Up to 1 million yen in financial support will be provided to each Miyake Island household to help them cope with the serious damage from volcanic eruptions, Construction Minister Chikage Ogi said Friday.
Ogi told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that a government mission on Thursday visited the island, about 190 km south of Tokyo, and found that ash and falling rocks have seriously damaged houses and roads.
The mission, which included Susumu Hasumi, administrative vice minister of the National Land Agency, found during the visit that more than 10 houses per municipality have been totally or almost entirely destroyed, meeting a legal condition for the provision of financial assistance.
"The government wants to provide monetary assistance within the year to alleviate the residents' financial uncertainty," said Ogi, who is also head of the land agency.
All 3,800 Miyake residents have been evacuated and most are living in rent-free housing provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
With the volcano still releasing volcanic gas, the evacuees do not know when they will be able to return home.
Miyake's 814-meter Mount Oyama began a series of eruptions in July, blanketing the island with ash and rocks. Rain later set off mudslides.