Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami
As you may know, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the waters near Japan at 2.46 pm local time on March 11, 2011. This earthquake triggered a tsunami which resulted in massive destruction and the loss of many lives in Japan.
As fans of anime and manga, we are indebted to the people of Japan for what they give us. The mangakas, assistors, editors, producers, composers, singers, publishing companies…this list is endless. Many people work hard to bring us the entertainment we seek. Many times we are not able to do anything to thank these people. But now we have a chance to express our gratitude.
I would like to ask you to please make a donation to the relief efforts. It doesn’t have to be large. A few cents, a dollar. Anything. Even if you cannot personally donate, it would be really helpful if you pass on the message and encourage those who can to donate. If every person in the world outside of Japan donated one dollar, we would have billions of dollars. The power of our collective effort can eclipse all individual endeavours. So let’s work together to give back to the country that has given us so much.
There are many options for donation. I personally recommend the Red Cross. You can check out your country’s Red Cross website for more information and other forms of payment. There is also the Salvation Army. You can specify the use of your donation on their form.
If you would like to post information about other ways to donate, please post a link in the comments.
For some information on the earthquake and tsunami, please see the BBC.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people in this difficult time.
Lovely Manga 
This is a great outreach and expression of how most of us feel. I also wanted to add that when making a donation it would also be helpful to check at work with your company's policies regarding donations as some do match the dollar amount you make. I know mine does.
LikeLike
If I understand you totally.
Here in chile also estan doing campaigns to be able to donate money.
LikeLike
Lady Gags's way of donating for Japan. Here's the link to buy a wristband designed my Lady Gaga only 5 bucks each and ALL proceeds go to relief Japan.
http://ladygaga.shop.bravadousa.com/Product.aspx?cp=14781_42444&pc=BGAMLG88
LikeLike
Thanks for your replies everyone. And it's nice to see Lady Gaga help out. Everything, no matter how large or small, helps.
LikeLike
I DO NOT recommend donation through the Red Cross. They take up a large percentage of the donation fees into other projects. Research where you want your money donated to, and look particularly for the ones that give a majority of the money to your cause.
LikeLike
I don't think that people should donate because of manga, but because they are human beings… It's a bit upsetting and make me think of Haiti…
I would say: “Donate, they are human beings, they've lost their lifes, their homes, their families… their loved ones.
I will support them because what they are, not because what some of them do as a job…
LikeLike
I think it's fine to donate to the Red Cross if you understand and accept how that organization works. When you donate to the Red Cross, the money goes into one giant pool for all world wide disasters. This means that the money you donate now may or may not go towards Japan. I am a little irked about how much goes administrating the Red Cross (paying high salaries to executives), but the Red Cross does do good work and they are skilled at it. So donate to the Red Cross to help in general, but if you want your money to be directed at Japan and with less of your donation going toward administrative costs, then find another charity. Do your research carefully to make sure the entity that you are donating to is legitimate.
LikeLike
I agree with Omari's Sister. It is disappointing that the Red Cross has such large administrative costs, but they do good work. Since the scandal a few years back about where donation money was distributed, they now allow you to specify where you want your donation to go.
Here's the copy from their site: Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami
Your gift to the American Red Cross will support our disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters.
Also, for those living in the U.S., you may find this interesting…Google CEO, Eric Schmidt and his wife have committed to matching the first $100,000 donated through Citizen Effect. Here's the link: http://www.citizeneffect.org/projects/japan-earthquake-relief-fund
And here's the CNBC article about it: http://www.cnbc.com/id/42068049
LikeLike
A good place to check out what charity to donate to (at least in the US) is charitynavigator.org
On their home page they have a link to a page specifically for Japanese aid the article has lots of info on choosing a charity and rankings for the charities that are working in Japan. Lots of info. I wish there was something similar for Canadian charities.
LikeLike
I think it's good to donate to the Red Cross, I mean, if the money is not needed, it will be used for other disasters, so it will not be wasted, as one already commented.
But I would suggest you, not to state that people can define where the money should go, because if that money is not needed in that specific field, the money has to be wasted on that field as the donor wanted it that way. So if you say you want to built orphanages with that money, but they are not needed, the money cannot be used for buying food for example. The organizations know themselves where the money is needed and know it the best.
LikeLike
I am donating thru my job and they are supposed to be donating $50,000 in addition to what the employees donate. I am also purchasing one of the Lady Gaga armbands. My kids' schools are collecting donations plus my oldest 2 are going around collecting aluminum cans to earn money.
LikeLike