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The United States-Japan Foundation (USJF) and the United States-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) have surpassed the goal of $25,000 for the fundraising campaign supporting earthquake relief efforts in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, within six days of its launch, drawing contributions from more than 130 donors. USJF will add another $25,000, pushing the combined total beyond the original $50,000 goal for the cause, and proceeds are being directed to Peace Winds America, whose Peace Winds Japan affiliate has led disaster relief operations in the region since a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28. At least 39 people have died in the disaster, with hundreds more injured and thousands displaced.
Peace Winds' ARROWS medical response team, based in Hiroshima and staffed by 20 full-time doctors, nurses, and logisticians, deployed to Kumamoto within hours of the earthquake to support search-and-rescue and medical care efforts, including at the partially collapsed Aeon Mall in Kashima. In the days since, the organization's work has shifted toward sustained relief, as thousands of survivors remain in evacuation centers amid extreme heat and damaged infrastructure. Peace Winds teams have distributed water, hygiene items, bedding, and other emergency supplies, and have set up temporary medical clinics and bathing facilities at several shelters.
Peace Winds has also worked to identify and support so-called "invisible victims" — often elderly survivors sheltering in damaged homes rather than evacuation centers, where health complications may go unnoticed. In one case, Dr. Mototaka Inaba, a member of Peace Winds Japan's Flying Medical Search and Rescue Team (ARROWS), responded to a call from Yatsushiro city officials to check on a survivor experiencing a health episode at home. Inaba is a USJLP Fellow (2023, 2024) and is pictured far right in the photo of the Peace Winds team in Kumamoto.
USJF and USJLP's matching contribution supports both the current relief effort in Kumamoto and Peace Winds' ongoing disaster preparedness and recovery work across Japan. USJF previously matched donations for relief efforts following the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake.
