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- Contents - International Festa Life with Bicycle: Ride bicycle safely Mutual Aid Traffic Accident Insurance Plan Prevent Bicycle Theft Recycled bicycles for sale!

How to dispose unused bicycle (or other bulk refuse) Moving Procedures required at your municipal office

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Japanese ingredients -Fermented Food- ‘Niodori‘ SAKE for your gift from Misato City Notes for Declaration of Municipal Tax / Income Tax Bulletin Board

The 36th Kita Kominkan Matsuri (festival) The 44th Misato City Half Marathon Immunization (Measles/Rubella)

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Published by: The Assistance for Citizens’ Activity Division, Misato city Hall, 648-1 Hanawada, Misato-shi, Saitama 341-8501 048－953-1111 (ext. 2304)

MISATO VIEW Issued Quarterly No. 79 February 2013

※ Both Japanese and non-Japanese are welcome! Please join this event freely, even if it is the first time for you to meet people from different countries in an international environment.

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Congratulation on 10th anniversary of Misato International Association The International Festa will be held by the International Association to commemorate the 40th anniversary of municipalization and the 10th anniversary of its foundation. Date & Time: March 3 (Sun), 2013 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Place: Gym at Mizunuma Shimin Center of Misato City Fee: 200 yen (Free of charge for a child of elementary school age or under) Featuring: ●Various performances by Japanese and non-Japanese residents

(planned programs) ●International exchange party (light meal will be offered.)

(All the photos are last year’s ones)

❀ ❀ ❀ How about learning Japanese? ❀❀❀ Misato International Association holds ‘Japanese class’ for free at 2 districts in Misato City. Feel free to join!

・Kita Kominkan (3-7-19-101 Hikonari) every Friday 19:00 to 20:45 ・Takasu-chiku Bunka Center (3-60-1 Takasu)

1st and 3rd Tuesday 19:00 to 20:45 Inquiries: Assistance for Citizens’ Activity Division Call: 048-930-7714

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1. Bicycle runs on the road in principle, exceptionally runs on sidewalk. 2. Bicycle must run left side of the road. 3. When bicycle runs on a sidewalk exceptionally, it must run on the side

nearer to the road at a reduced speed yielding to pedestrians. 4. Observe the rules to ride on bicycle safely. ◆Drunk-riding, 2 person's ride on a bicycle and ride in parallel are prohibited. ◆When ride at night, you must put a front light and a rear light on bicycle.

(Light reflector can be used at rear.) ◆Observe the signals at a crossroad, stop at stop sign and make sure of safety. 5. Have child put on a helmet.

Ride bicycle safely

A bicycle is a very convenient and ecological means of transport, but it can be dangerous. The number of fatalities from bicycle accidents in Saitama Prefecture was one of the worst in the nation recently. Ride bicycle safely observing traffic regulations.

＊The ordinance of Saitama Pref. states the duties of bicycle riders as follows. 5 principles to ride on bicycle safely:

Regular inspection and maintenance are necessary. Never fail to apply Bicycle theft prevention registration. Guard against thieves by keys or protecting cover for basket. As a cyclist can be a victim or an assailant, to get insured by cycle-insurance against accident is recommended.

Mutual Aid Traffic Accident Insurance Plan

The members pay the mutual aid premium against the traffic accident. When you get injured or die by a traffic accident, the insurance will pay the provident benefit Eligibility: those registered on the Basic Resident Record in Misato City and actually live in Misato. Mutual aid period: from April 1, (if you enroll after April 1, from the next day of the application date) till March 31 of the following year. Mutual aid premium (per year): 900yen for adult, 500yen for middle school student or under. Traffic accident covered by the Mutual Aid: traffic accident when you are in a car, riding on a motorcycle or bicycle etc. on roads or accidents with these vehicles which occurred in Japan.

Application: Residents’ Affairs Division, Misato Danchi Shutchojo, JP Bank and Post Office in Misato

City (But application at JP Bank and post office is accepted not later than December 31.) Inquiries: ▽Residents’ Affairs Division; Call: 048-930-7701

▽Misato Danchi Shutchojo; Call: 048-957-2121

Prevent Bicycle Theft Register your bicycle in the police computer which will store the data as the date of registration, No. of registration, body No. of bicycle, owner’s address, name and tel. No. for ten years and stick a ‘Certificate of Registration’ on your bicycle to prevent from theft. Term of validity: 10 years Where to register: bicycle theft prevention registration place (shop where you buy the bicycle, home center etc.) What to bring: your ID, bicycle (No. of the bicycle) and 500yen

When you give away your bicycle, you have to erase your registration. ★This registration certifies that the bicycle belongs to you or your family. ★This registration helps to prevent your bicycle from theft and to find the owner when it is stolen.

(When a stolen bicycle is found, the police will identify the owner by the registration No. and body No. and return the stolen bicycle to the registered owner.)

“The Code to Promote Safe Bicycle Ride in Saitama Prefecture” came into effect since April 1, 2012, which obliges a parent or a guardian of school child(ren) to make effort to have their child(ren) wear a helmet when he or she rides a bicycle to prevent from being injured in a traffic accident.

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Recycled bicycles for sale! Service center for Promotion of utilization of bicycle (Misato City entrusts the administrative task to ‘the employment service center for older people’) sell the recycled bicycles which Misato City made over and which they reproduced. As the numbers of bicycles are limited, please contact and ask in advance.

Price 7,200 yen ～ (including tax and bike registry)

How to sell Reception begins at 9:50 am and sale begins at 10 am. When applicants are more than 2 for 1 bicycle, it will be allotted by lottery.

when Last Monday of the month

Quantity of bicycle About 20 / month

Inquiries

Venue: near the square of north exit of Misato Station (JR) Service center for promotion of utilization of bicycle,

Call: 048-959-2318 Working day and time: Monday through Friday (except Sat. Sun. National Holiday, during the year-end and New Year

holidays) 9 am ~ 5 pm

Inquiries: Traffic Affairs Section, Traffic Division; Call: 048-930-7719 (direct line) How to dispose unused bicycle (or other bulk refuse) If you want to discard an unused bicycle, it will be handled as a bulk refuse. (Charged) There are two methods to discard a bulky waste including a bicycle; one is direct carry-in and the other is individual pick up on request. Direct carry-in: ① No appointment is required. Just bring your waste material(s)

directly to Misato-shi Funenbutsu Shorijo, or Incombustible Sorting Facility (bulk refuse collection center), with your ID (e.g. a driver’s license, a health insurance certificate, Residence Card etc.) and handling fee. (Please note that the minimum fee is 200 yen and charged 200 yen per additional 10kg and the measured weight will be rounded off to the nearest 10kg. For example, even 1kg of waste is 200 yen, 15kg waste is 400 yen, while 24kg waste is 400 yen and so on.)

②Please follow the instruction by a staff member at the facility. Request for individual collection: ① Make an appointment by phone in advance. (Please talk in

Japanese.) The operator will ask you the item and the quantity of your bulk waste. Max10 items of refuse materials are acceptable up to at one time.

② The date of collection to be informed. (The bulk waste collection dates are different from communities.) The date will be fixed in order of reception of requests.

③ Pay handling fee IN CASH when collecting your waste(s). If you cannot attend on the day, please pay the fee through either one of the following ways:

・ Ask your neighbor or a person at your home owner association to pay the fee. ・ Pay the fee to a reception at the Misato City’s collection center of incombustible sorting facility or

Misato-danchi Shutchojo (branch office) in advance. ・ If you reside in Satsukidaira, pay the fee to the residential management center. ★Handling fee is 1000 yen as basic charge + 500 yen per 1 item (up to 10 items)

④ Place your waste on a designated spot (at which you are instructed when making an appointment on the phone) by 8:30am. No collection from inside each house is accepted. If you live in a detached house, place waste in front of the gate etc. If you live in an apartment, place waste at an entrance or at an exclusive place for disposal bulk refuse, and remember to attach a piece of paper stating ‘ Sodai-gomi (bulk refuse in Japanese), the date of collection and your name’ on it.

Misato-shi Funenbutsu Shorijo, or Incombustible Sorting Facility (bulk refuse collection center) Address: 1314 Kobo, Misato City; Call: 0120-80-5383 (in Japanese)

Business Hours (for carry-in): (No appointment is needed):

・ Mon. - Fri. (except National Holidays and Year-end & New Year holidays)

8:30 am – 5:00 pm ・1st Sunday & 4th Saturday

8:30 am – 5:00 pm

Business Hours (for making an appointment of individual collection): ・Mon. - Fri. (except National Holidays and Year-end & New Year holidays) 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

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When moving, you must follow several procedures required by your municipal office…

Discarding Bulk waste: ※Reservation is inevitable for collection of bulk waste. Make a schedule to discard bulky waste at collection date. Refer to ‘how to discard bicycle (or other bulk waste)’ (p.3).

Japanese ingredients -Fermented food-

Now in Japan, ‘Shio-koji’ (salted rice malt) is a boom. ’Shio-koji’ is one of the traditional fermented foods in this country. The fermentation adds deliciousness or nutrition to the original food material by the help of microbe. Over many centuries Japanese developed various kinds of fermented foods such as Shoyu (soy sauce), Miso (soybean paste), Tsukemono (pickles), Natoo (fermented soybean), Sake (liquor) and many others. Why are these fermented foods so appreciated? The reasons are that they are:

1. Superior in storage stability 2. Tasty 3. Good for one’s body

In Narita International Airport, a restaurant which serves specialty plates with Miso opened where customers are mostly foreigners. As Miso has gained high degree of recognition as Shoyu in these days, let us propose some easy Miso cooking. ★Make dipping sauce with a little miso in mayonnaise. Fresh vegetable with this

dipping sauce is delicious. ★Grill meat or fish with miso paste(add Sake or Mirin)

Make good use of fermented food for your health!

How about SAKE for your gift from Misato City? NIODORI, limited special pure sake using 100 ％ rice of Misato City, has arrived in

stores from Dec. 1. It has been well received at the previous selling. Sake is one of the fermented foods. Niodori is produced of 100％Misato rice and water beneath Mt. Buko. It contains aromatic and deep flavor which suits any dish. Limited to Misato Rice, Marketed locally and Limited quantity. The interest in Japanese Sake is continuing to rise internationally. Please not fail to bring NIODORI as a souvenir!

Dealer: supermarkets, convenience stores, shops etc., Price: 1380yen (including tax),

<capacity 720ml, the rice-polishing ratio is 60 %, the alcohol content is 15％>

Before Moving After Moving Moving out Registration： When you leave Japan or move out Misato City,

submit a moving out notification within 14 days before moving out or after moving out at the city hall. With a certificate of moving out from the city, take the procedure of moving in at your new municipal office. When you change your address in Misato City, submit a Notification of Change of Address within 14 days from moving date.

When you come from abroad or move from other municipality, submit a Moving in Notification within 14 days from residing date in new address. When the householder of the same household is a foreign resident, official document (if not in Japanese, translation is also necessary) to certify the relationship with the householder is necessary.

National Health Insurance： Return your Health Insurance Certificate to the

National Health Insurance & National Pension Division Counter and adjust the Insurance tax payment.

After registering your change of address at your new local municipal office, complete necessary procedures to re-enroll in the National Health Insurance scheme.

Elementary and Junior High School: Notify the School Affairs Division with a copy of

Moving out Notification. Obtain a Notice of Moving out from this division and submit it to your child’s current school to request a School Certificate (zaigaku shomeisho) and a Certificate of Provision of Textbooks. For the foreign nationals, ‘Notification of Withdrawal from school’ is required.

Submit a copy of Moving in Notification and present a School Certificate and a Certificate of Provision of Textbooks to the School Affairs Div. and receive a Notification of Moving in. Submit a Notification of moving in, a School Certificate and a Certificate of Provision of Textbooks to school. For the foreign nationals,’ Application for Admission form’ is required.

Child Allowance / Child Medical Subsidy: Notify the Child Support Div. and follow the

necessary procedures for loss of qualification Please apply at an early date to benefit from this service, at the appropriate division in your new municipal office.

Seal Registration: Seal Registration is expunged from the record on

the moving out day. Return Seal Registration Card. Please refer to your new municipal office

Soy sauce Soybean paste

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0Notes for Declaration of Municipal Tax / Income Tax

A Resident who is required to declare Municipal Tax is as follows: ●Those who had a domicile in Misato City as of January 1, 2013. ●Those who had an office or a business place without residential address in Misato City. Note: Please file your tax declaration even if you are a foreign student or his or her spouse and had no income in 2012.

Misato City mailed a tax form to each individual who filed Income Tax declaration last year in late January, 2013. Please submit a completed form to one of the following places by March 15 (Fri.), 2013. The form can be submitted by post.

As this declaration shall relate to other assessment such as your National Health Insurance tax, Long-term Nursing Care Insurance premium or childcare fee and also serve as the base to issue such documents as your tax (or non-tax) certificate, please file your tax declaration even if you had no income in 2012.

Tax declaration of Municipal Tax is unnecessary in any of the following cases: ●Those who file a final tax declaration of your income in 2012 to a tax office. ●Those who have no income other than employee’s income and whose employers submit a payroll

statement to Misato City. (Please check with your employer.) Consultation for declaration of Municipal Tax / Income Tax refund:

Date Venue Hours

Before Declaration Period

From Jan 30 (Wed.) to Feb 1 (Fri.), 2013

Main Conference Room on the 7F of the City Hall

9:30 am – 11: 00 am 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Consultation for declaration of Municipal Tax / Simple final income tax declaration

Date Venue Hours From Feb. 18 (Mon.), 2013 Takano Bunka Center

Feb. 19 (Tue.) Bunka Kaikan

Feb. 20 (Wed.), Feb. 21 (Thu.) Misato-danchi Chuo

Shukaijo

(Declaration) Branch offices

Feb. 22 (Fri.) Community Center

※ 9:30 am – 11: 00 am 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

During Declaration Period

From Feb. 25 (Mon.), to March 15 (Fri), 2013

※ Except Saturday and Sunday

Main Conference Room on the 7F of the City Hall

9:00 am – 11: 00 am 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Sunday Consultation

March 3 (Sun), 2013 Main Conference Room on

the 7F of the City Hall 9:00 am – 11: 00 am

Note: Please use public transportation like bus, since there is no parking lot at Misato-danchi Chuo Shukaijo and the other facilities have only limited parking lot.

Note: Your income tax declaration form for the Municipal Tax is acceptable other than the prior dates above by post or hand over at the counter at Municipal Tax Division. (However, when filing is accepted at the branch offices during the period of declaration, the city hall will not accept your tax declaration form. In addition, there is no interpreter at each branch office.)

Inquiries regarding Municipal Tax: Municipal Tax Section, Municipal Tax Division Call: 048-930-7706 (direct line) Visit tax office to declare your final income tax except simple one

◆Those who have not yet completed the year-end adjustment or who will request a deduction of medical expenses can file a form for tax refund prior to the tax return due date. ◆Please note that during Feb. 14 (Thu.) to March 15 (Fri.), Koshigaya Tax Office will not accept your declaration form. The service at the special office at AEON LakeTown will be available as follows:

Date Venue Hours During the declaration period on

business days (Mon. – Fri.) From Feb. 14 (Thu.) to

Mar. 15 (Fri.), 2013 Sunday reception during the

declaration period From Feb. 24 (Sun.) and

Mar. 3 (Sun.) 2013

‘AEON HALL on the 3F of ‘kaze’ area of AEON

LakeTown 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Inquiries regarding final income tax return: Koshigaya Tax Office Call: 048-965-8111（voice guidance in Japanese）

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The 36th Kita Kominkan Matsuri (festival) (Scheduled)

Place: Kita Kominkan (a community center located in Misato Danchi), 3-7-19-101, Hikonari, Misato Date/Time: Mar.9 (Sat.) and. Mar. 10 (Sun), 10 am – 4 pm The following events are scheduled: Exhibitions: Oshi-bana (pressed flowers), dyeing, oil paintings, colored-pencil

drawings, watercolor paintings, knitting, Etegami (illustrated postcards), Origami (paper folding), calligraphy, photographs of mountain-walking activities’, craft, Haiku (a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables), etc.

‘Experience’ corners: Taisho harp, Etegami (illustrated postcards)【fee】, knitting【fee】, Oshi-bana (pressed flowers) 【fee】, Origami (paper folding)

Entertainment: Japanese speeches by non-Japanese, chorus, a picture-story show, reciting of Chinese poems, Taisho harp performance, Ocarina performance, Minyo (folk songs and dance), guitar performance, taijiquan, musical, physical exercise, etc.

Refreshments 【fee】 : cakes, beverages, tea ceremony, etc. Notes: Our regular services will be ceased after 1 pm on March 7 (Thursday) until, March 10 (Sunday) due to the preparations and implementation of Kita Kominkan Matsuri Inquiries: Kita Kominkan Call: 048-957-0253

The 44th Misato City Half Marathon ～Kaichan & Tsubuchan Marathon～

Date: February 3 (Sunday), 2013 《Rain or shine》 Opening ceremony: 8:05 am Venue: Neighboring Misato City Hall (Half Marathon Course set in the city) Many runners will join this event not only from within Misato City but also from all across Japan. Let us give them our heart-warming cheers along the course! Please note that the traffic will be controlled by detours along the course of this event. The closed roads (approximately from 8:15 to noon) will be reopened as the runners pass by sequentially. Thank you for your cooperation.

Inquiries: Office of “Executive committee for Misato City Half marathon”, Sports Promotion Division Call: 048-930-7770

Children who have not received Immunization against Measles & Rubella

2nd stage: Born on April 2, 2006 (Heisei 18) through April 1, 2007 (Heisei 19) 3rd stage: Born on April 2, 1999 (Heisei 11) through April 1, 2000 (Heisei 12) 4th stage: Born on April 2, 1994 (Heisei 6) through April 1, 1995 (Heisei 7) Those stated above can receive vaccination of Measles and Rubella by public expense. Please receive vaccinations at a designated medical institution in Misato City. (English questionnaire may be

available at some medical institutions) Inquiries: Health Promotion Division Call: 048-930-7771 (direct line)

● Bulletin board for all readers ● This is a place for you to post your messages. However, we will not place any commercial, political, religious or job-seeking matters. Please send your comments to us; 648-1 Hanawada, Misato-shi, 341-8501. Email address: shien@city.misato.lg.jp

● Misato View Distribution ●

If you would like to receive this publication periodically for free, please call us on 048- 953-1111, ext. 2304. An English-speaking staff can help available between 9 am and 4 pm from Monday through Friday.

The next Misato view will be issued in May, 2013.

BULLETIN BOARD From February 2013 to April 2013