Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture was struck by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in late July, resulting in at least 39 deaths and over 350 injured, many of which were in an Aeon shopping mall at the time.
Authorities named this the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake, and so far business losses in the region have reached over JPY117.6bn (US$738.2m), with many victims still displaced from their homes and disaster outreach still ongoing as of end-August 2026.
After the disaster, Japan immediately placed 21 out of Kumamoto’s 45 municipalities under the country’s Disaster Relief Act. In line with the need to urgently and rapidly deliver food to these disaster areas, the local Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced that food labelling standards would be ‘applied flexibly’ in these areas as well.
“The smooth supply of food to affected areas has become a critical issue, due to the damage cause by the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake,” CAA and MAFF stated in a formal statement.
“As such, as long as the labelling contains sufficient information regarding food safety requirements and does not mislead consumers, for the time being enforcement will not be mandated for food that is transferred or sold in these areas, even if not all of the mandatory labelling information based on Japan’s Food Labelling Standards are available on the product labels.”
Japan has extremely strict food labelling standards in place, and some of the most important requirements include ingredients, including additives, being listed in descending order by weight, nutrition labelling, clear storage instructions and manufacturer information.
That said, there are two items which remain mandatory for food safety reasons: Allergen labelling and expiration dates. Japan had to introduce strict nut allergy controls earlier this year after new government survey data showed a continued rise in related cases over the past decade.
“Allergen information and expiration dates remain of paramount importance and must be included on product labels, as it is crucial to prevent any possible further food-related health issues for the disaster victims as well,” CAA said.
“As such, it is necessary for all food producers to still display these on the individual food containers or individual food packaging just like before, and these will continue to be subject to mandatory enforcement.”
Further to this, Japan has been a big proponent of best-before dates, which are the ‘date by which it is possible to sufficiently maintain all expected qualities when stored in a prescribed manner’, a system introduced to reduce food waste in the country during normal times.
Expiration dates are usually longer than best-before dates, and food is usually considered as unsafe after this date.
“Both expiration dates and best-before dates are based on the premise that the food is stored properly according to the specified storage method in an unopened state, [but in these circumstances], especially in evacuation centres, proper food storage is difficult,” the agency added.
“As such, all businesses and consumers need to be advised to consume opened food items promptly using appropriate methods and not store leftovers, regardless of the expiration or best-before dates.”
Malicious activities still a risk
Unfortunately, despite the tragic circumstances, there has been a rise in the emergence of unscrupulous characters attempting to take advantage of victims, a situation that CAA is trying hard to curb.
From a food labelling perspective, the directives are clear: Enforcement has been relaxed to ensure sufficient food supply to disaster-struck areas, but any labels that mislead consumers into believing the product is something it is not, or better than it actually is, will be dealt with severely.
“Regulatory enforcement is not excluded against any malicious violations that mislead consumers,” CAA stressed.
“Serious violations will be dealt with accordingly, and all consumers and businesses are requested to cooperate with the relevant authorities if they come across any such cases.”
Even more concerning is the rise of insurance scams targeting elderly consumers living alone, which claim that signing up for insurance packages would allow free repairs of their house or property, or that they would be able to replace old house parts by fraudulently claiming that this was damaged as part of the disaster.
In many cases, the insurance claims could be denied, any cancellations would result in hefty fees, and worse yet, fraudulent claims could lead to legal repercussions.
The situation has become so serious that CAA has launched a dedicated hotline and documentation to help victims, available here (link in Japanese).
