Kumamoto Recovery Center and Earthquake Support Fund Announced
Overview
The Cabinet Office, the Financial Services Agency, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency outlined a consultation system for businesses affected by the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake and a recovery support fund. The Kumamoto Industrial Recovery Consultation Center opened inside the Kumamoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry on October 9 and began offering consultations, including cash flow support. The Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation and REVIC will jointly establish the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake Recovery Support Fund with regional financial institutions and others, with a total size of up to 5 billion yen.
Key points
- The consultation center opened on Friday, October 9, and began offering consultations that day.
- The recovery support fund will total up to 5 billion yen.
- The consultation center will serve as the consultation gateway, connecting businesses to options such as the fund’s purchase of claims.
Overview
The Cabinet Office, the Financial Services Agency, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency announced the opening of a consultation center and the establishment of a recovery support fund to address multiple-debt problems among businesses affected by the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake.
The center will provide consultations for problems such as existing debt from past disasters and other causes becoming a burden and making it difficult to secure new financing.
Details
The Kumamoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry will operate the center, which will open on the third floor of the Kumamoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building at 10 Yokokon’yamachi, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. A consultation desk is also planned for Yatsushiro City.
The center’s main services will be a one-stop consultation desk that introduces relevant support organizations and programs, and assistance with preparing business and restructuring plans. It will handle a range of consultations, including cash flow support for recovery and reconstruction.
The Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation and the Regional Economy Vitalization Corporation of Japan (REVIC) will establish the fund jointly with regional financial institutions and others, in line with the “Package for Supporting the Livelihoods and Businesses of Disaster Victims,” adopted on August 27, 2026, by the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters.
The planned investment shares are approximately 30% from the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, approximately 20% from REVIC Reconstruction Capital, and the remaining approximately 50% from regional financial institutions and others.