The second call for applications under the small business sustainability subsidy's disaster-support frame for the Kumamoto earthquake opened on November 2 and closes on December 15 (JST). The jGrants portal carries two separate listings, one for businesses in chamber of commerce areas and one for areas covered by chambers of commerce and industry. Applying through the wrong one is the main administrative trap.
For background on the programme's launch, see Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage.
What the money covers
The subsidy pays part of the cost of rebuilding a business after the quake. The applicant writes its own recovery plan, with advice from the local chamber, and the subsidy covers a share of the costs of carrying that plan out. The listing describes the target as small businesses that lost production equipment or sales outlets, or customers and sales channels, in the area hit by the disaster.
The caps depend on the type of damage:
- ¥2mn for a business whose own operating assets were directly damaged.
- ¥1mn for a business that suffered indirect damage in the form of lower sales.
The listings do not state the subsidy rate or which costs qualify. They point applicants to the call guidelines and grant rules linked on the portal.
Who qualifies
Applicants must be small businesses, either individuals resident in Japan or corporations headquartered there, located in Kumamoto Prefecture and damaged by the earthquake. Corporations cannot be wholly owned, directly or indirectly, by a company with capital of ¥500mn or more. Average annual taxable income over the latest three filed years must not exceed ¥1.5bn. Applicants are also barred if they or their officers are organised crime groups or members, or have specified ties to them.
The chamber of commerce listing adds a condition on proof: eligible businesses must have a site in Kumamoto Prefecture and be able to confirm the earthquake damage through public certification or similar documentation.
Two routes, two help desks
The chamber of commerce listing says it is for businesses operating in areas under a local chamber of commerce. It directs questions to the applicant's own chamber, with phone hours of 9:30 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00 on weekdays.
The chamber of commerce and industry listing is for businesses in those chambers' areas. Its help desk is the programme secretariat, on 03-6633-2478, open 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00 on weekdays, excluding year-end and New Year holidays. Each listing links to the other for applicants who picked the wrong page.
Both require the jGrants electronic system and recent versions of supported browsers; Internet Explorer is excluded.