ID :
100157
Fri, 01/15/2010 - 01:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/100157
The shortlink copeid
Japan announces $5 mil. in grants for Haiti quake relief
TOKYO, Jan. 14 Kyodo -
Japan will extend up to $5 million in grants to Haiti, which was hit by a
strong earthquake Tuesday, as well as 30 million yen worth of emergency aid
supplies, the government's top spokesman said Thursday.
The government dispatched a team the same day to examine the local situation
with an eye toward offering further medical support.
Tokyo will immediately implement the $5 million relief in cooperation with
international organizations such as the U.N. Children's Fund and the U.N. World
Food Program, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said at a press
conference.
Speaking to reporters in the evening, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama offered his
condolences to the victims and expressed hope that missing people would be
rescued quickly.
Japan sent the inspection team ''to determine as soon as possible what Japan
can do to help the country,'' he said. ''We will make utmost efforts to help
save the lives of people in Haiti in cooperation with other countries
worldwide.''
The team is being led by Japanese Ambassador to Haiti Nobutaka Shinomiya and
comprises officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the
Japan International Cooperation Agency among other entities.
Haitian Ambassador to Japan Jean-Claude Bordes said at a press conference in
Tokyo there is a need for relief supplies and emergency aid from Japan to help
the Caribbean country.
Bordes said while he has not gotten any official information from the Haiti
government, relief supplies are urgently needed, such as medicine, medical
assistance, rescuers and above all clean water.
''It's like when a bomb is dropped...it's flattened,'' Bordes said, describing
the situation in Haiti where electricity and telephone communications have
broken down, and the severity of the disaster has yet to be fully measured.
''Some friends told me 'Forget it. You don't have a country anymore,''' he
said, while expressing hope the nation will be able to rebuild.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano said, ''We're continuing efforts to gather
information on the earthquake but recognize the situation there is extremely
serious.''
From the private sector, the Japan-based World Instant Noodles Association
chaired by Koki Ando, president of Nissin Foods Holdings Co., said it will
donate more than 100,000 packets of instant noodles to Haiti to be used as
emergency rations for the quake victims.
The noodles were shipped from Nissin Foods' subsidiary in the United States and
will be transported to Haiti through a U.S. nonprofit organization, the
association said in a statement.
Mitsui & Co. announced it will provide 10 million yen in cash to help in
Haiti's quake relief efforts, while the Toshiba Group pledged to make donations
in both cash and goods equivalent to a total of $100,000.
==Kyodo
Japan will extend up to $5 million in grants to Haiti, which was hit by a
strong earthquake Tuesday, as well as 30 million yen worth of emergency aid
supplies, the government's top spokesman said Thursday.
The government dispatched a team the same day to examine the local situation
with an eye toward offering further medical support.
Tokyo will immediately implement the $5 million relief in cooperation with
international organizations such as the U.N. Children's Fund and the U.N. World
Food Program, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said at a press
conference.
Speaking to reporters in the evening, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama offered his
condolences to the victims and expressed hope that missing people would be
rescued quickly.
Japan sent the inspection team ''to determine as soon as possible what Japan
can do to help the country,'' he said. ''We will make utmost efforts to help
save the lives of people in Haiti in cooperation with other countries
worldwide.''
The team is being led by Japanese Ambassador to Haiti Nobutaka Shinomiya and
comprises officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the
Japan International Cooperation Agency among other entities.
Haitian Ambassador to Japan Jean-Claude Bordes said at a press conference in
Tokyo there is a need for relief supplies and emergency aid from Japan to help
the Caribbean country.
Bordes said while he has not gotten any official information from the Haiti
government, relief supplies are urgently needed, such as medicine, medical
assistance, rescuers and above all clean water.
''It's like when a bomb is dropped...it's flattened,'' Bordes said, describing
the situation in Haiti where electricity and telephone communications have
broken down, and the severity of the disaster has yet to be fully measured.
''Some friends told me 'Forget it. You don't have a country anymore,''' he
said, while expressing hope the nation will be able to rebuild.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano said, ''We're continuing efforts to gather
information on the earthquake but recognize the situation there is extremely
serious.''
From the private sector, the Japan-based World Instant Noodles Association
chaired by Koki Ando, president of Nissin Foods Holdings Co., said it will
donate more than 100,000 packets of instant noodles to Haiti to be used as
emergency rations for the quake victims.
The noodles were shipped from Nissin Foods' subsidiary in the United States and
will be transported to Haiti through a U.S. nonprofit organization, the
association said in a statement.
Mitsui & Co. announced it will provide 10 million yen in cash to help in
Haiti's quake relief efforts, while the Toshiba Group pledged to make donations
in both cash and goods equivalent to a total of $100,000.
==Kyodo
