According to local media reports, Miyagi Prefecture recently secured 30 million yen (about US$290,000) in supplementary funding to use in conjunction with Pokémon Go as part of the Great East Japan Earthquake reconstruction policy measures in the area. The prefecture plans to set aside 15 million yen for publicity, pamphlets and television advertising to promote local Pokéstops, 10 million yen for special co-operative Pokémon Go events in October for Kumamoto and the three Tohoku locales, and 5 million yen for Niantic “system improvement” costs.

As part of this collaboration, it was revealed that Miyagi Prefecture has sent a proposal to Niantic, the game’s developers, to request that the world’s region exclusive Pokémon be made available in Japan’s disaster-affected areas for a set period. That would mean North America’s Tauros (pictured above), Australia’s Kanghaskan, and Europe’s Mr. Mime (below) could be caught without having to leave the country.

Otherwise stressful day rendered sublime by capture of Mr Mime - the silliest Pokemon of all pic.twitter.com/CaJx1r2dph — Laurence Pearl 🔥🇪🇺🚣‍♀️ (@laurencepearl) August 31, 2016

▼ Asia’s exclusive yellow-billed duck Pokémon, Farfetch’d, would obviously also be available.

If the request is approved, it’s likely that half the country, including visiting tourists, will be travelling to the disaster regions soon, which would be a massive win for revitalisation efforts and local morale. Let’s hope the proposal gets the tick of approval from Niantic so we can catch ’em all here in Japan and do it all for a good cause too!

Source: Livedoor News via Hachima Kikou

Featured image: Flickr/Eduardo Woo

