The 1999 Japan Times Readers' Fund last month distributed 3,724,958 yen to seven organizations, including three new ones, to help finance projects for refugees and children and other non-Japanese in need.
The money was raised during the newspaper's annual yearend fundraising campaign. As in the 16 preceding years, many of our readers and organizations supported the campaign for humanitarian aid.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees received 1 million yen to assist refugees mainly in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. The Refugee Assistance Headquarters of the Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People was given 524,958 yen to fund programs to help the integration of Indochinese refugees in Japan.