Japan Laundries Wash 1,000+ Items Daily for Quake Victims

When disaster strikes, people often think about food and shelter first. But for earthquake survivors sweltering in evacuation centers across Kumamoto, Japan, clean clothes became an unexpected lifeline.

Since early August, local dry cleaning shops have been washing over 1,000 items every single day for people displaced by the July 28 magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Every morning, a White Express laundry facility sends a vehicle to evacuation centers to collect bags of towels, underwear, and everyday clothing.

Hiroaki Sekihara, 36, who runs the facility in Hikawa, puts it simply. "We owe our business to the local residents," he said. "We want to give back to the community even a little bit, especially at a time like this."

The timing matters more than you might think. With temperatures soaring during Japan's brutal summer heat, many evacuees had been washing clothes by hand or making difficult trips back to their damaged homes just to do laundry. For people who've lost everything, the simple act of putting on fresh clothes offers a small piece of normalcy.

Employee Kiyomi Matsumura, 53, remembers delivering washed clothes to an evacuation center when someone thanked her. "It made me feel glad that I was doing this," she said. Another worker, 64-year-old Mihoko Tsukamoto, folded clean T-shirts and thought about the people wearing them. "We want to help disaster-affected people whose homes have been destroyed and who cannot even take a warm bath."

The Ripple Effect

This grassroots kindness didn't happen by accident. It started with the Disaster Sentaku Assistance Team (DSAT), a volunteer network of professional cleaners launched after the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024. The word "sentaku" means washing in Japanese.

When Kumamoto was hit, DSAT reached out to local laundry businesses in Yatsushiro and Uki through industry associations. Support funds now cover the costs, allowing multiple shops to participate without financial strain.

Yuichi Nakamura, 42, who leads DSAT, sees the bigger picture. "It's important to maintain a hygienic environment for people in evacuation centers in extreme heat," he said. As more people retrieve items from collapsed homes, he expects demand will only grow. "We want to keep supporting people as long as there are requests."

The initiative proves that help comes in all forms. Sometimes it's not about grand gestures but meeting basic human needs with consistency and care.