🏚️ Rebuild aid for 3 Tokunoshima towns

❓ What was decided?

On October 2, 2026, Japan's Cabinet Office (Director-General for Disaster Management) announced that the Act on Support for Reconstructing Livelihoods of Disaster Victims will be applied to housing damage caused by Typhoon No. 18 of 2026, after Kagoshima Prefecture reported that the damage constitutes a natural disaster as defined by the Act. The designated areas are three towns on Tokunoshima island — Tokunoshima, Amagi and Isen — and the damage date for all three is August 25. The legal basis differs by town: Tokunoshima Town falls under Article 1, item 2 of the enforcement order (a municipality where 10 or more households' homes were totally destroyed), while Amagi and Isen fall under item 4 (a municipality with a population under 100,000 where 5 or more households' homes were totally destroyed, located in a prefecture that already contains an item 1 or item 2 municipality). Households whose homes were totally destroyed, or assessed as large-scale or medium-scale partially destroyed, can apply to receive support payments from the Prefectural Centre, a public interest incorporated foundation, with the amount set according to how the home is rebuilt. The payments draw on a mutual-aid fund pooled by the prefectures under Article 18 of the Act, and the national government subsidises half of it. Unlike emergency measures such as opening evacuation shelters, this money does not arrive automatically — the household has to file an application. Kagoshima Prefecture issued the same announcement simultaneously.

👥 Who is covered?

• ●Households living in Tokunoshima, Amagi or Isen whose homes were totally destroyed by Typhoon No. 18 (damage date August 25)
• ●Households whose homes were assessed by the municipality as large-scale or medium-scale partially destroyed
• ●Households that were actually living in the damaged home, including foreign-resident households — the notice sets no distinction by nationality or residence status
• ●Households that decide on a rebuilding method and file an application, whether they owned or rented
• ●Households unsure whether cases such as demolition fall under the "etc." in the eligible categories — check with the town office

🌏 Impact on foreign residents

The three towns on Tokunoshima are home to foreign-resident households working in care, farming and construction. This announcement draws no line by nationality or residence status: if you lived in a designated area and your home received a damage assessment, you can apply. The entry point, however, is Japanese-language paperwork at the town office. The damage category — totally destroyed, large-scale or medium-scale partially destroyed — is decided by the town's own inspection, so clearing out or demolishing your home before the damage is recorded can cost you the category you should have received. Photograph everything and request a disaster-damage certificate from the town before you start clean-up. The payment is also application-based, not automatic, and a filing deadline applies. Residents who do not realise that Japanese disaster support must be claimed may lose it entirely by moving away or returning home first. If you rent, remember that repairs handled by your landlord or management company are separate from your own application.