Rebuilding begins in Japan following March tsunami: The Church of England Newspaper, June 24, 2011 p 6.

Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu

First published in The Church of England Newspaper.

The Anglican Church in Japan has launched its “Let’s walk together” programme to support victims of the Eastern Japan earthquake that has left over 30,000 missing or dead.

Led by the Primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK), Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu, and Bishop Jun Nakamura of Tokyo, the aid campaign initially focused on assisting Japanese Anglicans and those in greatest hardship: the “elderly, children, those with disabilities, foreign residents, low-income people, refugees” affected by the 11 March tsunami and earthquake.

Archbishop Uematsu reported the March earthquake was the “strongest earthquake in the country’s history. The resulting enormous tsunami wrought unprecedented death and destruction up and down the coast, particularly in the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki.”

“Current figures show roughly 30,000 people dead or missing. Many have lost family and friends, homes and savings. Many still have no choice but to stay in emergency shelters. Moreover, this cataclysmic event seriously damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant, resulting in radioactive pollution which has forced not a few people to leave the familiar surroundings of their homes.”

Immediately after the earthquake, the NSKK began its disaster relief efforts, focusing on emergency assistance. The Japanese government, however, was quickly able to restore basic services and “we stopped collecting supplies on 15 April, and sent the final shipments to the Diocese of Tohoku” in Sendai.

The next stage of disaster relief assistance has now begun, the Archbishop said, with its efforts focused on rebuilding churches, institutions and homes destroyed by the earthquake.

Archbishop Uematsu asked the wider Anglican Communion to help in the rebuilding of Eastern Japan, saying “we humbly ask for your understanding and support, and especially your prayers for the success of this undertaking.”