Japan has key aid role in wake of tsunami

Japan has key aid role in wake of tsunami

The Daily Yomiuri
Asia News Network
Tokyo

Japan must play a leading role as an Asian power in helping
aid and rehabilitate nations devastated by the recent earthquake-
triggered Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

The number of fatal victims of the earthquake and ensuing
tsunami in waters off Sumatra island, Indonesia, continues to
rise even after the death toll exceeded an estimated 150,000.
Victims also include more than five million people who have lost
their homes and other foundations of their livelihoods.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other
international leaders met in Jakarta to discuss post-disaster
relief measures. They agreed to set up a UN-led framework for
international assistance to stricken countries and adopt an early
warning system for tsunami that will cover the Indian Ocean.
Koizumi's pledge to "extend (Japan's) utmost aid in the form of
funds, manpower contribution and expertise" seems to have
reflected his desire to ensure his country does all it can to
achieve the goal in a manner commensurate with its position as a
major power in Asia.

Thursday's summit, hosted by the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, was attended by 26 nations and international
organizations. In an urgent appeal, UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan said international organizations would need 977 million
dollars to help the victims of the tsunami over the next six
months.

Donor nations have already promised to extend more than US$3
billion in assistance. Japan intends to provide a total of $500
million in grants-in-aid for the stricken countries and
international institutions to cover their immediate needs. To
swiftly and efficiently distribute the international aid, it is
essential for the United Nations and nations concerned to closely
coordinate all the work involved.

According to experts, it will take five to 10 years to
reconstruct destroyed houses and other buildings, as well as
economic and industrial infrastructure in the devastated nations.
The United Nations and the international community will have to
use all the powers at their disposal in taking on this daunting
challenge. Given this, Japan had every reason to tell other
international donors that it would extend additional financial
aid, hoping to help finance long-term reconstruction work in the
stricken areas.

It is very worrying to note that secondary damage from the
latest disaster could occur in the form of serious food shortages
and the spread of infectious diseases. In fact, the World Health
Organization has warned that the spread of epidemics could place
an estimated 150,000 lives at risk.

Japan is set to send about 800 Self-Defense Forces (SDF)
personnel to Indonesia and other stricken nations. The mission
will be the largest of its kind. The SDF members will engage in
medical activities and disinfection as a means of preventing the
spread of infectious diseases.

In many stricken areas where hot weather is combined with
torrential rain, drinking water has been contaminated, and
decomposing bodies lie unrecovered. We hope that the SDF
personnel will do their utmost to halt the spread of secondary
damage in these areas.

For as long as it has existed, Japan has been struck by a
large number of earthquakes and tsunami. This has raised the
level of this country's seismological and antidisaster research
to one of the highest global standards. Japan will be able to
play an active role in establishing an early warning system for
tsunami that covers the stricken areas by taking advantage of its
experiences and expertise.

For years, Japan has enjoyed close relations with the ASEAN
countries in the political and economic spheres. This country's
efforts to make its presence more strongly felt through its aid
for the rehabilitation and reconstruction work is significant in
that there is a gathering momentum for a plan to build an "East
Asian Community."

The stricken areas lie in the so-called arc of instability
stretching from West Africa to Southeast Asia. Armed conflicts
and terrorist attacks have wreaked havoc on some parts of the
region. Any delay in the reconstruction of the tsunami-hit areas
could serve to destabilize the region. Japan's aid for the region
will contribute to its own security and global stability.