LONDON — Harrowing pictures of the sufferings of the Japanese people and the devastation of towns and villages along the northeast coast of Honshu as a result of the record-breaking earthquake and the unprecedented tsunami March 11 have dominated the British media for nearly two weeks.
The immediate response was one of horror combined with a wish to help. The Save the Children Fund, the British Red Cross and other organizations moved quickly as did the Japan Society in London, which immediately set up a Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund. Generous donations have been made to these funds.
Some have suggested that Japan, as one of the world's wealthiest countries, should be able to look after its own and that aid would be better used to help people in the poorest countries in the world, especially in Africa.