Letter Regarding the Tohoku district – off the Pacific Ocean Earthquake

23 March 2011

Dear Readers,

I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the kind, encouraging words I have received from many people and government of Sweden in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku district - off the Pacific Ocean Earthquake.

The earthquake and its subsequent tsunami that struck the north-eastern part of Japan were of historically large scale (magnitude 9.0), causing enormous damages and casualties. The government and people of Japan, in close cooperation with other countries, are now doing their utmost in the assistance and relief work as well as the restoration of the lifelines, and has rescued over 26,600 lives as of March 23.

The Japanese government continues to take measures to secure the safety of the nuclear power plants in the devastated areas in cooperation with other countries and international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The distribution of Japanese food is appropriately managed based on the indices by Japanese Food Safety Commission under the Food Sanitation Law, cooperating with local governments. The government of Japan has also been providing both Japanese citizens and international society with information on the latest situation of the nuclear power plants. For detailed information, visit the following websites:

Japan has faced and overcome hardships and difficulties of the same kind and built peaceful and prosperous society. The government of Japan firmly believes that it will be able to address the current situations in an appropriate manner, shoulder to shoulder with its people and international society. In this regard, the Japanese government truly appreciates offers of help from overseas including Sweden.

Sincerely,

Yoshiki Watanabe
Ambassador of Japan