DMAT medical assistance staff set up Starlink equipment at a shelter in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan, following a major earthquake on Jan. 1. (Photo courtesy of KDDI)

Elon Musk's Starlink aids Japan quake relief, but X is a mixed bag

Reliance on private companies to provide disaster services raises concerns

RYOHTAROH SATOH, Nikkei staff writer

February 9, 2024 04:07 JST

TOKYO -- A week after a devastating earthquake struck Japan's Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, Motonori Imamura was working late into the night, packing instruction guides and electrical adapters into hundreds of boxes of newly delivered Starlink satellite internet systems.

Imamura, the group leader in charge of Starlink's business division at telecommunications company KDDI, and a team of around 20 staff packed the boxes carefully, including sheets of laminated paper with Wi-Fi passwords printed on them into each box.