Foreign Minister to Present Letters of Commendation to the Participants of the Japan Disaster Relief Team

April 10, 2009
Japanese

On April 13 (Monday), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will hold a presentation ceremony to hand letters of commendation to the participants (ex-members) of the Japan Disaster Relief Team (JDR) at the auditorium of the new wing of the MOFA building. The letters will be presented by Mr. Hirofumi Nakasone, Minister for Foreign Affairs. A reception will follow on the same day, hosted by Mr. Yasutoshi Nishimura, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.
This time, the letters of commendation will be presented to the ex-members of the JDR who were dispatched overseas based on the Law concerning Dispatch of Japan Disaster Relief Teams (hereinafter the Law) in response to the Earthquake Disaster in Central Java, the Republic of Indonesia in May 2008; the Oil Spill Disaster off Guimaras Island, the Republic of the Philippines in August 2006; the Oil Spill Disaster on the West Coast of the Republic of Korea in December 2007; the Earthquake Disaster in Sichuan Province, the People’s Republic of China in May 2008; and Cyclone Disaster in the Union of Myanmar in May 2008.
The JDR teams are at the request of the governments of the affected countries in the response to large-scale disasters occurring overseas, especially in developing countries and regions. They conduct either search and rescue activities, medical activities or provide technical advice and guidance on disaster prevention and damage mitigation. Since the enactment of the Law in 1987, a total of 98 JDR teams and a gross total of 4,020 JDR members have participated in the relief activities.

(END)