Relief Money in Response to the Earthquake Centered in the Kumamoto Region of Kumamoto Prefecture 2016

Following the Earthquake Centered in the Kumamoto Region of Kumamoto Prefecture 2016, the Government of Japan decided to accept relief money from foreign governments, foreign individuals, companies and Japanese residents abroad, in the following manner:

(1)  The Embassy of Japan in Norway has opened the following account to accept relief money:
(note) The relief money received by the embassy will be sent to the account of the Government of Japan later. If you wish to send your donations to the Japanese Red Cross Society, please contact the embassy of Japan in Norway. The donations sent from the embassy of Japan in Norway to the Japanese Red Cross Society will be used as “Gien-kin(donations)” (please see 2(1) below for more details).
(note 2) After relief money is received by the embassy of Japan in Norway and sent to the account of the Government of Japan or to the Japanese Red Cross Society, the money will be delivered to the affected people through local governments.

【Account information】
Bank Name：DNB Bank ASA
Account Number：1503.75.23256
IBAN Code: NO5115037523256
SWIFT Code：DNBANOKKXXX
Bank Address：Stranden 21, Aker Brygge, 0021 Oslo, Norway
Beneficiary Name：Japans Ambassade
Beneficiary Address：Haakon VIIs gate 9, 0244 Oslo, Norway
Telephone：22012900
 
(2)  If you wish to obtain a receipt, please send an email to info@os.mofa.go.jp that contains the following:
1. Subject: Request for Receipt
2. Your name
3. The amount of the relief money
4. The date when the relief money was donated
5. The name of the bank from which the relief money was transferred
 

The Japanese Red Cross Society is also accepting relief money provided voluntarily  from overseas Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, governments, individuals, as “Kyuen-kin (relief funds)” (the distinction between “Kyuen-kin(relief funds)” and “Gien-kin(donations)” is explained in the account information section). The following is the information of the account opened for this purpose:

【Account information】
Bank Name: SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION
Branch Name: GINZA BRANCH
Account Number: 026-8372918
SWIFT Code: SMBCJPJT
Bank Address: 5-8-10, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
Beneficiary Name: The Japanese Red Cross Society
Beneficiary Address: 1-1-3, Shiba Daimon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan　
Telephone: +81-3-3438-1311

【Attention regarding relief money to the Japanese Red Cross Society】
a) Red Cross Society Use of Funds
For the Earthquake Centered in the Kumamoto Region of Kumamoto Prefecture 2016, in principle, relief money to the Japanese Red Cross Society from abroad (outside Japan) will be categorized as “Kyuen-kin (relief funds)” as opposed to “Gien-kin (donations)”. Please see the note below for the distinction between “Kyuen-kin” and “Gien-kin”.
If you wish to have your relief money used as “Gien-kin” instead of “Kyuen-kin”, after your relief money are transferred via the process above, please send an e-mail to the Japanese Red Cross Society (donation@jrc.or.jp) that includes:

• Subject:  Funds sent as “Gien-kin”
• Your name
• The amount of the relief money
• The date when the relief money was donated
• The name of the bank from which the relief money was transferred

Note: Definition of “Gien-kin” and “Kyuen-kin” for the Japanese Red Cross Society
“Gien-kin”: funds send by the Japanese Red Cross Society to affected local governments and municipalities, which are then given to affected people.
“Kyuen-kin”: funds that will be directly used by the Japanese Red Cross Society to perform relief and rescue operations related to this specific earthquake disaster.
                 
b) Requesting a Receipt
In principle, the Japanese Red Cross Society does not automatically issue receipts for relief money. If you wish to receive a receipt, please send an e-mail to the Japanese Red Cross Society (donation@jrc.or.jp) that includes the following information:

• Subject: Request for Receipt
• Your name
• The amount of the relief money
• The date when the relief money was donated
• The name of the bank from which the relief money was transferred

c) Acceptance of relief funds by the Japanese Red Cross from abroad has ended by 15 June 2016. Between 15 and 30 June the Embassy of Japan in Norway can accept relief funds and transfer them to the Japanese Red Cross.

Local governments of the affected area have also opened accounts to accept donations. Please check websites of each local government for more information. If you wish to see the information of the account opened by Kumamoto Prefecture, which is one of the most severely affected areas, please see document below.