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Katsuyuki Haranaka, MD
President
Japan Medical Association

As of May 24, the Japan Medical Association (JMA) has collected 671,432,946 yen in donations for the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Of this, a total of 44,131,598 yen came from outside Japan. I offer my heartfelt appreciation for so much warm support.

Among the people afflicted by the disaster are physicians who lost their home, clinic, or hospital where they were employed, or suffered other damage in the earthquake and tsunami. There are also physicians who used to live or work within the evacuation zone, or still remain in the stay-indoors zone established in association with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Many of these physicians have been engaged in providing free healthcare services at evacuation shelters, first aid stations, and other sites in the areas to which they themselves have evacuated. I would like to express my sincere respect for such dedication. The government, however, has no intention at present of paying any compensation to these physicians.

For that reason, the JMA has decided to use received donations for the time being as funds to pay these physicians, regardless of whether they are members or not. In this way we aim to acknowledge the healthcare services being provided in evacuation shelters and other sites, to support the lives of the physicians themselves as well as the restoration of medical institutions and the foundation of medical services, and to thereby contribute to the reconstruction of community health. (Details regarding the payment of donations to physicians affected by the disaster who are providing healthcare services in evacuation shelters and other locations can be viewed here.)

The JMA would like, as much as possible, to take other financial support measures beside this one for victims of the disaster. All donations received will be used only in the areas afflicted by this time’s disaster, and no donations will be diverted for other JMA activities, personnel expenses, or any other use. The Japan Medical Association is committed to working wholeheartedly to bring healthcare back to the devastated areas as soon as possible and to helping Japan's healthcare system recover to a state that is safer and more reliable than before the earthquake.

JMA Disaster Headquarters Status Reports