The Japanese Red Cross Society said Wednesday it has collected about ¥174 billion in donations for people affected by the March 11 quake and tsunami, the largest sum it has ever collected, and that ¥65 billion of the amount has already been distributed to prefectural governments.
The Japanese Red Cross also said an additional ¥16.8 billion has been provided by its partner societies around the world and that the overseas assistance will be used to rebuild medical infrastructure and provide electrical appliances to those forced to move into temporary housing.
Tadateru Konoe, president of the Japanese Red Cross Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo that about ¥8.1 billion will be spent to build a temporary hospital to provide emergency medical care in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.