Newsletter No. 294
News-Analysis
June 4, 2006

 

EARTHQUAKE RELIEF: NUKAGA SAYS THAT JAPAN WANTS TO LEAD INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS

Japan Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga stated yesterday that Japan wants the leadership role in coordinating disaster relief efforts like that currently going on in Indonesia. He made these comments at the International Defense Forum in Singapore, and noted that, “We are willing to continue to take the initiative in the field of disaster relief.”

The SDF has been in the Yogyakarta area for relief efforts since May 31st when a 19-member advance team arrived in the country to assist victims of the earthquake. The original plan called for 50 SDF members to be sent, but on the 2nd Nukaga announced that the number of troops to be deployed would reach 150. The SDF deployment to Indonesia in the wake of the December 2004 tsunami had reached 950 members, and that was Japan’s largest overseas deployment since World War II.

The Antara News Agency of Indonesia notes that, “The military missions are widely seen as an attempt by Japan to exert its influence as more than an economic power.”

Japan has also sent at least two civilian medical teams to Indonesia. One of these is led by the NGO called the Tokushukai Group, and the other by an Okayama-based NGO called the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia. A third NGO, Japan Platform, is also involved in some capacity.

Below is the main MOFA announcement in regard to Japan’s activities.

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JAPAN’S ASSISTANCE FOR EARTHQUAKE DISASTER IN CENTRAL JAVA, REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
May 28, 2006

1) On 28 May, the Government of Japan decided to extend grant aid totalling US$10million (JPY 1.11billion), and emergency equipment equivalent to US$180,000 (approximately JPY20million), and to dispatch an emergency medical team consisting of 25 persons to the Republic of Indonesia, which was severely hit by a large-scale earthquake disaster in Central Java in the morning of 27 May.

2) In particular, the grant aid includes necessary emergency grant aid to the Government of Indonesia and the international organizations involved, with the aim of purchasing goods for those affected. The Government of Japan will also extend grant aid for post-disaster reconstruction aiming at the restoration or construction of facilities for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas, in consideration of the situation and the needs in the area.

3) Approximately US$180,000-worth emergency items which are scheduled to be dispatched on 29 May will include items such as tents, water purifiers, generators, plastic sheets, blankets, sleeping mats and water tanks.

4) The emergency medical team composed of 25 persons to be dispatched on 29 May includes a team leader (a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official), four medical doctors, seven nurses and one pharmacist.

5) The Government of Japan has decided to extend thus assistance to Indonesia taking into consideration the needs of the victims of the disaster and the cordial relations between Japan and Indonesia.