Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2011

Japanese celebrities have stepped up to raise funds for earthquake relief. Rock band X Japan founder Yoshiki will auction off his favorite piano to raise money for victims. After seeing images from the northeast, the musician said he was struck by the scale of the devastation and immediately sent out tweets asking his fans if they were OK. Yoshiki, who plays drums and piano and writes most of the music for X Japan, is based in Los Angeles but was visiting Japan to attend a fashion show at the time of the quake. “I decided the best I could do was to try and contribute something through music,” said the Chiba native. The piano to be auctioned is the band’s instantly recognizable crystal clear custom Kawai grand piano. Details on the auction will be provided later.

Singer Gackt has established a foundation to provide aid for victims called “Show Your Heart” that’s currently accepting donations (http://meturl.com/gacktcharity). All money raised will be given to the Japanese Red Cross and other groups working in the stricken areas. “Our collective efforts are going to become necessary in the near future. We have to pull together to help those affected. I also want to implore the watching world to donate whatever they can,” said the Okinawa-born singer-songwriter. Luna Sea drummer Shinya, model Norika Fujiwara, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Hisanori Takahashi, and numerous other celebrities have endorsed the foundation. “Now is the time to reach out,” Fujiwara writes on the foundation homepage. “We need you. We also call on the disaster victims not to lose hope. Please find a way, somehow, to stay safe and make it through.”

AKS, the management firm that handles all-girl pop group AKB48, will donate a total of ¥500 million, assisted by their sister units and producer Yasushi Akimoto. After holding consultations with the Japanese Red Cross Society, the singers have decided to transfer the sum to new dedicated bank accounts that their fans can also use to donate money. The accounts have been set up at Resona Bank’s Shibuya branch and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s Gotanda branch, both in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, actor Ken Watanabe and screenwriter Kundo Koyama (Okuribito) have launched a website named Kizuna 311 to display messages of encouragement and support for those affected by the earthquake and tsunamis (http://kizuna311.com). Messages are currently being collected from Watanabe’s famous friends worldwide, including Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio. On the English version of the site, Watanabe (pictured, bottom right) explains, “In the past few days, the media has brought attention to the world of earthquake and devastation, much foreign press has warmly applauded our orderliness and solidarity under the catastrophic circumstances, and has encouraged us to recuperate from the calamity. We Japanese can take pride in our Kizuna, the solidarity that binds us. To overcome this painful catastrophe, we must find a way to unite and find our Kizuna among people.”

The first video message on the site features Watanabe himself reading aloud from Kenji Miyazawa’s Succumb Not to the Rain. Also lending their official endorsement to the project are Watanabe’s wife, Kaho Minami, and actors Sayuri Yoshinaga, Teruyuki Kagawa, Tsurube Shofukutei, Koji Yakusho and Jun Fubuki. Each will take it in turns to present a video message to the world.
Television and radio personality Hiroshi Kume, 66, has donated ¥200 million to an earthquake relief fund. Kume declined to comment on his donation, but sources say that he also sold many of his possessions at a charity auction. The collection raised a total of ¥550 million.

Taiwanese have raised 788 million New Taiwan dollars ($26 million) for relief efforts, including a big donation to emergency workers who had been struggling to prevent a full meltdown at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The money was raised at a Red Cross Society-sponsored event attended by some 300 singers and other celebrities. Famous Japanese soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata (pictured, top right) took part by auctioning his shoes and clothes for charity during a fund-raising party.

South Korean celebs are pitching in, too. South Korean actor Bae Yong Joon has donated 1 billion won (about $888,000) to the Japanese government’s fund for earthquake relief. Bae, 38, who starred in the hit TV drama Winter Sonata, is immensely popular in Japan, particularly among women. In a message posted on his Japanese website, Bae said that he was saddened by the news of the huge damage and that he would find ways to support Japan’s relief efforts. Kim Hyun Joong, a member of the popular South Korean boy band SS501, donated 100 million won.

South Korean girl group Kara has announced that they will donate all CD and digital distribution sales of their new single Jet Coaster Love to quake-hit areas in Japan. All five members of the group were in Japan for a TV drama shoot when the devastating earthquake and tsunamis hit.

Chris Betros is the editor of Japan Today. For information about quake resources and updates, click here.