Archbishop’s letter from Japan: The Church of England Newspaper, March 25, 2011 p 8. March 30, 2011
Posted by geoconger in Church of England Newspaper, Disaster Relief, Nippon Sei Ko Kai.trackback
The Most Rev. Nathaniel Uematsu, Primate of Japan and Bishop of Hokkaido
First published in The Church of England Newspaper.
The Primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK)—the Anglican Church in Japan—has released an update on the situation in Northeastern Japan, ten days after an earthquake and tsunami devastated the region.
“We Japanese are accustomed to earthquakes and tsunamis,” Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu wrote, “however no one could have imagined that such a major earthquake or tsunami could have happened. As of [March 22], more than 8,400 people are confirmed dead and still 12,000 people are missing. There are more than 300,000 people who are enduring hardship at various evacuation centres.”
The safety of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex reactor remains in doubt, and has led the government to evacuate all those living within 30 kilometres of the reactor site, he said. While Tokyo Electric has been “working tirelessly” to prevent a nuclear accident, “people are already discovering levels of radiation in the milk and vegetables” from local farms, the archbishop reported.
The archbishop thanked Anglicans around the world for their encouragement and support since the earthquake, and welcomed the offers of assistance the church had received, but asked for patience from those who wished to volunteer their services.
“Because there is no structure or system to receive these people in the devastated areas at the moment, only the official public servants such as doctors, nurses, Japan’s Defence Regiment personel and fire fighters, police, medical centre staff and local council staff members are allowed to provide care to those affected,” by the disaster.
However, once the extent of the damage is known to the churches and homes of the people of the Tohoku and Kita Kanto dioceses, there will be a need for volunteers to help rebuild.
However, the NSKK “consider the people affected by the disaster to be the church’s priority. In most of the areas affected by the disaster there are no Anglican churches, however it is the NSKK’s desire to stand with all people there and to do whatever we can to support them.”
The first rescue and relief phase will soon come to an end, the archbishop said, but the “restoration phase will go on for a long time. As the NSKK, particularly as Tohoku Diocese, we believe that it is during this second phase when God will most use us to do his work.”
“I would like to express my utmost gratitude for the prayers and warm words which were sent to me from everybody. I would like you to continue to pray for the ongoing relief and restoration work,” Archbishop Uematsu said.
