ニュース 2010/02/16 DPJ members are briefed by NGOs providing aid in Haiti, discuss shape of future aid On February 16, DPJ members headed by DPJ Haiti Aid Needs Assessment Mission leader and International Department Director-General, member of the House of Councillors Yukihisa Fujita and member of the House of Representatives Nobuhiko Suto, received a briefing from representatives of non-governmental organizations currently participating in the aid effort in Haiti, and listened to a report on the conditions in Haiti from the Haitian Chargé d’Affaires in Tokyo. Following this, Senior Vice Secretary General Yoshimitsu Takashima presented donations collected from DPJ Diet members for the NGOs to use in their future aid activities. The briefing was also attended by Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, member of the House of Representatives Hitoshi Goto, and members of the House of Councillors Yumiko Himei, Hiroe Makiyama, and Kuniko Tanioka. At the start of the meeting, Fujita explained that the DPJ Mission had travelled to Haiti soon after the earthquake occurred, in order to carry out a detailed assessment of the situation on the ground and the aid needs, and added, “I would like to pay my respects once again to the representatives of the various NGOs operating in the midst of such difficult conditions in Haiti.” Fujita went on to say, “We now have a new administration, and I would like us to engage in a consideration of the aid provision framework, including the shape and form of emergency assistance provided by the government.” He continued, “We have organized this briefing today, in order to realize the provision to Haiti of aid that meets everyone’s needs.” Fujita concluded by saying that he wanted the NGOs to make good use of the donations collected from DPJ Diet members and the additional 5.2 million yen contributed by the party. Suto pointed out that the number of confirmed dead in the Haiti earthquake was 230,000 people, a figure 2 to 3 times the size of the number who died in the Great Kanto Earthquake. He went on to stress that “It is necessary for the entire international community to join together and make efforts to enable Haiti to recover from the disaster.” Suto added that “I believe this will be an extremely difficult aid effort” and expressed the opinion that in addition to the disaster itself, the international community also needed to respond simultaneously to pre-existing issues such as problems brought about by economic sanctions imposed on Haiti by the United Nations. During the briefing, representatives of Good Neighbours Japan, Plan Japan, the Japanese Red Cross, Medecins San Frontieres Japan, Friends of Haiti, Haiti no Kai, the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia and Japan Platform explained the aid efforts their respective organizations had undertaken since the earthquake occurred, the situation on the ground and the challenges they faced. During the briefing, the various organizations pointed out the need for establishing distribution routes for aid, so as for example to ensure that medical supplies can arrive at medical facilities in the disaster zone as speedily as possible, and cited portable toilets, tents, solar-powered lamps, and demolition tools such as shovels, hammers and trucks. Haitian Haitian Chargé d'Affaires , Mr. Jean-Claude Bordes, expressed his appreciation for the assistance provided by Japan, which was being undertaken in what he described as the spirit of fraternity espoused by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Takashima then presented the donations from the DPJ to the representative of Japan Platform, who received it on behalf of the assembled NGOs, and commented that he hoped that they would find it useful in furthering the activities.