Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Japan.
More than three weeks after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami caused widespread destruction in northeastern Japan, the casualties continues to rise. As of Monday, April 4, over 12,000 people were confirmed dead, with more than 15,000 still missing.

However, the exact toll is beyond calculation and could reach 100,000 as entire communities are found to no longer exist, with whole families likely swept into the sea and no records or survivors to report them missing.

Amid the devastation, however, acts of courage and benevolence among the survivors continue to inspire hope. On the island of Oshima, the humble 69-year-old

Mr. Susumu Sugawara is being called a hero after he drove his boat, the "Sunflower," out to sea as the tsunami arrived and lived to help others after managing to navigate through waves that he said were like climbing mountains.

Saying later that he knew the island would become isolated from help if he could not save the “Sunflower,” Mr. Sugawara's boat thus became nearly the only link to the mainland—and aid—for the first two weeks after the disaster.

Meanwhile, a dog found on a roof floating off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture on April 1 who had miraculously survived since the disaster was joyously reunited with her caregiver on Monday.

With all her love and sorrowful prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai donated US$80,000 in aid, while requesting that our Association members, including doctors and nurses, please go help the most desperate, especially the elderly and young together.

Noting that extra expenses would be reimbursed, she asked that they bring the victims emergency needs such as medicine, as well as copies of her book, “The Dogs in My Life,” to comfort their hearts. Including contributions from our international Association members, the total donations amount to over US$172,000.

After our Association’s relief teams from Japan and Formosa (Taiwan) conducted initial relief operations in the worst-hit areas, the Formosan members recently returned, and our Association members from South Korea arrived in their place.

As per Supreme Master Ching Hai’s concerned requests for updates, the following is a report by our Association’s relief team from South Korea.


VOICE: Our appreciation for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s permission to share this information as well as our Association’s Foreign Group for providing this report.In updates on Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, workers have moved on to a third plan after two previous attempts
to plug a 20-centimeter crack that is leaking highly radioactive water into the sea had failed.

The latest efforts include installing a silt barrier along the damaged sea wall surrounding the plant to prevent radioactive particles from spreading into the sea, along with injecting white powder into the water in an effort to trace the route of the leak. NHK news agency has also reported that the Japanese government withheld data about potential radiation exposure.

According to computer projections made on March 16, radiation exposure would surpass 100 millisieverts if people remained outdoors for 24 hours between March 12 and March 24 in places even outside the nuclear plant's 20-kilometer exclusion zone and the area 20 – 30 kilometers region in which people were asked
to stay indoors.

This 24-hour amount is 100 times higher than normal background radiation exposure for an entire year. Furthermore, the data suggested that radioactive particles would spread northwest and southwest of the facility. However, the government did not release this information until March 23, saying that the amount and
location of radioactive leakage was unclear.


We thank all the Japanese officials and personnel as well as the international help that is bringing comfort to the disaster-stricken in their time of need. Our gratefulness also for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s heartfelt consideration and support to the victims, and for the attentive endeavors of our Association’s relief team.
May humanity quickly take the gentler steps necessary to renew our ecosphere.