Japanese Manga Artist Launches Crowdfunding for Kumamoto

Tokyo, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japanese manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, best known for his "Ashita no Joe" series, and others have started a crowdfunding campaign to deliver temporary housing to people displaced by a massive earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in July.

"We need your help," the 87-year-old said on the website of the campaign that is scheduled to run until Tuesday to raise 1.5 million yen.

Drawing from his experiences of returning to Japan from the former Manchuria in present-day northeastern China after the end of World War II, Chiba said, "I learned firsthand how lonely it is to lose one's home and how valuable having a place to return to is."

"I can't just sit still when I think about those who lost their homes in a disaster," he said.

A group led by Chiba launched the campaign last month to deliver Instant Houses, temporary homes developed by Keisuke Kitagawa, professor at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Aichi Prefecture.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]