I’ve been asked several times over these last few days to suggest ways of donating to Japanese Earthquake relief, so I thought I would post a few links.
Since money contributed to various local charities sometimes takes weeks or even months to arrive at the destination, the best and most direct way to contribute to the immediate relief effort is to donate directly to JEN (Japanese Emergency NGOs). A link to their English-language homepage is shown below. The donations button is shown in Japanese yen with a drop down menu to select multiples of ¥1,000. Exchange rates do fluctuate, but at the current rate, a donation of ¥1,000 would be approximately $12.25. Online donations can be made with all major credit cards. http://www.jen-npo.org/en/involved/donate1.php
For those who would feel more comfortable donating through a familiar charity, another reliable and well organized relief effort is being handled through the Japanese Red Cross. Donations can be made through the American Red Cross: Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief: www.redcross.org. Again, online donations can be made with all major credit cards. Donations made through this program will be divided up among several relief projects in Asia.
no mention on the news regarding the beautiful Japanese temples ? why ?
I’m sorry I can’t answer that question. I just don’t know which temples there might have been on the north east coast. Obviously the tsunami would have wiped them out. But please understand that as horrible as the pictures are on TV, only a small part of Japan was destroyed. In Kyoto where I live, there are thousands of beautiful temples. They are all still here, Kyoto was untouched by this disaster. And the same is true throughout Kansai and other areas outside the disaster zone.