Tonga Support Fund Established by The Nippon Foundation with 100-Million-Yen ContributionEntire amount of donations will be used to support Tonga’s recovery from gigantic volcanic eruption

On January 19, The Nippon Foundation launched the Tonga Emergency Relief Fund to support relief efforts in Tonga following a gigantic volcanic eruption of the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Haʻapai on January 15. The entire amount of donations made to the fund will be used for relief efforts being carried out by the Red Cross.

The Nippon Foundation, which has been closely involved in humanitarian support over the roughly 60 years since its founding, will contribute 100 million yen to the fund, which is intended to be used to provide flexible assistance according to the needs of damaged areas. The Foundation has also announced that the fund is being launched with a 10-million-yen contribution from the writer Kanae Minato.

Japan’s relationship with Tonga includes 11,534,778 yen of assistance received from Tonga Red Cross and 200,000 paʻanga (approximately 9 million yen) from the Tongan government and citizens following the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011.

Message from Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation

Tonga’s royal family and Japan’s imperial family have historically had a long and close relationship. My father, Ryoichi Sasakawa, also served as honorary consul general in Tonga. We have established this fund with a 10-million-yen contribution from the writer Kanae Minato and a 100-million-yen contribution from The Nippon Foundation. We hope that many people will contribute to this fund.

Message from Kanae Minato

I would like to express my sympathies to the people of Tonga. I have received love and kindness from many people in Tonga, first during my time with the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and over the years since then. I consider this my turn to give something back, and am pleased to be able to help The Nippon Foundation establish this fund. I sincerely hope that the people of Tonga will be able to return to their daily lives as quickly as possible and smile once again.