Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi designated the Kumamoto earthquake a "major disaster" on Sunday and committed more than 20 billion yen in emergency reserve funds, as her government moves to accelerate recovery a week after the tremor struck.
Takaichi visited the disaster zone for the first time since the 28 July quake, surveying the Aeon Mall Kashima and the Nippon Paper Yatsushiro factory by helicopter before meeting evacuees at a shelter in Hikawa, one of the areas that recorded the maximum intensity of seven. She told residents the government is arranging hotel and inn rentals for secondary evacuations and that a large support vessel with medical facilities would arrive on Monday.
The cabinet will formalise the spending on Monday and also apply "specified extraordinary disaster" status, retroactive to 28 July. Kumamoto Governor Kei Kimura urged swift designation and improved shelter conditions during a meeting with the prime minister, as temperatures in Kumamoto city exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.