NGO calls for boosting Japan-US alliance to respond to Asia disasters

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NGO calls for boosting Japan-U.S. alliance to respond to Asia disasters | GlobalPost



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A U.S.-based nongovernmental organization called on Thursday for Japan and the United States to strengthen their security alliance by improving their humanitarian assistance capabilities so they can serve the Asia-Pacific region through disaster relief.

Peace Winds America released a report the same day on the NGO’s two-year examination of the nations’ preparedness for dealing with disasters throughout Asia, including the lessons learned from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan’s northeast.

During a news conference, Charles Aanenson, chief executive officer of the NGO, said, “About 50 percent of global natural disasters happen in the Asia-Pacific, and people turn to Japan for help and also to the U.S.”

The report, based on a civil-military initiative developed by the NGO, stressed the need to include NGOs and businesses in government planning so strong relationships can be built in advance of disasters.

The initiative included Japanese, U.S. and South Korean defense authorities, aid coordination agencies, private sector companies and think tanks.

“In 2011, one business said they wanted to provide stockpiles of modular housing to Tohoku (in northeastern Japan), but they had no points of contact in government so they had to start from scratch,” said Jon Ehrenfeld, an officer of the NGO, who led the initiative.

The NGO proposed setting up a civilian-controlled bilateral disaster center in Japan, and inviting representatives from ASEAN member countries vulnerable to disasters to work with the Japanese and U.S. governments and defense authorities as well as NGOs on planning for potential disasters in the region.

==Kyodo

Copyright 2013 Kyodo News International.

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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130725/ngo-calls-boosting-japan-us-alliance-respond-asia-disa



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