10/04 Disaster victims' kin to get 350,000 yen

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The families of victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake will receive 350,000 yen for each member who was killed or is still missing, according to a decision by the Japanese Red Cross Society and three other organizations that have been accepting cash donations.

A committee established to distribute the donations--comprising the organizations and prefectural governments of 15 disaster-affected prefectures--decided Friday how the first 50 billion yen in donations would be used. The committee is chaired by Tsutomu Hotta, president of the Sawayaka Welfare Foundation.

The money was to be first transferred to relevant prefectural governments and then to victims' families via municipal governments by the end of the month. As of Friday, about 27,000 people had died or were still unaccounted for due to the disaster.

Households whose residences were destroyed by the earthquake, tsunami or resulting fires--about 46,000 as of Friday--will receive 350,000 yen each. Households whose homes were severely damaged--about 10,000--will get 180,000 yen each.

The about 65,000 households located within 30 kilometers of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant that have been told to evacuate or stay indoors will receive 350,000 yen each. The committee is treating these people as if their homes were destroyed, irregardless of any damage actually sustained.

The organizations involved are the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Central Community Chest of Japan, as well as NHK and the NHK Public Welfare Organization, which are under the jurisdiction of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

Donations so far have totaled 128.4 billion yen and are expected to exceed the record 179.3 billion yen given after the Great Hanshin Earthquake. The second distribution will address people who were seriously injured or whose houses were flooded, according to the committee.

Because of the wide extent of the damage caused by the March 11 earthquake, the committee was set up so donations could be distributed in an integrated manner, instead of leaving it up to individual organizations and local governments. This is the nation's first attempt to handle a fund of this size and the central government has been helping with management.

Following the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the first distribution of 45.6 billion yen was made 12 days after the disaster. Families received 100,000 yen per family member who died or was missing.

After the March 11 earthquake, many people evacuated to other prefectures and several municipal governments ceased to function, which could make it difficult to get the money to disaster victims.

(Apr. 10, 2011)