Bulgarian Cabinet, NGOs Mull Ways to Help Japan

A man checks aid goods in a refugee camp in Tome, Japan. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria is fully prepared to send large quantities of mineral water as humanitarian aid to people in disaster-struck Japan.

Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, announced Tuesday he has received an order from Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, to make a call to Bulgarian Ambassador to Tokyo and find out if and how much water, and possibly food, is needed.

Naydenov says Bulgaria, with its 600 mineral springs, is an a great position to help the people of Japan.

Meanwhile, several Bulgarian NGO's and researchers and explorers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) told the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, they are working on inviting people from Japan to stay in Bulgaria temporarily or to relocate here. The NGOs and BAS are forming a civil committee to work with the Japanese Embassy in Sofia to make the idea a reality.

Bulgaria also offered earlier to send firefighters to help, but no response has yet been received by the Japanese authorities.

In the aftermath of the devastating 9 point on the Richter scale that hit Japan on March 11, and the following 10-meter tsunami, there are fears that victims can exceed 10 000; material damage is estimated at USD 180 B while the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plan is under the threat of a possible meltdown.

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