Welcome to Aid for Japan
On the 11th March 2011 the most powerful earthquake ever to have hit Japan with a magnitude of 9.0 Mw occurred off the Tohoku east coast. This earthquake, which has become known as the Tohoku Earthquake or the Great East Earthquake, occurred at 14.46 JST (05.46 UTC) approximately 70 kilometers east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku with a hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 32 kilometers.
Following the terrible and destructive devastation caused by this earthquake it then triggered an even more powerful and destructive tsunami (tidal waves) that reached heights of up to 40.5 meters and travelled up to 10 kilometers inland.
One of the most terrible consequences of the Tohoku Earthquake and subsequent tsunami has been the substantial loss of life in Japan. This has resulted in over 350 Japanese children now being orphaned due to the death of both their parents from this event. Also a further 1500 children have lost one of their parents from this event.
‘Aid for Japan’ is a United Kingdom registered charity. It has been setup by Akemi Solloway Tanaka with the aim of giving long-term support to these Japanese children who have been orphaned or lost a parent following this earthquake.
‘Aid for Japan’ aims are to raise money in the United Kingdom from running and organising annual Japanese cultural events and other funding raising events during the year. Monies raised at these events will be used to offer help to these orphaned Japanese children with both their education and other immediate essential needs. ‘Aid for Japan’ will also aim to travel to Japan each year to meet these children and evaluate their immediate needs and then see how the charity’s fund raising can be best targeted to help in this respect.
It is hoped that in due course the charity will be able to report on this web site, how its fund raising has been able to assist these children’s needs. It is also hoped that the charity will be able to report on the progress of the children it wants to help and how these children, who are no longer able to have the love and support of their parents, are now managing to cope both mentally and physically from the terrible trauma they have so tragically suffered following the devastation caused by the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami that occurred on the 11th March 2011, a day that will forever be a day of mourning for all the people of Japan. To remember this day ‘Aid for Japan’ will be running a Japanese cultural charity event called “Bunkasai” which will take place at the Park Crescent Conference Centre, 229 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5PN between 9.30am and 4.30pm.
During this event there will be a one minutes silence at approximately 2.46pm as a mark of respect for all those who tragically lost their lives following the event of the Tohoku Earthquake and devastating tsunami that followed.
