Recovery efforts are ongoing following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, and the Tohoku region still needs your help.

This year marks eight years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, which saw the northern Tohoku region rocked by a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident on the afternoon of 11 March 2011.

Over 15,000 people perished in the disaster across a number of prefectures, and now, almost a decade later, thousands are still displaced and living in temporary housing. With recovery efforts still ongoing in the affected regions, Japan still needs your help, but the good news is it’s easy to make a donation no matter where you are in the world, as Yahoo! Japan is once again contributing 10 yen for every unique browser search made for “3.11” until midnight tonight, Japan time.

In 2014, when Yahoo! Japan’s 3.11 search initiative first began, support for the initiative exceeded all expectations, with Yahoo! donating a total of 25,683,250 yen (approximately US $216,000) to charitable organisations. Last year, 4,187,511 people searched for 3.11 on the Yahoo! Japan search engine, earning a total of 41,875,110 yen (US$376,876) in funds, which went to six charities working in the disaster regions.

This year, the campaign comes with a touching video, called “Tohoku Taught Me“. People from different walks of life appear in the video, sharing thoughts about what Tohoku taught them, including “The importance of uneventful afternoons”, “The power in helping each other”, “Love”, and “How to live today”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=yffDfumLJAU

For those wanting to contribute more to the cause, Yahoo! Japan has also organised a number of charity auctions which end today, featuring valuable items signed by famous artists, athletes and musicians. And there’s also a special shopping site where you can purchase products and produce directly from people in the affected areas.

Each year, more and more people from around the world are taking part in the 3.11 Yahoo! Japan campaign, so to take part, head to their site here, where you can type in 3.11 and donate.

As time goes on, memories of the disaster may fade, but with so many people doing what they can to help, we will never forget the lives that were lost and the families that were forever changed by 3.11.

Images: PR Times

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