“I think some people will be saved by this”: How YOSHIKI turned his crystal piano into 40 million yen ($270,000) for Japan’s earthquake victims

Japanese musician Yoshiki raised 40 million yen, more than $270,000, by auctioning his crystal piano to support people affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The sale was announced on January 9, 2024, and bidding later ran for four days before closing on January 16, according to Yoshiki's announcement. Yoshiki, the composer and leader of X JAPAN, had used the Kawai CR 40N crystal piano for recording in his Los Angeles studio and on tour. The auction was intended to help people affected by the earthquake. During his farewell to the instrument, Yoshiki said he was sad to part with a piano he considered like family, saying, “I think some people will be saved by this.”On January 4, five days before the auction announcement, Yoshiki donated 10 million yen to the Japanese Red Cross through his US-based nonprofit, Yoshiki Foundation America. The piano auction later raised another 40 million yen, bringing the total support announced for people affected by the earthquake to 50 million yen, more than $340,000. The 10 million yen was a direct cash donation, while the 40 million yen came from the piano auction. Both amounts were intended to support earthquake victims.A farewell in HollywoodThe auction announcement coincided with a career milestone. Yoshiki's handprints and footprints were unveiled at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatre on January 9, 2024. He became the first Japanese star to receive the honour since the tradition began nearly a century ago. He announced the piano sale at the ceremony and performed on the Kawai CR 40N, which he had used for recordings in his Los Angeles studio and on tour. Yoshiki said the earthquake had deeply affected him and that he wanted to help, as he had done in the past.Four days earlier, on January 4, he donated 10 million yen to the Japanese Red Cross through his US-based non-profit, Yoshiki Foundation America. The sale was intended to broaden that circle of assistance and, by his own admission, 100% of the earnings from both presents went to quake-affected people.What the earthquake didThe scale of the disaster explains the urgency of the fundraiser. Kyoto University's Disaster Prevention Research Institute records the Noto Peninsula earthquake at about 16:10 Japan time on January 1, 2024, with a moment magnitude of 7.5. The earthquake caused severe shaking and triggered landslides, liquefaction, fires and a tsunami. Tsunami waves reached coastal communities including Suzu.A statement issued with Yoshiki's auction announcement said that more than 1,900 people in the region remained stranded without power, food or medicine at that point. Recovery continued for months. A year-end review by Nippon.com, drawing on national and prefectural records, reported that 51,605 people had been in shelters at the peak and that all 6,882 temporary housing units planned for earthquake evacuees were completed in 2024. By December 24, 2024, the review counted 489 earthquake-related deaths, including 261 linked to evacuation and conditions in shelters. Against numbers like these, 50 million yen is one contribution among many. It shows why relief on this scale depends on large numbers of donors, and why quick fundraisers channelled through established organisations can matter in the first weeks.A record of givingThe 2024 auction followed earlier fundraising efforts documented by Yoshiki Foundation America. The foundation's official press page records a crystal piano auction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, along with donations and fundraising through an X JAPAN concert in 2015 and a drum set auction in 2016. The foundation has also documented charitable support following other disasters in Japan and overseas.Yoshiki Foundation America's published records also list donations of 10 million yen following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, the 2018 Hokkaido Iburi East earthquake and the 2019 typhoons, as well as pianos donated to schools in districts affected by the 1995 Kobe earthquake. In April 2024, Yoshiki donated another 10 million yen to the Taiwan Red Cross following an earthquake there. These historical totals are reported by the foundation itself, including on its official press page, rather than presented as independently audited figures.The Noto auction added another chapter to Yoshiki's record of disaster relief. By selling a piano he described as like family, he directed the proceeds towards people affected by the earthquake. The fundraiser combined a personal gesture with a defined relief purpose, while the scale of the disaster showed how much work remained for communities rebuilding their lives.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.