A life-size bronze statue of Luffy, the protagonist of "One Piece," is unveiled in front of the Kumamoto prefectural government office in November. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

KUMAMOTO--Statues of pirates from the popular manga “One Piece” will be erected to demonstrate their skills in support of recovery from the 2016 earthquake disaster.

The Kumamoto prefectural government selected the locations of eight crew members of the Straw Hat Pirates gang based on the background of each character, so they can promote reconstruction in the most-affected municipalities.

“They will contribute to passing down lessons learned from the earthquakes to posterity,” said Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima.

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of “One Piece,” is from Kumamoto. The serial comic is carried in the Weekly Shonen Jump manga anthology.

Under the project titled “Mugiwara no Ichimi ‘Hinokuni’ Fukkohen” (Straw Hat Pirates to rebuild Kumamoto Prefecture), the pirates will “come ashore” in this southwestern prefecture to boost recovery efforts and provide encouragement to affected people.

A statue of Luffy, the protagonist of “One Piece,” was erected in front of the Kumamoto prefectural government office last autumn.

The statue of chef Sanji will be installed in Mashiki, where the twin quakes both registered a maximum seismic intensity of 7 on the Japanese scale. The town's school meal center was damaged, and Sanji will “cook warm food” with local agricultural products for residents.

ship doctor Chopper will be deployed to the Kumamoto City Zoological and Botanical Gardens to “treat animals” and encourage visitors. Some animals that could pose a danger to the public were sent to outside the prefecture after the quakes damaged the zoo stables.

Ozu, a town whose martial arts hall was damaged in the disaster, will be home to the statue of swordsman Zoro, as many residents participate in kendo. Musician Brook will serve the town of Mifune, where the Heisei College of Music was damaged.

The statue of navigator Nami, whose hometown was invaded by pirates in “One Piece,” will be erected in the village of Nishihara, where the local community was severely affected.

Among other crew members, archaeologist Robin will be sent to the village of Minami-Aso, where Tokai University’s Aso Campus was situated, to help hand down lessons learned from the earthquakes.

Sniper Usopp, who uses plants to attack enemies, will be stationed in the city of Aso, where a magnificent grassy plain was damaged.

As some sections of the Minami-Aso Railway remain closed after the disaster, shipwright Franky will engage in reconstruction efforts at the line’s terminal station in the town of Takamori to resume operations of the entire railway.