Amid a flurry of fundraising and charity projects launched in the wake of last week's deadly earthquakes in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, the "hometown tax donation system" is gaining attention as a way of getting money directly to affected municipalities.

The hometown tax donation system (furusato nozei) is a way for individuals to donate to municipalities of their choice, and have almost all of the donated amount deducted from their income and residence taxes.

People can contribute to any city or town around the nation even if they were not born there. The program's popularity has skyrocketed in recent years thanks to a growing selection of regional goodies donors can receive from municipalities in return.