Japan to launch travel subsidy program for Kyushu to aid quake recovery

The Japanese government announced on Thursday support measures for areas affected by the earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture last month, launching a travel subsidy program across Kyushu, the southwestern main island of Japan. The plan, decided at an emergency disaster response headquarters meeting, aims to subsidize accommodation and tour costs in all seven Kyushu prefectures, with the Japan Tourism Agency to provide further details.

The government intends to offer discounts of up to 60 percent for accommodations in Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures, with other five prefectures to be capped at 50 percent, according to government sources. The Cabinet is expected to approve the release of 147.8 billion yen ($927 million) from the fiscal 2026 budget to fund the package on Friday.

This package, similar to discount campaigns after the 2016 Kumamoto and the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquakes, will cover part of the travel costs up to a cap. To mitigate reputational damage to the tourism industry, the government plans to collaborate with local governments to stimulate visitor demand. In the interim, the government pledged to back Kumamoto Prefecture's efforts to swiftly restore demand for dining out, as the earthquake's impact on tourism has been significant.

According to the Kyushu Economic Research Center, domestic visitors to Kumamoto Prefecture decreased by 23 percent from Aug. 1 to 7 compared to the same period the previous year, dropping to around 672,000. As of last Friday, accommodation cancellations had reached approximately 2.7 billion yen. The support package also includes subsidies for repairing wells, rebuilding homes, and aiding small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency revealed that 75 percent of restoration costs for factories, stores, and production machinery would be subsidized, while a special provision would offer full subsidies for businesses hit multiple times by past earthquakes and floods.