Businesses throughout Japan have sought to help by sending supplies and workers to the effected region. People have cut power to their homes and businesses. Schools have even contributed by cutting power, turning off air conditioners and heaters, depending on temperatures outside. Likewise, businesses around Japan are turning off the A/C.

In order to help those working at companies choosing to switch off the coolers, business attire rules are being bent or changed.

Workers in Japan, depending on the companies, are being told they can come to work in shorts, Hawaiian shirts and sandals to combat the heat this summer. No more business suits, white shirts and ties! Men and women can go to work in casual attire and dress down in order to save power and do their part to help rebuild the Tohoku region of Japan.

The first online classified website in the Kansai region or for that matter in Japan was KansaiConnect. Since then, the website has focused on other areas and other classified websites have popped up. However, last week, KansaiConnect bought a new domain and opened Kansai Classifieds on that domain, appropriately called KansaiClassifieds.com.

People who post ads to this site usually are associated with Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama and Shiga. There are categories to post ads for electronics, household things, English and Japanese, housing and more. If you have a suggestion, send them a request and they will consider adding it to the site.

If you are an English or Japanese teacher, there is also a section to post an ad about yourself to promote your service!

There are only a few ads listed right now, but traffic to the site has begun to increase now that the domain has been listed in Google.

If you have something to buy or sell, go to KansaiClassifieds, register and post your classified ad now! It is easy to do, fast and of course free!

There will be a seminar on how to find a job in Japan as well as legal advice on how to get a working visa. The seminar will be held from 10:30 to 12:30 pm on the same day.

Students graduating from universities between autumn 2009 and March 2010 are eligible to attend.

Registration can be made online at the International Foreign Students Association webpage or you can call (06) 6772-7327.

Reservations are necessary. For more information, call (06) 6344-1135.

The speakers will be experts from different fields involved in development of “Nihongo de Care-navi”, an online Japanese-English dictionary developed by the institute featuring useful expressions for nursing and caregiving.

Admission is free, but registration is necessary and should be done before February 29th, 2008.

Please call (072) 490-2601 for more information.