Taiwanese public donates NT$300 million to Kumamoto quake recovery

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) Taiwan on Thursday handed Japan more than NT$300 million (US$9.4 million) in public donations to help rebuild communities affected by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture in late July.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) presented the funds to Kazuyuki Katayama, head of the Taipei Office of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, during a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) headquarters in Taipei.

The July 28 earthquake killed 38 people and damaged nearly 43,000 homes.

On Aug. 1, MOFA commissioned the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) to open and administer a public donation account, marking the first time the ministry had asked the organization to run a public disaster-relief fundraiser.

The account raised more than NT$300 million, equivalent to over 1.4 billion yen, within a month, with the entire amount to be used for recovery and reconstruction, Lin said.

"Kumamoto's safety is a shared concern for Taiwan and Japan," he said, noting that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and members of its supply chain have established operations there, bringing more Taiwanese to the prefecture to work and live.

Lin thanked businesses, civic groups and Taiwanese communities overseas for contributing, saying the response reflected the "family-like" bonds between Taiwan and Japan.

Katayama thanked Taiwan's government and people for the donations, saying the swift and broad response again demonstrated the close friendship between Taiwan and Japan.

Tomoaki Motojima, who heads a Taiwan-based association representing people from Kumamoto, also expressed gratitude to Taiwanese donors and spoke about the earthquake's impact and the work needed to rebuild affected communities.

Lin said Taiwan and Japan had repeatedly assisted each other following major disasters, including Taiwan's 1999 Jiji earthquake (also known as the 921 earthquake), Japan's 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes and the 2025 Hualien earthquake.

"At the moments when we needed each other most, Taiwan and Japan have never been absent," he said.

Lin called for deeper bilateral cooperation on disaster prevention, mitigation, relief and post-disaster reconstruction, noting that both sides face frequent earthquakes and typhoons.

Taiwan's government previously donated NT$5 million for disaster relief, while President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) each donated NT$200,000 in a personal capacity.

TSMC, which operates a plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto, separately pledged 250 million yen for reconstruction.