Supporting Disaster Response in Kumamoto

On July 28, 2026, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto region of Japan. In response, Medical Corporation Orange, NPO Gruntvig, and NPO CANNUS began coordinating the deployment of support staff to affected communities from August 2. Their teams have been providing nursing, caregiving, and daily-life support at evacuation shelters and other locations for people requiring additional assistance.

Since August 3, KOTOBUKI CEO Tomoki Kaneko has been supporting these efforts as part of the back-office team. While disaster response is often associated with professionals working directly in affected areas, sustained support also requires coordination behind the scenes—including gathering information from the field, communicating with support teams, coordinating staff deployments, and managing schedules.

Kaneko has been involved in disaster response efforts on multiple occasions, working with a nationwide network of healthcare, nursing, and eldercare professionals to help coordinate and deploy staff to affected areas. Drawing on these experiences, KOTOBUKI is supporting the Kumamoto response by developing systems for staff scheduling, operational coordination, and manuals that enable frontline teams to focus on providing care.

Ensuring continuity of care during disasters is particularly important for older adults, people with disabilities, pregnant women, mothers, and children, who may require additional support in evacuation settings. KOTOBUKI will continue to contribute not only through direct action in affected communities, but also by building the systems and coordination structures that enable necessary care and support to continue.

As we are currently involved in these ongoing disaster response activities, responses to emails and messages may take longer than usual. We apologize for any delays and appreciate your understanding.