(Central News Agency, Tokyo, comprehensive foreign news report on the 24th) A magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred offshore Hualien on April 3, and Hualien County became the hardest hit area. A group of junior high school students in Japan’s 311 earthquake-stricken areas launched a fundraiser yesterday to repay Taiwan’s donation. In addition, fishermen from Aomori County also donated 1 million yen to help people in the Hualien disaster area.
Japan’s Sendai Broadcasting Corporation reported that members of the Shizugawa Junior High School student union in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, raised funds from students attending school on the morning of April 23. Minamisanriku Town became the hardest hit area in the March 11 earthquake in 2011. Later, it received a donation of 2.22 billion yen from the Taiwan Red Cross Society to rebuild Minamisanriku Hospital.
This group of students from Shijinchuan Junior High School planned this fundraising event in order to repay the kindness of the Taiwanese people for helping with reconstruction. The students who arrived at the school poured their donations into handmade donation boxes.
Shizugawa Junior High School Student Council President Abe Shige said that in order to rebuild the hospital after the 311 earthquake, we received a lot of assistance from Taiwan, so we hope to collect more donations this time.
This on-campus donation event will last until April 26, and the proceeds will be donated to the Hualien disaster area through the Japanese Red Cross.
Aomori Asahi Broadcasting (ABA) reported that Masayoshi Kikuchi, a fisherman specializing in bluefin tuna fishing in Oma Town, Aomori Prefecture, also donated 1 million yen (approximately NT$210,000) yesterday to help people in the Hualien disaster area.
Kikuchi Masayoshi and his son visited the Oma Town Office yesterday and handed over the donation to the mayor Nozaki Naofumi. The bluefin tuna caught by Kikuchi sold for the highest price at the New Year’s auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu market for the first time this year.
Oma Town is related to Taiwan because of Mazu belief. Kikuchi said that because there is a place in Taiwan that is a sister city to Oma, he hopes to provide some assistance to Taiwan that has been hit by the earthquake this time. Donations from Kikuchi will be sent to the Hualien disaster area through the Aomori Prefecture Japan-China Friendship Association.
Separately, Mie TV reported that Japanese food company Imuraya Group CEO Osaki Yasuki visited the Mie County branch of the Japanese Red Cross yesterday and donated 1 million yen to assist the Hualien earthquake relief and reconstruction work.
Onishi said that he has business dealings with many companies in Taiwan, and his products are also loved by Taiwanese people. He hopes to help the Hualien disaster area complete the reconstruction as soon as possible.
Japanese information technology company LINE Yahoo Corporation (LY Corporation) has opened a “2024 Taiwan Earthquake Special Page” on the “Yahoo! Online Fundraising” operated by it. As of 2 p.m. today, five fundraising activities have raised more than 200 million. 17 million yen (approximately NT$45.6 million) in donations, and the number of donations continues to increase. (Translator: Huang Mingxi) 1130424
