Announced Sept 11, 2026 | Chiba, Sakura, Ichihara, Yachiyo and Oamishirasato
On September 11, 2026, the Cabinet Office (Director-General for Disaster Management) announced that the Disaster Victims Livelihood Recovery Support Act will be applied to the disaster caused by the August 2026 Chiba heavy rain. Chiba Prefecture reported that a large number of homes were damaged and that the event qualifies as a natural disaster under the Act. The designated areas are five cities: Chiba, Sakura, Ichihara, Yachiyo and Oamishirasato. For all of them the disaster date is August 13, and the applicable criterion is Article 1, Item 1 of the Act's Enforcement Order. Within these areas, households whose homes were totally destroyed, or judged as large-scale or medium-scale partial destruction, may apply and receive recovery support payments from the Association of Prefectural Governments (a public interest incorporated foundation), with the amount depending on how the household rebuilds its housing. The payments come from a fund contributed by prefectures on a mutual-aid basis (Article 18), half of which is subsidized by the national government. Heavy rain does not automatically trigger this Act: it is applied only to areas where damage meets the thresholds in the Enforcement Order. Here, the areas qualified because damage fell under Article 1, Paragraph 1, Items 1 and 2 of the Disaster Relief Act Enforcement Order. Chiba Prefecture issued the same announcement simultaneously.
For foreign residents, the key point is that this money is not deposited automatically — it is paid only after you apply. In this announcement, eligibility is defined by area (the five cities) and by the damage category of the home (total destruction, large-scale or medium-scale partial destruction), and payments are made by the Association of Prefectural Governments. Post-disaster notices and application forms usually arrive in Japanese. If you set them aside without understanding them, you may miss a required step. If you are not confident in Japanese, contact your city office counter, a local international exchange association, or someone at your workplace early — photograph the notice and go through it together. Even if you rent, ask your landlord or the management company which damage category your building received. Without knowing that category, you cannot tell whether your household qualifies.
On Sept 12, 2026 the JMA raised Mt. Tokachidake (Hokkaido) to Eruption Alert Level 3 (do not approach the volcano). Beware large ballistic ejecta within about 3 km of Crater 62-2 — what hikers, travelers and residents should do now.
On Sept 9, 2026 Japan's Cabinet Office announced the Disaster Relief Act now applies to Nagoya City, Aichi (from Sept 8) and Yakushima Town, Kagoshima (from Sept 4) after Typhoon No. 24 and frontal heavy rain. Shelters, emergency housing and home repairs are publicly funded — foreign residents and travelers qualify regardless of nationality.
From September 8, 2026, the Japan Meteorological Agency lowered heavy-rain warning thresholds to 80% of normal in Hakui City, Ishikawa, after levee breaches from the rain that began August 27. Warnings will now be issued at lower rainfall — what foreign residents and travelers should know.
Source:
Cabinet Office of Japan website (Application of the Disaster Victims Livelihood Recovery Support Act for the August 2026 Chiba heavy rain disaster)This article was edited and written by freegent Inc. based on the source above.