Republic of Sierra Leone

普杰洪区Pujehun DistrictThe population of Pujehun District is mainly from the Mende ethnic group, though minority ethnic groups are also found in the District. Pujehun District is a large Muslim majority district, though there is a significant Christian minority as well.

- Zimmi is a small town in Pujehun District of southern Sierra Leone. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 5,369.^[1] The town is a trade centre in particular relating to agriculture, mining and commercial business activities, and provides a link for trade with Liberia. Zimmi Community Bank, founded in 2005, is located in the town and serves both the local area and the surrounding Chiefdoms of Barri, Sorogbema and Tunkia.

• This mining area has known to produce some of the world’s most amazing canary yellow diamonds. The diamonds from the region’s Zimmi mine have such a highly saturated yellow color, which is caused by isolated nitrogen impurities. https://cdn.polyauction.com.hk/default/auction/sale/xiang-gang-bao-li-2020nian-chun-pai-zhu-bao-zhong-biao-bao-w2_c67da107-1d2e-408e-a8cb-c5a0e437bcee.pdf

trade and investment environment
- fintech

• https://www.ft.com/content/40980b7c-c350-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9 Sierra Leoneans will be able to sign up for bank accounts with a press of their thumbs, thanks to a blockchain-based financial inclusion programme that could serve as a model for countries with large unbanked populations across the developing world. The Kiva Protocol, launched on Wednesday by the Sierra Leonean government and Kiva, the Silicon Valley microloan company, is a biometric system that links a person’s thumbprint with their identity. It will allow the west African country to create a universal credit bureau for the first time, with its backers hoping it will spur lending by banks reluctant to loan to people without credit histories. Further benefits identified include allowing the government to reach more people with its services, cutting costs for mobile operators and start-ups and bringing thousands of small businesses into the formal economy. “From the individual, to the start-up to the government to businesses . . . the proof of ID becomes instantaneous, meaning more access to services” for Sierra Leoneans, said David Sengeh, the country’s chief innovation officer. “This is a great step that a small country is taking.”

China
- leaders' visit

• http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2016/12/02/a15-1202.pdf 國家 主席習近平昨日在人民大會堂同塞拉利 昂總統科羅馬舉行會談。兩國元首決定 將中塞關係提升為全面戰略合作夥伴關 係

- 西非國家塞拉利昂周三宣布取消一份中國建造機場的計劃，原因是該項目沒有「任何必要性」，而且所需要的大約四億美元（約三十一億港元）造價太昂貴。該國新任總統比奧更指中國建造的基礎設施建設項目，沒有給該國民眾帶來經濟利益和發展。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181012/00178_001.html- sea cucumber

• http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21695880-locals-lose-out-silver-deep Six years ago, two Chinese traders discovered that the waters around Sierra Leone’s Banana Island were teeming with sea cucumbers; islanders have been diving for them ever since. The leathery echinoderms only emerge from their hiding-places in the dark. So when night falls, Emmanuel Pratt slides out to sea in his brightly-painted canoe. Wearing a wetsuit and flippers, he takes a last drag of his cigarette before pulling a mask down over his face, and slipping into the dark water. Moments later the beam of his waterproof torch appears a dozen feet down as he searches for his new livelihood. When the Chinese traders, known to the islanders only as Mr Cham and Mr Lee, first turned up, locals say they promised to use some of the profits from the sea-cucumber trade to boost the islanders’ quality of life. A motorboat, a community centre, solar panels and water pumps were promised in exchange for being allowed to operate there. Six years on, a group of young men sit on empty petrol cans in the rundown village of Dublin, passing a spliff around in the pitch dark. “They delivered nothing,” says another diver. “The traders made a lot of money and we didn’t get any of it.” Similar words have echoed throughout Sierra Leonean history. For centuries foreigners have come to buy its resources—gold, diamonds, bauxite—but the country remains one of the world’s poorest, with a GDP per head of less than $800 a year. Yet despite the old complaint, most of the island’s young men are grateful that the Chinese came. They still get paid about $1 per cucumber. “I did not have any work before, I had no plans, but now I have a trade. I built my house with the sea-cucumber money,” says Mr Pratt. He proudly gestures to his cement house. Painted lime green, it stands out against the other ramshackle clapboard structures. Imagine how much more could be built if the islanders got a grip on their own resources.

- investors from China

• http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-04/21/content_20497163.htm State-owned Shandong Iron and Steel Group Co Ltd said on Monday that it has acquired the remaining 75 percent stake it does not own in a mining project in western Africa's Sierra Leone. Shandong Steel had earlier acquired a 25 percent stake in the project, Tonkolili Iron Ore mine, for about $1.5 billion in 2011. With the completion of the stake purchase from the loss-making African Minerals Ltd, Shandong Steel also owns the associated infrastructure company African Port and Railway Services.

- https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/2165910/dozens-chinese-accused-illicit-gold-mining-child-labour-sierra Sierra Leone is to deport 38 Chinese for alleged involvement in illicit gold mining and child labour, officials said.

Greenland

independence?
- 丹麥的左派政治陣營一直力撐格陵蘭獨立；右派則認為格陵蘭應更緊密團結在一起。至於格陵蘭約五萬六千名島民，爭取獨立的聲音一直沒有停止過，問題是當地自上世紀七十年代實行地方自治後，儘管哥本哈根多次放權，但經濟一直無大起色，現時當地每年財政預算的一半來自哥本哈根政府的補助。可以說，格陵蘭對丹麥「又愛又恨」：既想尋求自主，經濟又離不開對方，如今特朗普成功令兩地同仇敵愾，「抵禦外侮」。特朗普想憑解決北韓核問題捧走諾貝爾和平獎或許不切實際，但藉解決格陵蘭跟丹麥的爭端，卻分分鐘能成事。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20190820/00184_010.html

ethnic groups
- Kalaallit make up the largest group among the Greenlandic Inuit, and are concentrated in Kitaa. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the indigenous people living in Greenland (Greenlandic Kalaallit Nunaat).^[3] The Kalaallit (singular: Kalaalleq) are a part of the Arctic Inuit people. The language spoken by Inuit in Greenland is Kalaallisut. Possibly adapted from the name Skræling, Kalaallit historically referred specifically to Western Greenlanders. On the other hand, Northern and Eastern Greenlanders call themselves Inughuit and Tunumiit, respectively. 

usa
- Trump’s administration is not the first to make an inquiry about buying the island. President Harry Truman expressed desire to acquire the island in 1946 for $100 million in gold, and earlier attempts to buy the island stretch back to 1867.https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/21/heres-why-trump-wants-to-buy-greenland.html
- The US says it will reopen its consulate in Greenland for the first time in decades - just days after Denmark’s refusal to sell the region sparked a presidential tantrum. Donald Trump angrily pulled out of a state visit to Denmark and dubbed prime minister Mette Frederiksen “nasty” for telling him that his wish to buy Greenland was “absurd”. But the State Department now says it wants to re-establish a consulate in Nuuk, the capital of the semi-autonomous region.The US opened a consulate in Greenland in 1940 in response to the Nazioccupation of Denmark but it was closed in 1953.In 1991 it was revealed that Harry S Truman, US president between 1945 and 1953, had secretly offered to buy Greenland, although he too was rebuffed.

EU
- Greenland, an autonomous constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark (which also includes the countries of Denmark and Faroe Islands) is one of the EU's overseas countries and territories (OCT). Greenland receives funding from the EU for sustainable development and has signed agreements increasing cooperation with the EU. Greenland joined the then European Community in 1973 as a county along with Denmark, but voted to leave the EC in 1982 and left in 1985, to become an OCT. Citizens of Greenland are, nonetheless, EU citizens owing to their Danish citizenship.


China
- http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/international/art/20170409/19984503 外媒報道，中資礦業公司「中國俊安集團」原計劃買起丹麥領地格陵蘭的一個廢棄海軍基地，已被丹麥以國防安全考慮為由拒絕出售。報道引消息人士稱，丹麥此舉是不想中國在格陵蘭建立潛在軍事據點，以免損害與美國之間的盟友關係。格陵蘭目前是丹麥的海外自治領地，自治政府負責內政，但外交及防務仍掌握在丹麥政府手中。報道指自治政府原本於去年答允向俊安出售廢棄海軍基地，該基地位於格陵蘭島西南部的格羅尼達爾，1942年由美軍建設用來保護美國和歐洲之間的航線，其後美國將此基地移交丹麥政府，自2012年起一度成為丹麥在格陵蘭的海軍指揮總部，惟於約兩年前遭廢棄。丹麥國防部並無回應拒售基地原因，不過知情人士指，丹麥政府此舉「很明顯無法容忍中美在格陵蘭玩『捉迷藏』，且美國政府也不樂見此情況」。網上資料顯示，於本港註冊的俊安集團是中國最大的焦煤和鐵礦石進口商之一，資產總額逾60億美元（下同，逾466億港元）。前年初有外媒報道指，俊安也曾以20億美元（約155億港元）買起格陵蘭一個鐵礦。俊安暫未對買基地被拒作回應。
- http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/22842e82-9979-11e4-a3d7-00144feabdc0.html A Chinese mining company is taking over a planned $2bn iron ore mine in Greenland, making it the first Arctic resources project to come under the full ownership of China. General Nice, one of China’s largest coal and iron ore importers, will now run the Isua mine project, following a move to put its previous owner, London Mining, into administration, according to the Greenland government, http://www.hkcd.com.hk/pdf/201501/0113/HZ15113CZXX.pdf, http://www.chinadailyasia.com/business/2015-01/13/content_15212986.html
- aviation

• The Danish government is concerned about growing commercial ties between Greenland and China after Chinese construction companies appeared on a list of potential bidders for three airport projects in Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/denmark-deeply-concerned-over-chinese-bids-build-g/
• 中國或參與丹麥自治區格陵蘭島上的機場建設，目前已有一家中國企業入圍投標，惟丹麥政府認為此舉會惹其盟友美國不滿，亦擔憂中國對格陵蘭的影響力日益擴大，或阻止中企參與。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180619/00178_013.html

renaissance

The Renaissance (UK: /riˈneɪsəns/ ri-NAY-sənss, US: /ˌrɛnəˈsɑːns/ REN-ə-SAHNSS)^[2][a] is a period in European history, covering the span between the 14th and 17th centuries and marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. The traditional view focuses more on the early modern aspects of the Renaissance and argues that it was a break from the past, but many historians today focus more on its medieval aspects and argue that it was an extension of the Middle Ages. The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its version of humanism, derived from the concept of Roman Humanitas and the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said that "Man is the measure of all things." This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature. Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe: the very first traces appear in Italy as early as the late 13th century, in particular with the writings of Dante and the paintings of Giotto. As a cultural movement, the Renaissance encompassed innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch; the development of linear perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting; and gradual but widespread educational reform. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, and in science to an increased reliance on observation and inductive reasoning. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man". The Renaissance began in the 14th century in Florence, Italy.^[8] Various theories have been proposed to account for its origins and characteristics, focusing on a variety of factors including the social and civic peculiarities of Florence at the time: its political structure, the patronage of its dominant family, the Medici,^[9][10] and the migration of Greek scholars and their texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.^[11][12][13] Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, and finally Rome during the Renaissance Papacy.

architecture

- copycats

• beverly hills, hk

• blends tuscan architectural style and french classical revivalism of delicate engravings

hokkaido

Hokkaido (北海道 , literally "Northern Sea Circuit")(Japanese: [hokkaꜜidoː] ), formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is the second largest island of Japan, and the largest and northernmost prefecture. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu. The two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. 
- naming of hokkaido

• 「北海道の名付け親」と言われているのが松浦武四郎という人物です。武四郎は、江戸時代の終わりから明治にかけて活躍した探検家で、6度に渡る蝦夷地(北海道)の探査を通じてアイヌの人々とも交流を深め、蝦夷地の詳細な記録を数多く残しました。また、アイヌの人々が蝦夷地で安心して暮らしていけるようにしたいという強い思いを持ち、行動した人でもあります。蝦夷地のことに詳しい第一人者として明治政府の一員となり、1869(明治2)年7月17日、明治政府に対し、蝦夷地に代わる新たな名称として「北海道」のもととなった「北加伊道」を含む6案を提案しました。https://hokkaido150.jp/matsuuratakeshiro/

- When establishing the Development Commission (開拓使 Kaitakushi), the Meiji Government decided to change the name of Ezochi. Matsuura Takeshirō submitted six proposals, including names such as Kaihokudō (海北道) and Hokkaidō (北加伊道), to the government. The government eventually decided to use the name Hokkaidō, but decided to write it as 北海道, as a compromise between 海北道 and because of the similarity with names such as Tōkaidō(東海道). According to Matsuura, the name was thought up because the Ainu called the region Kai. Historically, many peoples who had interactions with the ancestors of the Ainu called them and their islands^[dubious ] Kuyi, Kuye, Qoy, or some similar name, which may have some connection to the early modern form Kai. The Kai element also strongly resembles the On'yomi, or Sino-Japanese, reading of the characters 蝦夷 (on'yomi as [ka.i, カイ], kun'yomi as [e.mi.ɕi, えみし]) which have been used for over a thousand years in China and Japan as the standard orthographic form to be used when referring to Ainu and related peoples; it is possible that Matsuura's Kai was actually an alteration, influenced by the Sino-Japanese reading of 蝦夷 Ka-i, of the Nivkh exonym for the Ainu, namely Qoy or IPA: [kʰuɣi]. There is no known established Ainu language word for the island of Hokkaido. However, the Ainu people did have a name for all of their domain, which included Hokkaido along with the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and parts of northern Honshu, which was Aynu Mosir (アィヌ・モシリ), a name taken by the modern Ainu to refer to their traditional homeland.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}"Ainu Mosir" literally translates as "The Land Where People (the Ainu) Live", and it was traditionally used to be contrasted with Kamuy Mosir, "The Land of the Kamuy (spirits)". In 1947, Hokkaido became a full-fledged prefecture, but the -ken suffix was never added to its name, so the -dō suffix came to be understood to mean "prefecture". "Hokkai-do-ken" (literally "North Sea Province Prefecture") is therefore, technically speaking, a redundant term, although it is occasionally used to differentiate the government from the island itself. The prefecture's government calls itself the "Hokkaido Government" rather than the "Hokkaido Prefectural Government".

Furano (富良野市, Furano-shi) is a city in the prefecture of Hokkaido, Japan, located in the southern reaches of Kamikawa Subprefecture, under whose jurisdiction it resides. Well known throughout Japan as a tourism destination, it is famous for its lavender fields, the television drama Kita no Kuni kara and the Furano Ski Resort, which held the Snowboarding World Cup in recent years.The city takes its name from the Ainu word "Fura-nui," which means "Stinky Flame" or "Foul-Smelling Place," in the language of the indigenous people of Hokkaido. This is most likely because the valley was associated with sulfuric fumaroles near Tokachi Peak. In 1897 the first homesteaders arrived from Mie Prefecture and settled in what is now the Ogiyama area of the city. The Village of Furano was established as a satellite settlement of the then-preeminent Utashinai Village. In 1899 the settlement was transferred from under the jurisdiction of Sorachi County to Kamikawa County, an official town hall was raised, and Furano Village, Sorachi County was officially established.

kawashira, Kamoenai, Furuu District, Hokkaido

- [nhk news] houses with steep thatched roofs People
- 松浦 武四郎（まつうら たけしろう、文化15年2月6日（1818年3月12日） - 明治21年（1888年）2月10日）は、江戸時代末期（幕末）から明治にかけての探検家、浮世絵師、著述家、好古家。名前の表記は竹四郎とも。諱は弘。雅号は北海道人（ほっかいどうじん）、多気志楼など多数。蝦夷地を探査し、北海道という名前を考案した。

• 文化15年（1818年）、伊勢国一志郡須川村（現在の三重県松阪市小野江町）にて郷士・松浦桂介ととく子の四男として生まれる。松浦家は、肥前国平戸の松浦氏の一族で中世に伊勢国へ移住してきたといわれている。別書では、代々百姓で、父・桂祐の次男として生まれたとしている。父親は庄屋を営んでおり、比較的恵まれた中、武四郎は後の探検家として役に立つ文化的な素養を身に付けたとされる^[4]。13歳から3年間、平松楽斎（漢学者・伊勢津藩士）のもとで学び、猪飼敬所、梁川星巌らと知己を得る。山本亡羊に本草学を学び、16歳から日本国内の諸国をめぐった。天保9年（1838年）に平戸で僧となり文桂と名乗るが、故郷を離れている間に親兄弟が亡くなり天涯孤独になったのを契機に、弘化元年（1844年）に還俗して蝦夷地探検に出発する。1846年には樺太詰となった松前藩医・西川春庵の下僕として同行し^[5]、その探査は北海道だけでは無く択捉島や樺太にまで及んだ。蝦夷では詩人の頼三樹三郎と旅することもあった^[5]。安政2年（1855年）に江戸幕府から蝦夷御用御雇に抜擢された。そして、再び蝦夷地を踏査し、「東西蝦夷山川地理取調図」を出版した。明治2年（1869年）には開拓判官となり、蝦夷地に「北海道」の名（当初は「北加伊道」）を命名した。更にアイヌ語の地名を参考にして国名・郡名を選定した。翌明治3年（1870年）に北海道の開拓の方針を巡って、従五位の官位を返上した^[6]。この間、北海道へは6度赴き、150冊の調査記録書を遺した。
• Only japanese wikipedia version

Niseko (ニセコ町 Niseko-chō) is a town located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. To Japanese people, Niseko principally refers to a mountain range and a municipal area. However, overseas the name has come to refer to a wider area of ski resorts encompassing Hokkaido's Mount Yōtei, often referred to as the "Mt. Fuji of Hokkaido", and Annupuri ranges. The name Niseko derives from the Ainu language, and it means "a cliff jutting over a riverbank deep in the mountains".^{[citation needed]} The Niseko town's main industries are agriculture and tourism. The resort itself, Niseko United, is part of the Mountain Collective. Moreover, the town is renowned for its quality powder snow and world-class facilities, including traditional onsen and restaurants.ニセコはアイヌ語の「ニセイ・コ・アン・ペツ」（峡谷にある川）に由来する。この川とは地区の正面に聳えるニセコ連峰に源を発して南に流れ、尻別川に合流するニセコアンベツ川のことで、ニセコアンペツの水源である山はアイヌ語で山を意味するヌプリの語を付け「ニセコアンヌプリ」とされた。ニセコ町は1964年（昭和39年）までは「狩太町」（かりぶと）という名称であった。1901年（明治34年）に真狩村（まっかりむら）から分村して誕生した際に、それまで真狩村で最も栄えていた地区は「真狩太（まっかりぶと）」と呼ばれていた。これは真狩村の地名語源である川「マク・カリ・ペツ」（奥の方で曲がる川、現在の真狩別川）と尻別川の合流点が付近にあり、アイヌ語で「マク・カリ・プトゥ」と呼ばれていたことにちなむ（プトゥは合流点の意）。

- hk

• https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/3041483/niseko-hong-kong-developer-banks-luxury-hotels-bullet A Hong Kong-based luxury property developer is making the Hanazono village in Niseko its next launch pad to profitability as the Japanese ski resort town grows in popularity.Odin Properties sold eight of the 88 plots at the Odin Hills residential project in the popular Hokkaido ski resort at the opening sales in Hong Kong on December 6, according to co-founder Chris Fjelddahl. They were snapped up by buyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines.The developer is banking on a slew of luxury developments in Niseko to attract buyers to its Japanese and European-styled mountain village project. They include the Park Hyatt hotel by Richard Li’s Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve by the YTL group from Malaysia, while a new bullet railway station in the vicinity could also add value to the surrounding properties.

• Hackworth, an Australian who ran resorts in his home country, was part of a group of investors who in 2004 acquired Hanazomo, one of four primary sections of Niseko. Three years later, Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group bought out Hackworth and his partners, but put him in charge of operations as the real estate conglomerate began to invest in improving the facilities. Today, there are new restaurants and lifts. A Park Hyatt hotel will open later this month.https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3046892/worst-winter-decades-japans-ski-resorts

占冠村（しむかっぷむら ^{Shimukappu mura */?}）是位於日本北海道上川綜合振興局最南端山區的一個村；轄區面積的94％為森林。村名源自阿伊努語的「si-mo-ka-pet」，意思是平靜河川（指鵡川）的上游。Tomamu in the eastern part of the village area is the site of the Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, one of Hokkaido's major ski resorts, located on the southern slopes of Mount Tomamu. The resort is dominated by four 40-storey (121 metre) high-rise towers built during the boom of the late 1980s. The exteriors of these buildings have recently been redecorated by Klein Dytham architecture (KDa) of Shibuya, Tokyo to make them harmonize better with their surroundings.Shimukappu and Tomamu have a student exchange/sister city program with Aspen, Colorado.

Shiretoko Peninsula (知床半島, Shiretoko-hantō) is located on the easternmost portion of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, protruding into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is separated from Kunashir Island of Russia by the Nemuro Strait. The name Shiretoko is derived from the Ainuword sir etok, meaning "the end of the Earth"^[1] or "the place where the Earth protrudes". The towns of Rausu and Shari are found on the peninsula.

Shiribeshi Subprefecture (後志総合振興局, Shiribeshi-sōgō-shinkō-kyoku) is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. 

- Kutchan (倶知安町, Kutchan-chō) is a town located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Kutchan's name comes from the language of the Hokkaido's native Ainu people. It attempts to mimic the pronunciation of the Ainu word ku-shan-i (which roughly translates as “the place where the channel flows”), but some claim that the name is derived from kucha-an-nai (“stream of a hunting lodge”).

- 積丹半島（しゃこたんはんとう）是唯一北海道西部後志支廳的一個半島，地名來自阿伊努語的「sak-kotan」（夏天的村落）。

- Yoichi (余市町, Yoichi-chō) 余市町には縄文時代の早期以降から各年代の遺跡やストーンサークルが発見されている。ヨイチのアイヌコタンは西蝦夷地は最大規模の人口であり、ヨイチアイヌは他の地方のアイヌの伝承にも大勢力としてたびたび登場する。近世から現代においても北海道内有数の交易場所、ニシンの千石場所として栄えた^[4]。ところが、ニシンは1954年（昭和29年）の漁を最後に余市湾への回遊が途絶えてしまい、「幻の魚」となってしまった^[19]。

• The cave paintings at Fugoppe Cave in Yoichi are the first known signs of prehistoric life on Hokkaido. Their origin remains a mystery.

local administration

- Hokkaido Prefecture had 14 branch offices called 支庁 (shichō) in Japanese, which is often translated in English as subprefectures. Normally, a subprefecture consists of a few to a dozen cities, towns, and/or villages. From April 2010, Hokkaido has 9 General Subprefectural Bureaus (総合振興局) and 5 Subprefectural Bureaus (振興局). For historical reasons, some older people in Hokkaido use the subprefecture name suffixed by -kannai in their address.