US Giving for Japan Disaster Tops $710 Million

New Report Finds Japan Response is One of the Largest in History

A report by the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) released on March 8 estimates

that, in the two years since Japan’s “triple disaster”—the massive March 11, 2011, earthquake,

tsunami, and the Fukushima nuclear crisis—Americans have donated at least $712.6 million for

disaster relief and recovery efforts.

This makes the outpouring of giving the largest in US history for a disaster in another developed

country and the third largest ever for any overseas disaster. Surprisingly, US donations account for

as much as one-quarter to over one-third of total private giving—both from Japanese and overseas

sources—for nonprofit organizations working on disaster response.

The estimate tallies donations made in the United States by individuals, companies, and other

private groups, and is based on a JCIE survey of nearly 1,100 American and Japanese organizations

that is summarized in a report entitled “US Giving for the Japan Disaster Exceeds $710 Million.”

 

For further information

 

James Gannon, Executive Director, JCIE/USA (jgannon@jcie.org; (212) 679-4130)

 

About JCIE:

One of Japan’s leading international affairs organizations, JCIE operates with

offices in Tokyo and New York and conducts leadership exchanges, policy dialogues on pressing

international issues, and research on civil society and philanthropy.