With the number of confirmed dead estimated at 9,079, while 12,645 remain missing as a result of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that struck off the coast of Japan on March 11th, any news these days from the island nation ranges from grim to grimmer.
So imagine my surprise when I checked in with my good friend from South Florida to see how her family from Japan was doing. She told me that you would never know it from the 24/7 news coverage in the United States, but people are leading very normal lives in Japan. She told me her dad went to play golf this past Friday, while her mom attended a concert of a popular entertainer just last Tuesday.
Of course, my friends’ family live in the western part of the country, far removed from the tumult in the northeast region. But while she was obviously concerned about the devastation in her native homeland, she just wanted to impress upon me that despite the news being reported here in the U.S. that Japan seems like it won’t be able to function anymore; it’s just not true, she said. Life is going on as usual in some parts of Japan, depictions we’re just not seeing these days on CNN and on the CBS Evening News.
Still, though life is going on for some in Japan, with its inhabitants still going to work, still playing baseball, and running their daily errands, there’s also no denying this earthquake was damaging beyond repair; with many questioning whether Japan will ever be the same again, especially economically, compared with China and other emerging economies in Asia.
When I put that very question to William M. Tsutsui, Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University, who is a specialist in modern Japanese business and economic history, he told me , `` The recent disaster may well be the straw that breaks the camel's back of the Japanese economy. It is hard to imagine where the Japanese government is going to get the funds to undertake the massive reconstruction of infrastructure necessary after the quake, tsunami, and nuclear leaks.’’ ``Japan's national credit cards are maxed out’’, Tsutsui pointed out, ``so the only place to get new funds will come from increased taxes. This will have the effect of dampening any momentum which the already weak Japanese economy had. Combine this with the rising yen and the (hopefully) short-term disruption to Japanese industrial production and I think you have a perfect storm of economic bad news.’’
Despite that dour assessment, Tsutsui also reminds me that Japan has recovered before during equally challenging economic times; after the 1923 earthquake, after their defeat in 1945, after the oil embargoes of the early 1970’s. ``I would like to think that Japan will come out of this even stronger and more united than ever before, Tsutsui, said. ``It is possible, and Japan has the cultural fortitude as well as the technological know-how and educational base to pull it off, but only time will tell.’’
Meanwhile, while the current Japan crisis continues, I thought it might be worthwhile to compile a resource page, listing news resources that are reporting on the crisis, along with a list of charitable organizations who are collecting contributions for victims of the quake in Japan.
News Coverage
If you find cable’s coverage of the Japan crisis is not quite up to snuff in providing the most up-to-date information- you might check in with NHK World TV , a wonderful resource, which translates live feeds from Japan into English 24 hours a day.
The Kyodo News , a nonprofit cooperative organization, which is usually restricted to corporate and organization subscribers, is making its articles dealing with the Japan quake fully accessible. Kyodo, founded in 1945, transmits over 200 news stories each day ranging from politics and economy to crime and accidents, and science and sports.
The Mainichi Daily News, an online news site operated by The Mainichi Newspapers with 101 general and news bureaus, 265 communications offices and stations, 26 overseas bureaus, has been providing exemplary news coverage of the quake in Japan.
For other news sites (in English) reporting from Japan, you might check in with Japan Times and NewsonJapan, both of which are providing updated coverage.
For social networking, you can't get much better than with what Asahi Shimbun (the English language web edition of Japanese news) has posted on their Facebook Page with updated stories and pictures, chronicling some success stories (such as the 80 year-old woman being rescued, along with some other not so successful rescue attempts.
Japan Quake Relief Organizations
Much like the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, charity relief organizations are appearing thick and fast on ways individuals can contribute to the victims in Japan. As with any organization or Web Site soliciting donations, the online user needs to be careful they are donating to a legitimate organization.
To prevent consumers from falling prey to scams, the Federal Trade Commission has posted a charity checklist for consumers to review before donating money.Other resources to search the legitimacy of an organization seeking contributions, include Guidestar and the Charity Navigator
What follows is a sampling of legitimate organizations I stumbled upon.
The New York Buddhist Church on Riverside Drive has been collecting donations for the disaster relief efforts in Japan. Users also have the option of donating through the Buddhist Churches of America Web Site.
Another reliable relief agency to keep in mind is the UMCOR of the United Methodist Church. This agency, according to Yugo Suzuki, pastor of the Japanese American United Church, has close ties with such ecumenical church organizations as UCCJ (United Church of Christ in Japan) and NCCJ (National Council of Churches in Japan). 100 percent of the donations that go through UMCOR moreover, are used for relief, not a dime for administration costs.
KokuaJapan, meanwhile, reports that 100 percent of the donations collected by them will be sent to the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, where they have created a Japan Earthquake Relief fund.
In New York, the Japan Society , an American nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, has created a disaster relief fund to aid victims of the Tohoku earthquake with plans to work with Japanese and American nonprofit organizations that are on the frontlines of disaster relief and recovery in Japan. ``Japan Society extends its heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences to the people of Japan who lost loved ones in Friday’s earthquake and tsunami,” Japan Society President Motoatsu Sakurai wrote on the organization’s Web Site.
Major League Baseball, which has such a strong Japanese representation, is planning to make an announcement sometime this week regarding their charity relief efforts for the victims in Japan. Several teams, however, have already announced their own charity relief efforts, including the New York Yankees who have donated $100,000 to rescue efforts. The World Series Champion San Francisco Giants and the Giants Community Fund, meanwhile, will make a $12,500 donation to the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund; and with Daisuke Matsuzaka, a native of Tokyo, and Hideki Okajima, from Kyoto, on their roster, the Boston Red Sox have created their own foundation in which 100 percent of donations received will be directed to the Red Cross relief efforts now underway in Japan.
The Seattle Mariners announced their plans to donate proceeds for the six game opening homestand to the Red Cross for the quake victims in Japan. The Mariners’ hitting sensation Ichiro Suzuki has already donated 100 million yen ($1.23 million) to the Japanese Red Cross.
-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 23, 2011
***
Other Web Sites to keep in mind:
Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake:
For updates on Nuclear Plants: Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
International Committee of the Red Cross
Embassy of Japan in the United States
The White House Website (Federal government information on the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami)
Google Resource Page related to the Crisis in Japan
I hope that problems will be solve. Some people in and out of the country worry about the situation there.
Posted by: Helena | 03/23/2011 at 10:06 AM