Japan America Society of Southern California

Japanese American groups, businesses step up quake relief efforts

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

A sign at the entrance to the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance, March 15, 2011

As northeastern Japan struggles to recover from last Friday’s magnitude 9 earthquake and the deadly tsunami flooding that followed, Japanese American groups and businesses in Southern California have continued expanding efforts to raise money for earthquake relief, with donation boxes at businesses and additional relief funds set up.

UPDATED: On Thursday, the Japanese daily newspaper Rafu Shimpo and the Asian-language television station LA 18 are co-sponsoring a drive-through fundraiser downtown with the American Red Cross and Los Angeles City Council members Jan Perry and Bernard Parks. Between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., people who wish to donate funds can drive north on Main Street and hand donations to volunteers; sidewalk lanes between First and Temple Streets will be closed off for drivers participating. Those wishing to volunteer may call Perry’s office at (213) 473-2308.

The Gardena-based Japan Business Association of Southern California, (310) 515-9522, has announced that it has set up a relief fund for quake victims and will work to distribute the funds with the Japanese consulate in Los Angeles.
The Japan America Society of Southern California, (213) 627-6217, has been urging members to donate online or by text to the American Red Cross, in addition to setting up its own relief fund. The Los Angeles group helped promote drive-through fundraisers sponsored by the Red Cross and local television stations at Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium and the Rose Bowl earlier this week.
On Thursday, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, (213) 628-2725, will hold a 6:30 p.m. “hope and memorial service” for Friday’s earthquake and tsunami victims in its Little Tokyo plaza at 244 South San Pedro Street. Representatives from relief funds will be there for those who wish to donate.

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FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Economy, Health/Education, American Red Cross, Japan America Society of Southern California, Japan earthquake, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Mitsuwa Marketplace

March 14, 2011 | 9:27 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Japanese American, other organizations in Southern California pull together for quake relief

Photo by emrank/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A television screen in Nagoya, Japan displays a news report, March 11, 2011

Two large fundraising events for victims of last week’s devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake in northeastern Japan last week are taking place all day today at Angel Stadium in Anaheim and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where “drive-through” donations for the American Red Cross’s relief effort are being accepted.

The Japan America Society of Southern California has information on both events posted on its website; the organization’s president, Doug Erber, said the Los Angeles Dodgers organization approached the group Friday with the idea of helping out and it went from there. Both events today are being hosted by the Red Cross and by ABC Chanel 7, which is promoting today’s fundraisers.

A similar event is happening tomorrow at Dodger Stadium, this one hosted by NBC Channel 4.

Japanese Americans have been raising funds in a number of different ways, setting up everything from relief funds to donation boxes in hotel lobbies, like at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City, a property that’s owned by a Japanese company. Some people have taken up individual collections, like a woman who raised more than $3,200 solo over the weekend, said Erber, whose group has urged its members to donate online to relief efforts. An arts collective has put together its own fundraiser for the victims.

Meanwhile, those with relatives in the quake-ravaged region around the port city of Sendai continue to seek news of relatives, including “my wife’s best friend,” Erber said. “She still can’t find her family in Sendai. We’re just hoping that no news is good news.”

He said that several local Japanese American groups would be discussing ways to pool resources for quake relief later this week.

KPCC linked today to a list of “appropriate disaster relief” organizations taking donations to assist quake victims.

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Japan America Society of Southern California, Japan earthquake, Los Angeles Dodgers

March 11, 2011 | 9:54 AM | By Leslie Berestein Rojas

Japan quake: How to find people, how to help

Photo by emrank/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A television screen in Nagoya, Japan displays a news report, March 11, 2011

Several online resources have sprung up in the wake of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Japan, among them a Google People Finder tool in English and Japanese that is part of a Google crisis response resource with emergency numbers and other information.

The tech news website CNET has also posted a list of good quake information resources.

The Japanese consulate in Los Angeles said that officials are in the process of setting up a hotline for people seeking information on relatives; the consulate office can be reached at (213) 617-6700. Other hotlines have been set up abroad, including a Canadian government hotline and a Filipino government hotline for those with family in Japan.

Land line service has been out and cell service is spotty, said Doug Erber, president of the Los Angeles-based Japan America Society of Southern California. Erber said he and his wife, who is from Japan, stayed up all last night trying to reach in-laws, relative, and friends. He said the best way the group’s members have been able to reach people on their own is via international cell phone, which several members have, and via Twitter.

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