Volunteers in earthquake-hit areas exceed 130,000 (JAPAN)

[AsahinaKimi]

The Yomiuri Shimbun

More than 130,000 people have volunteered their time and energy to help with disaster relief in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures since the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey.

During the Golden Week holidays, the average number of volunteers working in the areas each day will likely triple to around 8,000, the survey showed.

Offers of help have been so numerous that some local governments have decided to temporarily stop accepting volunteers--partly because they were not prepared to handle the flood of people expected during the holiday period and also to prevent overcrowding and confusion on the roads.

Social welfare councils in the prefectures that coordinate volunteer activities have urged people to check beforehand on the conditions and needs in disaster-hit areas.

MORE...
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20110429dy01.htm
=============================================================================================
I wonder if 130,000 Americans will volunteer to help out in the Tornado ravaged states....I would
like to hope so.

Disaster sites lure Japanese holiday-week helpers

Volunteers help clean a cemetery at Jionin temple in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Friday,

ISHINOMAKI, Japan (AP) -- Dozens of volunteers donned white disposable jumpsuits, rubber boots and hard hats at the 370-year-old Jionin Buddhist temple cemetery Friday, sacrificing holiday time to help shovel away layers of tsunami mud and debris.

Others did more intricate work, tenderly wiping dirt off Buddhist statues and stone carvings.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20110430p2g00m0fe021000c.html

Victims face long wait for compensation / With negotiations still months off, TEPCO urged to make provisional payments

Mitsuhiko Totsuka and Tetsushi Onoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

A government panel has set a guideline on eligibility for basic compensation as a victim of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, but negotiations on actual payment amounts are not expected to begin for several months at least.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Thursday it is "necessary for to promptly pay provisional damages" to meet the financial needs of residents who have been forced to flee areas near the plant.

It will also be important that negotiations with people who suffered losses or expenses do not drag on, Edano said.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110429005493.htm