Japanese groups that have links to people in areas affected by Monday's earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria have expressed concerns for their friends.
Piece of Syria, an Osaka-based nonprofit organization that supports a school giving supplementary education to Syrian refugee children in Gaziantep, southern Turkey, could not confirm the safety of around 250 children, according to Piece of Syria. The children are 6 to 15 and have attended the school.
Takayuki Nakano, the NPO's representative, said we just hope the children are safe. The Turkish Cultural Center, an Osaka-based group of people from the country, set up a donation box on Tuesday at its facility. 20% of the proceeds from language classes operated by the group will be donated to the disaster-hit people this month.
The town government of Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, also set up donation boxes at four locations, such as the town hall on Tuesday. Kushimoto has kept good relations with Turkey after the warship Ertugrul, carrying a delegation from the Ottoman Empire to Japan, ran aground on a reef off the town in 1890. Several of those aboard were saved by the efforts of local people.