Japan Earthquake & Tsunami News

Where is the response from US celebrities? Korean stars and musicians donating enormous sums to Japan earthquake & tsunami relief

I know that Lady Gaga is selling disaster relief bracelets on her website. Charlie Sheen pledged to donate a dollar for every ticket sold for his coming Violent Torpedo of Truth live shows. And Sandra Bullock is making a very large charitable donation—$1 million to be exact. But where are the contributions from the rest of the actors, musicians and sports stars?

Over the years I've been asked to research the Japanese movie and music markets by several American companies, so I have a fairly good idea how important Japan is to the earnings of record labels and movie studios. 

I haven't looked at the numbers in some time so things may have changed in recent years, but in the late nineties Japan was clearly the most important country in the world after the United States when it came to music sales and box office revenues. At one point, the Japanese spent more money per capita on music than any other country on earth.

Attention Hollywood, music and sports celebrities:  a significant portion of that money you kindly donated to Haiti and other disaster-stricken parts of the world these past years was made possible thanks to earnings derived from your Japanese fans.

Korean celebrities have been stepping up like crazy, with at least a half dozen immediately making individual contributions of $80,000 to $500,000.

Perhaps there's this sense that as the world's 3rd largest economy, the Japanese are so rich they don't need any help. I've got news for you. Japan's national debt is 200% of GDP, which means their government is significantly broker than the US'. Moreover, the areas that were hardest are mostly small towns and fishing villages populated by a lot of elderly, sick Japanese. They need help!

Fukushima evacuees suffering as aid workers fear radiation exposure

In an interview on NHK around 7 p.m. local time, Fukushima's governor made a desperate plea to the media and to citizens around Japan. 100,000 earthquake and tsunami victims at some 500 shelters in Fukushima are not receiving critical supplies like food, water, fuel, blankets, clothing, diapers and other items because delivery vehicles are offloading their supplies before reaching their destinations.

Despite extensive testing that has shown radiation levels beyond the 30 km radius surrounding the crippled Fukushima reactors are well-below harmful levels, fear and disinformation are keeping drivers from hauling their loads all the way to the evacuation locations situated outside the danger zone—leaving survivors without sufficient heating fuel, food and other essentials. The governor called on all to recognize the crisis as national in scope and appealed for both empathy and rationality to spur those involved in aid efforts to complete their missions and alleviate suffering amongst the disaster victims.

Hundreds of thousands in evacuation centers in northeastern Japan

Following the deadly earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Japan, at least 450,000 people are sheltering in thousands of evacuation centers in northeastern Japan. Many sites remain in desperate need of water, food, warm clothing, and blankets and bedding. Government and aid groups are working round the clock to meet the needs of these centers. If you are interested in donating to Japanese rescue and aid efforts please visit the sites listed in the adjacent sidebar.