▲ Kumamoto Earthquake Damage
The Japanese government is pursuing plans to designate the earthquake that struck Kumamoto, Kyushu, on the 28th of last month as a "severe disaster" (special disaster), Kyodo News reported today (the 4th).
According to a high-ranking Japanese government official, the government has entered into coordination to designate the Kumamoto earthquake as a severe disaster during a Cabinet meeting on the 7th.
Designation as a severe disaster area allows for an increase in local allocation tax rates provided to local governments from the national budget, and enables the swift execution of restoration funds through reserve funds.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited the earthquake-affected region the previous day and told reporters of the plan to designate it as a severe disaster, emphasizing, "We will ensure that the necessary budget is secured."
Prime Minister Takaichi also stated that 20 billion yen (approx. 181 billion won) will be injected into the recovery efforts for this earthquake, and it will be designated as a "specified emergency disaster," which can grant special exceptions in administrative procedures during the recovery process.
When designated as a specified emergency disaster, decisions to commence bankruptcy proceedings are temporarily suspended, and individuals are not held liable even if they fail to fulfill statutory obligations such as document submission within the deadline.
Earlier that day, the Japanese government decided at a Cabinet meeting to immediately disburse approximately 24.2 billion yen (approx. 210 billion won) from this year's budget reserve funds to aid recovery from the Kumamoto earthquake damage.
With today marking one week since the Kumamoto earthquake occurred, about 7,600 evacuees from the affected areas are staying in shelters.
Water outages continue in about 44,000 households, and damaged houses are estimated to reach over 13,000.
The Japan Meteorological Agency held a press conference that day, urging the public to prepare for the possibility of earthquakes with a seismic intensity of upper 5 or higher (a level where furniture can topple) over the coming week.
In Kumamoto Prefecture, scorching heat waves continue day after day, with daytime highs reaching 37°C (99°F) in some areas of the prefecture that day, raising concerns over heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses.
The Japan Meteorological Agency emphasized the need to pay close attention to preventing heatstroke.
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