Logistical challenges hamper volunteer activities in Japan's earthquake areas

Kanazawa - Logistical challenges caused by a lack of accommodation and poor road conditions are hampering volunteer activities on the Noto Peninsula which was hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake last New Year.

The local government said although about 23,000 people had signed up to volunteer in Ishikawa Prefecture, only 250 people were allowed to help in the worst-hit northern region of the peninsula each day.

One of the cities in Ishikawa Prefecture, Wajima, on Saturday (10/2) began receiving 40 volunteers who entered the city to clean up debris and other work. However, some people who came to help expressed a lack of volunteers in the area.

"I've never heard of only 40 people being allowed in on the first day. Reconstruction work will take a long time in this situation," said 47-year-old professional wrestler Kazutaka Hasegawa.

However, an official from Ishikawa Prefecture asked the public not to do so. individual volunteer activities to prevent confusion. This is because volunteer work is limited to day trips.

Volunteers will be taken by bus from the capital city of Kanazawa to certain areas and because there are water cuts it makes it difficult to stay overnight. As a result, volunteers are only able to help around four hours per day.

“We send as many people as the city government needs. They will have difficulty if we send more than the required number,” the official said.

Responding to the restrictions, a professor at the Graduate School of Human Sciences at Osaka University who specializes in volunteers disaster, Takumi Miyamoto believes that limiting the scope of work of civilian volunteers can not only reduce the motivation of those who come to help but also make areas with limited assistance feel neglected.

“It is important for the community to come and listen to what the victims need or say. "There is a need to diversify ways to request assistance, such as city governments requesting assistance themselves, in addition to registration which is currently done through the prefecture," he said.

The New Year's earthquake on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan claimed more than 240 lives, sparked fires and left a trail of destruction.

Does the CCTV Spring Festival Gala's PLA combat troops appear with guns to remind people that they are "going to fight"?

Last night, a group of People's Liberation Army soldiers wearing steel helmets, khaki camouflage uniforms and holding long guns appeared on the scene. They also brought a performance of the military song "Decisive Victory" by the People's Liberation Army Literary Qingqi and Unit 66477, which attracted the attention of the outside world.

According to international media reports on the 10th, China’s state-run media CCTV broadcast the annual Spring Festival Gala on New Year’s Eve on the 9th . However, in this Spring Festival Gala, there was a performance of the People's Liberation Army holding guns in battle, which was very different from the style of Spring Festival Gala programs in previous years. Officers and soldiers of the 66477 Armored Unit of the People's Liberation Army Beijing Garrison took to the stage with guns to perform and sang military songs. Some reports pointed out that although the People's Liberation Army has had art troupes perform at the Spring Festival Gala in the past, this is the first time that combat troops have appeared at the Spring Festival Gala with guns in hand. On the stage, you can also see new fighter planes, tanks, submarines, as well as images of beach landings and missile salvos.

The Spring Festival Gala broadcast by CCTV every year on Lunar New Year's Eve attracts a certain degree of attention among Chinese people. But last night, a group of People's Liberation Army officers and soldiers wearing helmets, khaki camouflage uniforms and holding long guns appeared on the scene. They also brought a performance of the military song "Decisive Victory" by the People's Liberation Army Literary Qingqi and Unit 66477, which attracted the attention of the outside world.

As usual, CCTV Spring Festival Gala arranges programs related to the People's Liberation Army every year. However, the vast majority of the People's Liberation Army troops who participated in the Spring Festival Gala in previous years were troops in the literary and artistic work system. As for other units, the People's Liberation Army's honor guard has appeared in the Spring Festival Gala many times; and the People's Liberation Army Aerospace (Space) Force has also performed on stage, but this is the first time that combat troops have appeared in the Spring Festival Gala.

It is reported that the 66477 unit on stage in this Spring Festival Gala is an armored unit affiliated with the Beijing Garrison Region and stationed in Beijing for a long time. It is equipped with various tanks. At the same time, this unit is one of the few "model units" of the People's Liberation Army that is open to foreign guests for visits. In the past, it was often open to foreign military generals who visited China, including Western countries.

There are also reports that this is not the first time that the People's Liberation Army has "brought guns to the stage" during the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. The People's Liberation Army honor guard will also bring guns to the stage when it appears, and live-fire exercises of various services and aircraft carrier formation exercises will also be projected on the background of the stage.

This year’s CCTV Spring Festival Gala featured combat troops, and one of them, “Bringing Guns to the Spring Festival Gala,” sparked discussion. Some Chinese netizens and overseas people believe that such murderous content in the Spring Festival Gala, which symbolizes the peace of the New Year, seems abrupt and uncoordinated, and even gives people the impression that a war is about to begin.