Following torrential rain that triggered massive flooding in the northeast and led to the evacuation of thousands of people, major retailers and convenience store operators rushed to deliver supplies for those affected by the disaster.
When news broke Thursday that the collapse of the banks of the Kinugawa River caused massive flooding in Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, FamilyMart Co. quickly dispatched trucks carrying food supplies.
By early Friday, the nation's third-biggest convenience store operator had distributed around 3,000 packages of instant noodles and 3,000 bottles of drinking water to some of the victims taking shelter in the city.