Donations for victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami have been decreasing sharply, a sign of waning public interest in the disaster that left over 15,000 people dead or missing.
A Kyodo News survey found that donations received by the Japanese Red Cross Society totaled some ¥314.6 billion during the year immediately after the disaster, but they have now declined to less than 1 percent of that amount and stood at ¥2.9 billion for the fiscal year ending this month.
A Red Cross official said the organization is grateful for the "unprecedented" amount of donations that have been made in connection with the Great East Japan Earthquake but added there are "still a lot of victims who need support."