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On April 12, the DPJ Disaster Volunteer Bureau held its regular meeting to exchange information.
A report was given regarding volunteer activities carried out in Ishinomaki City on April 10, in which volunteers helped to remove mud, carry out household items and clear away debris from the local shopping district. The main points made were that: (1) the previous week there had been many volunteers and the situation on the ground had been somewhat confused, but the local volunteer centre was now properly staffed and the system for receiving volunteers had improved, (2) the removal of mud in shopping streets near the station had progressed, but debris had still not been removed from the area near to the Old Kitakami River, and (3) food and basic necessities for day to day living were reaching the area but there were difficulties in conveying them to the people who needed them.
In addition to these volunteer activities, reports were also made regarding the provision of hot curry to victims of the disaster in Minami-Soma City by members of an association of Nepalese living in Japan, which was organized with the cooperation of the DPJ Disaster Volunteer Bureau, and of the situation on the ground in Iwaki City, to the south of the exclusion zone around Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The members agreed that future volunteer activities were likely to focus on (1) removal of debris, (2) provision of hot meals, and (3) recovery of personal possessions. They shared the view that there was a particular need to engage in efforts to recover and clean personal possessions such as precious mementos and Buddhist mortuary tablets.
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