I suspect that the person who wrote this article didn't ask many foreigners where they get their information. I was amazed recently to discover how large and active Vietnamese-language Facebook groups about Kumamoto are. I think Vietnamese people are getting most of their information from each other, not directly from the government.

And, of course, this page, Kuma Visit, and other volunteer efforts might be mentioned in an article of this kind. :(

--- start quote ---
The Kumamoto city government started an emergency email service for foreigners based on lessons learned from the major quakes that struck the prefecture 10 years ago, when many foreigners were unable to receive the support they needed.
--- end quote ---

I get an email newsletter from the International Center and occasionally share the contents on this page. To be honest, though, I've been somewhat underwhelmed by both the quantity and the quality of the information. Does anybody know about an email newsletter that comes directly from the city government?

I'm aware of LINE being translated into English but this too has many problems. One is that information shared on LINE cannot be shared easily outside of LINE; it's a walled-off garden.

I agree with the basic premise of the article: There's lots of room for improvement. I would say, however, that improvement should start with better analysis than this article provides of the current situation and its deficiencies.

-- Kirk