The first avian flu case of the season was found on a farm in Saga Prefecture. Last year, the country had to cull 17.71 million chickens because of the virus. The local prefecture, the government, and the World Health Organisation are mobilising to put in place countermeasures to prevent the spread of the H5N1 virus.
Ballooning costs, inconvenient access and a local feud are clouding the future of the Kyushu Shinkansen Line’s Nishi-Kyushu route that will partially open on Sept. 23.