Donations to earthquake-hit municipalities in Kumamoto Prefecture via the furusato nōzei hometown tax donation system have exceeded ¥730 million, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday.

The figure represents the total amount of donations made through four major furusato nōzei portal websites, according to the top government spokesperson.

“We’d like to express our heartfelt gratitude to people and municipal governments for their cooperation and support (for the disaster-affected areas),” Kihara told a news conference.

On July 28 a powerful earthquake struck the prefecture, measuring the maximum seismic intensity of 7 on Japan’s shindo scale.

Under the furusato nōzei system, the amount donated minus ¥2,000 is deducted from the donor’s residential and income taxes.