📞 Free Disaster Hotline Opens for Kumamoto Quake Victims

❓ What's new?

The Kumamoto Administrative Evaluation Office of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is opening a toll-free "disaster hotline" for people affected by the 2026 Kumamoto earthquake. The number is 0120-091-110 and calls are free of charge. It opens at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2026 and will run for the time being, with hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., including Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays for now. It covers all of Kumamoto Prefecture and handles questions and consultations about administrative procedures and available support programs. If an answer cannot be given immediately, staff work with the agencies running each support program to provide the information.

👥 Who is affected?

• ●Anyone affected by the 2026 Kumamoto earthquake anywhere in Kumamoto Prefecture, including foreign residents
• ●People unsure how to proceed with disaster certificates or other administrative procedures
• ●People who do not know which support programs apply to them or where to ask
• ●Callers from outside Kumamoto Prefecture, who should use 0570-090110 (Administrative Counseling Center "Kikumimi"; navi-dial, call charges apply)

🌏 Impact on foreign residents

After a disaster, procedures are split across many counters — disaster certificates, housing, cash benefits, tax and insurance reductions — so foreign residents less used to gathering information in Japanese often struggle to reach the support they qualify for. This hotline is a single entry point you can use even at the "I don't know who to ask" stage, and calls are free. The announcement does not state that multilingual support is available, so consultations are in Japanese by default. If you are not confident in Japanese, ask a Japanese-speaking family member, coworker or supporter to sit in with you, or also use your city's multilingual consultation desk.