Japan sent dozens of medical workers to Myanmar on Wednesday as part of its emergency support for the Southeast Asian country following a powerful earthquake last week, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.
The 32-member team, including doctors and nurses, left Tokyo in the early hours of Wednesday.
Japan has already delivered 240 waterproof tarpaulin sheets and 450 tents after the magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocked central Myanmar on Friday, killing thousands.
Tokyo is also preparing to provide emergency relief supplies such as hygiene kits, water and water purifiers, Iwaya said.
“We will continue to carry out as much humanitarian support as possible to help people in Myanmar,” Iwaya said.
Japan is also ready to provide around $6 million in emergency grant aid for victims of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, the government said Wednesday.
The aid will be provided through international organizations, it said.
The death toll had risen to over 2,700, according to Myanmar’s junta. Tokyo has said two Japanese were injured in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and located near the epicenter, and that the whereabouts of one Japanese living there are unknown.
© KYODO
© Japan Today
