Government/Private Sector Relay Transportation of Assistance Materials for the Areas Suffering from the Disaster Caused by the Major Earthquake off the Coast of Sumatra and the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean

January 31, 2005

The Government of Japan has received offers from a number of private companies and local governments to provide without compensation various kinds of aid materials for the victims of the disasters caused by the major earthquake off the coast of Sumatra and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. In response to these offers, the Government of Japan has decided to send the aid materials to Indonesia by making full use of the support from ministries and agencies, private warehousers (free storage and customs clearance), air carriers (free transportation), Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) (transportation and delivery in affected areas as part of its international emergency relief operations), and international organizations. Following the decision, the first flight to transport the materials will depart in the morning of January 28 (Fri) from Narita International Airport for Thailand, from where they are to be forwarded to Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
This assistance project intends to carry and distribute food, sanitary goods, medical and pharmaceutical products, water-proof sheets and other items weighing in total several dozens of tons, and will commence the transportation one after another as soon as it is ready. This case will be the first example of such a type of collaboration between the government and the private sector, and the Government of Japan intends to proceed with this project promptly and steadily.

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