Key Facts
• Record-breaking rainfall occurred from August 10 to 11, 2025.
• Governor Takashi Kimura and Mayor Kazufumi Onishi met Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on August 28.
• The meeting lasted 15 minutes at the Prime Minister’s Office.
• Governor Kimura requested new support systems for localized and sudden disasters.
• Financial aid for damaged small businesses and transportation services was also requested.
• Prime Minister Ishiba emphasized his personal connection to the affected area, Tamana, his great-grandfather’s birthplace.
• Ishiba pledged a unified government response to support affected individuals.
Summary
Following record-breaking rainfall in mid-August 2025, Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura and Kumamoto City Mayor Kazufumi Onishi met with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to request recovery support. The officials highlighted the inadequacy of current disaster relief systems for localized and sudden events, urging the creation of new frameworks. They also sought financial aid for small businesses and transportation services, including railways and buses, impacted by the disaster. Prime Minister Ishiba, noting his personal ties to the affected region of Tamana, assured a comprehensive government response to assist those affected.
