 JCP calls for relief aid and volunteers for quake victims The Japanese Communist Party Central Committee has launched a call for a nationwide donation and volunteer work program in support of victims of earthquakes that hit Niigata Prefecture on October 23. On October 25, JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi called a press conference in the Diet Building to announce that the JCP has established a disaster relief center in the disaster-hit area to handle donations, relief supplies, and the organization of volunteers to the disaster districts of the region. On the same day, many JCP members, including local assembly members took to the streets throughout the country to collect relief donations. In Tokyo, JCP Executive Committee Chair Shii Kazuo and JCP Dietmembers stood in front of JR Shinjuku Station to call on passersby for donations for quake victims and collected about 310,000 yen in a short time. Shii said, "The government should provide compensation to put victims' lives back in order, and we will work on volunteer activities based on the relief center and promptly send the relief donations and supplies we collected from throughout Japan to the victims. Residents of 58 districts are still stranded due to severed roads, and nearly 100,000 people are in evacuation shelters due to the scarcity of daily commodities and delays restoring basic utilities. Relief donations can be accepted through: Resona Bank (#0010), Shintoshin Banking Department (#675), and Ordinary account #2853256 of Nihon Kyosanto Chuo Iinkai Zaiseibu. When you remit donations, please notify by fax that the money is for the relief fund for the earthquake victims along with your name, address, and telephone number to Nihon Kyosanto Chuo Iinkai Zaiseibu 0120-038-619. (end) |