Local woman in bid to aid stricken Japanese victims of tsunami

A Meath woman is helping to relieve the suffering of victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan through a special fund set up by the Ireland-Japan Association, an organisation involved in promoting relationships between the two nations. Darina Nakagawa (nee Slattery), who is married to a Japanese man, she said that she has not been able to take her eyes off the television screen since the earthquake and tsunami struck late last week. Her husband's family lives at Chiba Prefecture, one hour south of Tokyo ,and are largely unaffected by the catastrophe in the north-east of the country. She said that the indications were that life in that area was continuing more or less as normal, apart from appeals to conserve power supplies, and the fact that transport was slower in some areas. "Of course, everybody is in shock and very worried and concerned about the people who have been affected," she said. She said that while she runs a travel company - Unique Japan Tours - which would have its busiest time during Japan's cherry blossom season at the end of March, "all I can think about at the moment is help as much as I can". Mrs Nakagawa, whose parents own the Station House Hotel in Kilmessan, said that the Ireland-Japan Association caters for members of the Irish and Japanese communities. There are between 1,000 and 1,300 Japanese people living in the Republic. She said that while the organisation was very concerned about the situation in Japan, it could not relay information about conditions in the earthquake region to telephone callers. "We have been advising people to keep up with the crisis page on the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs website," she said. The special fund to help victims of the earthquake - The Ireland-Japan Association Earthquake Appeal - has a bank account at the Bank of Ireland, St Stephen's Green, Dublin - sort code 900084, account number 81235601. Mrs Nakagawa said the association has a history going back over 40 years and has been one of the foremost organisations involved in promoting relationships between the two island nations at opposite ends of the world. As well as being long-lasting, the IJA is also wide-ranging in its activities, covering social, cultural, business, economic and educational areas. In addition to organising cultural amnd social events during the year, the association also provides a small amount of financial support to the Japanese Saturday School in Dublin and to the Japanese Language Teachers of Ireland.