Japanese bar associations sent message of support
A message of support has been sent by New Zealand Law Society President Jonathan Temm to Kenji Utsunomiya, President of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
Mr Temm says his thoughts and those of the Law Society and its members go out to the Japan Federation, its members, and to all the people of Japan following the terrible disasters brought about by the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake.
“The colossal scale of the death and destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami, and the fear caused by the nuclear emergency at the Fukushima nuclear power plants, are matched only by the heroism and stoicism of the people of Japan dealing with the aftermath,” Mr Temm says.
“As you will know, New Zealand suffered a smaller, but still devastating blow last month when an earthquake caused major damage to Christchurch, our second-largest city. Among the victims, sadly, were a number of Japanese students studying here. New Zealanders were very grateful for the help given in the immediate aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake by an Urban Search and Rescue team from Japan, and were glad to be able to reciprocate by sending a New Zealand USAR team to Japan after your earthquake and tsunami.
“The New Zealand Law Society very much values our excellent relationship with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Like you, our immediate response to the Christchurch disaster was to establish an earthquake response team. We set up an earthquake helpline and a strong presence on our website at http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/home/earthquake_assistance. We are now moving into the stage of assisting, as best we can, with business recovery of law practices affected by the earthquake. Your situation is very different, with much more widespread and total destruction over affected areas. If, however, any of the resources we have developed and put in place are of any use to you we would be very happy to share them.”
Mr Utsunomiya has responded to the letter. He says that on behalf of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, “I would like to extend our sincere gratitude for your generous concerns over the Tohoku–Pacific Ocean Earthquake which is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Japan”.
“As you may be aware, the entire nation of Japan is striving to ensure the effective operation of rescue and relief work. We at the JFBA are also actively participating in various ways, and in particular will play an important role in upholding the rule of law through providing pro bono legal services for people suffering amid the loss of families, houses, and jobs,” he says.
“Though it was a most devastating earthquake and the subsequent hazardous situation regarding the nuclear power plant still remains, we are confident that the people of Japan will overcome this adversity and bounce back to strongly recover from this unprecedented disaster.”