Yoshiki, Pokémon Donate to Kumamoto Earthquake Relief

Key Points:

• The Pokémon Company donated 100 million yen (approximately US$630,000) to support relief efforts for the July 28 Kumamoto earthquake, contributing to Kumamoto Prefecture, the Japanese Red Cross Society, and other aid organizations.
• Japanese musician YOSHIKI donated 10 million yen (about US$63,000) to the Japanese Red Cross Society for earthquake relief and also contributed 100,000 euros (around US$120,000) to the French and Spanish Red Cross for wildfire emergency response.
• The 6.8-magnitude Kumamoto earthquake resulted in about 38 deaths, widespread power and water outages, and the evacuation of approximately 9,000 residents; aftershocks caused further fatalities, including an explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto and a smokestack collapse at Nippon Paper Industries.
• Wildfires fueled by a severe heatwave have forced over 300,000 people to evacuate across Portugal, Spain, and France, with temperatures exceeding 40°C (104°F) in parts of France, intensifying the emergency response efforts.