Legendary manga creator Tetsuya Chiba, the artist behind the iconic Ashita no Joe, has joined a new crowdfunding initiative aimed at helping people affected by the recent earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture. The 87-year-old author is supporting a campaign seeking ¥1.5 million to provide emergency temporary housing for residents who lost their homes following the July 28 disaster.

The project focuses on deploying “Instant Houses,” a rapid-build shelter concept developed by Keisuke Kitagawa, professor at the Nagoya Institute of Technology. These lightweight structures are created by inflating a tent-like shell before reinforcing its interior with insulation material, allowing each unit to be assembled within only a few hours. Similar shelters were already used following the devastating 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake.

Chiba explained that the initiative has a deeply personal significance for him. Having experienced the hardship of returning to Japan from former Manchuria after World War II, he remembers the profound sense of isolation associated with having nowhere to call home. The current campaign plans to finance three Instant Houses at approximately ¥500,000 per unit. Donations range from ¥2,000 to ¥1 million, with supporters receiving a special thank-you letter featuring an illustration by Chiba.

This is not the first time Chiba and his collaborators have mobilized the public around disaster relief. A previous crowdfunding campaign raised approximately ¥7.67 million to prepare materials for ten emergency shelters. Those supplies proved invaluable after the Kumamoto earthquake, when Kitagawa traveled to the region immediately after the disaster. Around 100 Instant Houses have reportedly been provided so far, yet demand remains considerable, with more than 400 requests submitted by local authorities and residents still searching for safe and stable temporary accommodation.