Help Japan Heal

Japanese-Americans in Watsonville and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area are uniting in response to the need resulting from Japan’s recent earthquake, tsunami and radiation disaster.

While relief fundraising efforts are under way, a group of students has rescheduled its visit to Japan as a precautionary measure.

The Kawakami-Watsonville Sister Association operates an annual exchange during which Watsonville middle-school students visit Kawakami, a small village that is a three-hour train ride east of Tokyo. After World War II and the Korean War, some American soldiers remained in Kawakami.

The sister city relationship started in response to Japanese farmers who wanted to learn American farming practices so that they could grow lettuce, broccoli and other crops favorable to their American inhabitants, according to Mas Hashimoto, a board member and former president who has worked with the for 40 years.

The scheduled spring exchange program has been delayed this year. After the earthquake, he was concerned about people in the Nagano Prefecture Region, where the Kawakami Village sits. It turned out they were not gravely impacted. However, Hashimoto explained that reasonable concerns over the potential for radiation made delaying the trip a necessity.

“The kids are disappointed that they won’t be able to go in May, as originally planned, but the plan now is to send them in September or October. That would be nice because of fall colors in Kawakami,” said Hashimoto.

There are several ways that the community can provide support for the thousands in Japan who are suffering loss as a result of the recent natural disasters and subsequent nuclear emergency:

• Attend the Help Japan Fundraiser, presented by the Japanese Cultural Fair. On April 23, local artists, including Watsonville Taiko and Kyle Abbott, will perform songs and dances with acclaimed Cabrillo College history professor Sandy Lydon acting as master of ceremonies. The event will take place at the Rio Theater from 7-9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, established through a joint effort of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California and the Japanese Cultural Fair. Advance tickets are available at Bookshop Santa Cruz, Capitola Book Cafe, Streetlight Records and online at jcfsantacruz.org.
• Make a direct donation online or by mail. One-hundred percent of donations will go to citizen relief efforts in the most affected areas. Checks should be made out to the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund and mailed to the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC), 1840 Sutter St., San Francisco 94115.

“The money from the Help Japan Fundraiser will be used to buy food, clothing, supplies, kerosene, and for rebuilding, burial assistance as well as to aid search efforts for areas most affected,” said Paul Kaneko, president of the , which will be held in Santa Cruz in June.

“The average age of Japan is somewhat older,” he said, because of population control regulations, so relief for the elderly is particularly important.