1,100 children lost parents in March 11th disaster

NHK: 

A Japanese non-profit group says over 1,100 young people lost parents in the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

The scholarship organization Ashinaga says that as of Monday, 1,101 people had applied for one-time payments from its fund for disaster orphans.

The number is nearly twice that for similar payments after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in western Japan.

Of the latest applicants, 75 lost both parents, 632 lost only their fathers and 394 their mothers.

Ashinaga says it has raised over 20 million dollars since the disaster.
The payment for junior high school students and younger children is about 6,000 dollars. High school students and graduates preparing for university entrance examinations can receive nearly 10,000 dollars, and university and vocational school students around 12,000 dollars.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 20:39 +0900 (JST)