10th Emergency Response Meeting on the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake
Overview
On August 12, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the 10th Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters meeting on the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake. She instructed the government as a whole to accelerate continuous support for affected people, including those in evacuation centers, sheltering at home, or sleeping in their cars; ensure access to daily water, housing, places for children, schools, and public safety; advance publicly funded demolition, revive the regional economy, and support employment and tourism. She also called for vigilance against widespread heavy rain caused by Typhoon No. 15 and for continued responses to disasters other than the Kumamoto Earthquake.
Key points
- Continue uninterrupted support for people who have left evacuation centers to shelter at home or sleep in their cars.
- Accelerate measures concerning daily water, temporary housing, places for children, schools, public safety, and publicly funded demolition.
- Support small and medium-sized businesses with business continuity and reopening, financing, employment, and recovery in tourism demand.
- Remain vigilant about disasters other than the Kumamoto Earthquake, including Typhoon No. 15.
Overview
On August 12, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the 10th Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters meeting on the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake at the Prime Minister's Office. The government is increasing opportunities to hear needs directly from affected local governments and residents, while advancing recovery and reconstruction in the affected areas.
The meeting set out a policy of developing a support package proactively based on voices from the field, bringing together the full strength of the government from the standpoint of affected areas and residents, and accelerating early recovery, restoration of livelihoods, and revitalization of the regional economy.
Impact
Maintaining check-ins, daily life consultations, and health management for evacuees, including people sheltering at home or sleeping in their cars, will help ensure that support for people living as evacuees continues without interruption.
Public safety measures, installation of security cameras, investigations into opportunistic crimes, and warnings about fraudulent business practices will help prevent crime and ease affected residents' concerns.
Financing and employment retention support for small and medium-sized businesses, efforts to stimulate tourism demand, and measures to dispel reputational damage will support regional economic recovery and business continuity and reopening.
Details
As more people return home from evacuation centers and switch to sheltering at home, the government will ensure check-ins and daily life consultations for them and for people sleeping in their cars. Forty-seven public health teams handle health and infection control and measures; 150 medical teams conduct relief activities; and 15 welfare teams support people requiring special consideration and improve conditions at evacuation centers.
To secure daily water, the government will use water trucks, the Japan Water Agency's portable water purification units, toilet trucks, and water-circulation showers. For well-related measures, a response team has been established under the local response headquarters to assess conditions and needs in coordination with municipalities. Construction of prefabricated emergency housing began in Yatsushiro City on August 11, and 15 municipalities began accepting applications for rental emergency housing.
Activities are under way at 11 disaster volunteer centers, including one in Yatsushiro City, with support coordination also provided by NPOs and others with specialized skills. Work is also advancing to provide children with places to go and information to parents, ensure a smooth start to the new school term, and support preparations for publicly funded demolition and removal.
For public safety, special mobile patrol units are conducting patrols, providing consultations, and offering crime prevention guidance. A special crime prevention unit dispatched on August 10 is installing security cameras. A special mobile investigative unit will also be dispatched soon to strengthen the investigative response to opportunistic crimes.
Following Mifune Town, Yatsushiro City is also expected to exceed the designation threshold for “extreme local disasters.” In both areas, the government plans to reduce interest rates on disaster recovery loans by 0.9 percentage points, up to 10 million yen, and introduce disaster-related guarantees providing 100 percent coverage in a separate framework from Safety Net Guarantee No. 4. Relevant ministries will support supply chains, production functions, affected businesses, and their partner companies.
Two weeks have passed since the disaster occurred. The government is advancing employment retention support through employment adjustment subsidies, recovery in tourism demand, and efforts to dispel reputational damage. Typhoon No. 15 made landfall in the Kanto region last night and became an extratropical low over the Sea of Japan at 9 a.m. As of 9 a.m., injuries classified as minor had been reported, and vigilance against heavy rain was required across a broad area from the Tohoku region to western Japan.