The government, responding to an appeal by the U.N., said Tuesday it will provide emergency food aid worth 300 million yen to Haiti via the World Food Program, Foreign Ministry officials said.

International assistance for Haiti in fields such as food and medical care is urgently needed due to the economic and social problems emanating from ongoing violent political turmoil, the officials said.

Japan's food assistance will help ease current shortages, they said.

Japan's aid package accounts for about 7.8 percent of the $35 million in emergency aid requested by the U.N., according to the officials.

A former French colony, Haiti has undergone many years of violence and failed to overcome poverty.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and left Haiti Feb. 29 for the Central African Republic amid an armed rebellion and pressure from the United States, France and other countries to step down. This week, he relocated to Jamaica.