 * The square of Sercy (Saone-et-Loire) is named after him

Publications
Jean-François Clervoy is the author of the book "Histoire(s) d'Espace" relating his third mission towards the Hubble space telescope. He is also the co-author of the works: "Voler en apesanteur" and "Embarquer dès demain pour l'espace" (Ed. Vuibert), "Dans les bars des bouts du monde" and "La Diva, le Président et autres face-à-face" (Ed. L'Elocoquent), "Vox confidential" (Ed. Michel Lafon), "Histoire de la conquête spatiale" (Ed. Vuibert).

Patent
Jean-François filed an international patent for the functions of the wrist watch ‘Speedmaster Skywalker X-33’ produced by Omega, tested and qualified by ESA.

title: Jean-François Clervoy


text:
Katsuyama, Fukuoka

Katsuyama (勝山町) was a town located in Miyako District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 7,319 and a density of 215.65 persons per km2. The total area was 33.94 km2.

On March 20, 2006, Katsuyama, along with the towns of Saigawa and Toyotsu (all from Miyako District), was merged to create the town of Miyako.

title: Katsuyama, Fukuoka