JAPAN: U.S. Ambassador, John Roos, says Washington is ready to help Japan deal with the earthquake and tsunami disaster
Record ID:
464346
JAPAN: U.S. Ambassador, John Roos, says Washington is ready to help Japan deal with the earthquake and tsunami disaster
- Title: JAPAN: U.S. Ambassador, John Roos, says Washington is ready to help Japan deal with the earthquake and tsunami disaster
- Date: 15th March 2011
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 14, 2011) (REUTERS) U.S. AMBASSADOR JOHN ROOS ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE TO ADDRESS MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN, JOHN ROOS, SAYING: "The country has proven over and over again with respect to other countries around the world who have needed their help that this is a people that step up in time of need. I also want to tell you I am glad to see, not only because it is important not only the United States but many of Japan's other friends stepping up and helping when it is so desperately in need." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN, JOHN ROOS, SAYING: "We are available to assist Japan in its efforts in responding to this current development" MORE OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 30th March 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan, Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVAB9QRZ5KYY47XFIP79HQTUEMAV
- Story Text: U.S. Ambassador to Japan, John Roos told reporters in Tokyo on Monday (March 14) the United States was ready to help Japan deal with the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency.
"The country has proven over and over again with respect to other countries around the world who have needed their help that this is a people that step up in time of need. I also want to tell you I am glad to see, not only because it is important not only the United States but many of Japan's other friends stepping up and helping when it is so desperately in need," Roos said at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
Japan was struggling to cope with the aftermath of a massive earthquake and the subsequent tsunami which is believed to have killed at least 10,000 people.
The tremors have damaged a nuclear power plant at the Fukushima nuclear complex, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. A second reactor exploded earlier on Monday, following another blast at a different reactor in the same plant at the weekend.
Roos said that U.S. officials were in close contact with Japanese counterparts over the matter.
"We are available to assist Japan in its efforts in responding to this current development," he said.
The nuclear accident, the worst since the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine in 1986, sparked criticism that authorities were ill-prepared and the threat that it could pose to the country's nuclear power industry.
Japanese authorities scrambled to avert a meltdown at the stricken Fukushima nuclear complex with thousands of people evacuated out of a 20km radius zone around the power plants in the area.
The nuclear crisis comes only days after a devastating earthquake of 8.9 magnitude and tsunami killed at least 10,000 people, according to official estimates.
Tens of thousands are still missing as rescue workers struggle to work through the devastation left behind. Kyodo news agency reported that 2,000 bodies had been found on Monday in two coastal towns alone.
The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century. It surpassed the Great Kanto quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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