Help our friends in OTSUCHI prefecture Japan Society of the UK - Make a Donation to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund, help local people

Japan Society of the UK - Make a Donation to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund

It's been awful as my friend's family is in Sendai and the coastal towns of Otsuchi, Kamaishi and Miyako.

They were unable to contact any of them for several days and they are still missing a cousin and an aunt. Luckily, the majority of their family seem to have escaped, although they are now suffering food, water and heat shortages and have lost their houses.

We encourage people to donate to the UK Japan Society appeal:www.japansociety.org.uk/donate/
If you, or anyone you know, would like to donate, it would be mush appreciated. If in the "claim gift aid" section you write OTSUCHI, the money will go directly to a local charity in my friend's mother's hometown.

Also, one of Jetro's clients emailed this morning to say that if "Friend of Intralink" is put in this box, they will match donations up to a total of £10,000.

If your corporation want to do some matching fund, please do get in touch!

The British Red Cross is donating to the Japanese Red Cross, but the money will not go to any other charities over there so if there is more donated than the Japanese Red Cross can use for their activities, these funds will be used for later disasters elsewhere.

This is totally understandable and necessary, but the problem is that this seems to be the main charity that British people are donating to, thinking their money is going to Japan but it may not. This is why they support the Japan Society.

more pictures of Japan aftermath from LATimes: Otsuchi, Japan — Reiko Miura, 68, cries as she looks for her sister's son

Rescue workers amidst the rubble as they picked their way through the shattered city of Otsuchi.

A ship is seen perched on top of a house in the tsunami devastated remains of Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture.