Japan prepares aid for quake-hit China

The government Tuesday was preparing assistance for China in the aftermath of Monday's earthquake in Sichuan province, while officials were trying to locate dozens of Japanese living in the stricken areas.

"We conveyed to China our willingness to provide the maximum possible assistance if specific requests are made," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday morning.

He said Japan has not yet received such requests from Beijing, but preparations for assistance had begun, including dispatches of rescue teams and helicopters to transport relief supplies.

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Japan would also offer 500 million yen worth of aid to China.

Machimura said Tuesday afternoon that 160 of the 300 or so Japanese nationals living in Sichuan province had been confirmed unhurt. He also said companies operating in the damaged areas reported no injuries to Japanese employees.

However, contact had not yet been made with the other Japanese in the province.

Volunteer groups were preparing to send aid to China, but some were already busy delivering relief supplies to cyclone victims in Myanmar (Burma).

"While we are gathering information about China, Myanmar has also been hit with major damage," said an official of the Shanti Volunteer Association. "Because it is more difficult to send relief supplies to a government controlled by a military junta, we have our hands full there."

The association brought blankets to China in 1998 following a major earthquake in Hebei province.

The Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster, set up to deal with the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, sent supplies to schools in Taiwan hit by a huge earthquake in 1999.

With news reports of many schools in China collapsing in Monday's temblor, the NVNAD plans to provide similar help to Sichuan province.

Meanwhile, a number of major travel agencies announced they were suspending planned tours to the stricken areas, including the Jiuzhaigou Valley in northern Sichuan province, which has been registered as a World Heritage site.

Hiroko Ota, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, expressed concerns that any negative effect from the quake on China's manufacturing sector could have ramifications for the Japanese economy.

Some Japanese manufacturers have suspended operations at plants and other facilities in Sichuan province and in the neighboring city of Chongqing.

The companies' buildings escaped serious damage, but officials were still confirming the safety and reliability of the equipment.

Toyota Motor Corp., electronics manufacturer Fujitsu Ltd., Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Suzuki Motor Corp. and other companies were affected by the quake.

The earthquake cracked the walls of an office building in Chengdu of Fujitsu's joint-venture company for semiconductor development.

Supermarket chain operator Ito-Yokado Co., which has three outlets in Chengdu, resumed operations after confirming the safety of elevators, escalators and other equipment, company officials said.

Those outlets are receiving many inquiries from customers about whether water and vegetables are available, they said.

Aid contributions planned by Japanese companies include vehicles and cash from Toyota Motor Corp. as well as instant noodles and pledges of monetary assistance by other companies.(IHT/Asahi: May 14,2008)