Press Releases
Japanese Response to the Earthquake Disaster in Yunnan Province, China (Messages issued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida and others to their Chinese counterparts)
August 4, 2014
1. On the evening of August 3 (4:30 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. Japan time), a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in Ludian County, Zhaotong City, in Yunnan Province, southwest China. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent the following messages of sympathy to Mr. Xi Jinping, President of China, and Mr. Li Keqiang, Premier of China, respectively.
- On behalf of the Government and people of Japan, I express my heartfelt sympathy and sincerest condolences to the Government and people of China.
- Japan is ready to offer as much assistance as needed.
- I pray that the affected region will recover as soon as possible.
2. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, sent a similar message of sympathy to Mr. Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of China, and Mr. Masato Kitera, Ambassador of Japan to China, sent similar messages to relevant departments in China.
3. In response, the Chinese side expressed its gratitude for the messages, and stated that China will contact Japan as needed if there is a need for support in the future.
(* The foregoing is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)