Scams mustn't overshadow acts of goodwill
There has been an outbreak of scamming of relief money and other fraudulent practices exploiting the chaos in the aftermath of the March 11 catastrophe. We urge the public to take care so as not to succumb to dubious solicitations.
Deception methods vary. For example, con artists claim they will donate part of the purchase price for Hokkaido crabs to disaster relief or use names that sound as if they represent government and public offices in order to fraudulently obtain money.
Solicitations are made by phone in many cases. In other instances, it is done by e-mail or ordinary mail. Scammers immediately disappear with the money handed to them or transferred into designated bank accounts.
Relief networks trying to help the disaster-stricken areas and victims have been spreading throughout the country. Relief cheats are viciously exploiting such goodwill.
Many organizations, including the Japanese Red Cross Society and mass media companies, have been soliciting donations. Contributions thus collected will be used for restoration and reconstruction projects and to support the livelihood of the disaster victims.
Citizens are advised to confirm the legitimacy of organizations requesting donations before extending assistance.
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Quick govt action praiseworthy
Given a series of fraud cases involving donations, the Consumer Affairs Agency and the National Police Agency have alerted the public. In addition to the existing consumer hotline, an emergency telephone number dedicated to malicious business practices has been established for the devastated areas.
Learning lessons from similar frauds that occurred in the aftermath of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and the 2007 Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake, the government has acted promptly this time. This deserves praise.
The next concern will be fraudulent business practices related to rebuilding and repair of housing when reconstruction work enters high gear.
In the aftermath of past major earthquakes in various parts of the country, dealers charged hefty bills after suggesting the need for checks of earthquake resistance or aggressively pushing seismic retrofitting.
In one case, a dealer approached a target by helping tidy up a damaged house and then suggesting "a quick repair," thereby winning an expensive repair contract.
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Senior citizens targeted
Underhanded traders zero in on people suffering great emotional stress in the aftermath of a disaster. Especially vulnerable people such as the elderly living alone tend to be targeted. If soliciting is persistent, it is better to consult with police or other organizations immediately. Regional communities must protect the elderly living in their neighborhoods from being victimized by such fraudulent business practices.
Even if a contract is signed with an unethical trader, it can be canceled unconditionally within a cooling-off period. Such information should be thoroughly made known among consumers.
The damage from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is massive, so it is likely to take long time to finish restoration work. Therefore, the Consumer Affairs Agency must ramp up cooperation with consumer information centers, police and local governments to keep a close watch on the moves of malicious scammers.
Public wants united govt to address quake issues
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been unable to exercise leadership in dealing with the ongoing crisis arising from the massive March 11 earthquake and the ensuing series of accidents at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
This opinion was shared by about 70 percent of people surveyed in The Yomiuri Shimbun's latest poll, the first of its kind since the quake-tsunami calamity struck.
Only very slow progress has been made in implementing measures to overcome the current crisis. The results of the Yomiuri survey should be viewed as an indication of strong popular desire for the prime minister to properly deal with the postquake situation.
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Kan gets poor marks
About 60 percent of respondents said the Kan administration did not deserve praise for its response to the accidents at the Fukushima nuclear complex.
The figure can be perceived as showing the anxiety and frustration felt by those polled about the dire situation of the areas affected by the nuclear crisis. It is still unknown when the government will find a way to resolve the crisis, even as radioactive contamination due to the accidents continues to spread.
The initial response to the Fukushima plant disaster trailed behind events, thus giving rise to a further chain of crises there. Liaison and cooperation among the Prime Minister's Office, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency were no less inadequate in this respect.
Questions can also be raised about the way these institutions have released information regarding the nuclear crisis, as indicated by the delay in disclosing the facts about the situation.
As chief commander of the administration, the prime minister must humbly listen to the voices of the people and hurry to overcome the nuclear crisis, a task that must be complemented by further efforts to put the public's distrust and anxiety to rest.
Meanwhile, the Kan Cabinet's support rate stood at 31 percent, a significant increase of seven points from a similar survey taken in early March. This seems to indicate the cataclysmic earthquake has stemmed the precipitous fall in the Cabinet's popularity rating, which was caused by Kan's loss of the public's trust.
The rise in the support rate should be viewed as an illustration of respondents' belief that they have no choice but to rely on the current Cabinet in this unprecedented situation, given that the nation cannot afford a shift in the premiership or the dissolution of the House of Representatives for a general election.
In the immediate postquake period, daily necessities did not reach survivors, and fuel shortages in stricken areas were serious. Despite a gradual improvement in the situation, quake victims face arduous daily lives. A number of elderly people have died at evacuation shelters.
We hope the government will be even more careful and meticulous about aiding quake victims and rebuilding their lives. It is also necessary to ensure that the large amounts of contributions collected nationwide are used to help quake victims as soon as possible.
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This is a time for unity
It is noteworthy that a solid majority of pollees--64 percent--supported the idea of tying the ruling Democratic Party of Japan with the leading opposition Liberal Democratic Party to form a grand coalition government.
The current situation can be described as a national crisis. We feel many members of the public believe the ruling and opposition parities should unite their efforts to fight the ongoing disaster. With this in mind, the opposition camp must sincerely listen to the voices of the people.
There is a mountain of tasks to be tackled by the government in trying to rehabilitate the stricken areas, including the compilation of a supplementary budget, a possible tax increase and the establishment of special legislation for reconstruction purposes. All these tasks must be smoothly accomplished.
The prime minister should stabilize his administration and try to overcome the current crisis, a task that may require him to form a grand coalition government.
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