Massive 8.9 Earthquake in Japan

By now I'm sure that everyone has heard about the massive earthquake that Japan had last Friday. The quake was 8.9 in magnitude and was centered in Sendai. Even today there are still huge aftershocks going on there. Even worse is the growing worry at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and the radiation leaks.

Here is footage of the tsunami that the earthquake caused. It is not for the faint of heart so please watch at your own will.

I truly pray for the safety and well-being of all of the citizens in Japan right now and to those who have lost so much due to this quake. And to everyone wishing to do something to help there are countless foundations that are taking donations to help the relief effort in Japan. Any small amount makes a huge difference.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund by Global Giving

Salvation Army Donation Site

American Red Cross

Everyone is involved in the relief effort. AKB48 has been very active in the relief effort so far. The have announced that they have opened a bank account to accept donations on behalf of the Japanese Red Cross as well as pledging to donate 500 million yen from themselves and from Akimoto Yassushi as well.

As far as group activities go, it has been announced that various activities and releases have been either pushed back or canceled entirely. The release date for AKB's first original album has been pushed back from its original date of April 6th to an currently unknown date. There five concerts scheduled at Yokohama Arena have also have been canceled due to the quake. The AKB theater has also been closed and there is no word on when it will reopen again.

Hello! Project has also been hit by the quake. Morning Musume's 45th single and C-ute's 6th album have also been pushed back to an unknown release date. The release of Kikkawa Yuu's debut single has also been pushed back. Various fanclub events for Berryz Kobo, C-ute, S/mileage and Kikkawa Yuu have also been canceled with the promise of rescheduling.

Once again I truly wish for the safety of everyone in Japan and I pray for those who have been directly effected by this disaster. I strongly encourage all of you to please consider donating to one of the relief efforts listed above or any others you may find. Anything at all is helpful.