The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that a Japanese woman residing in Mississippi died in Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and other places in the Gulf area last month, officials said Tuesday.
It is the first confirmed death of a Japanese in the hurricane.
According to the officials, the woman was identified as Chieko Imazu (Hilber), 75, from Nagoya. She had been living in the U.S. a long time after marrying an American.
The ministry officials said Imazu and her husband were found dead inside their seaside house. They appeared to have drowned.
A coroner in Mississippi discovered a surgical scar on the woman's body that matched Imazu's medical records.
Her relatives flew to the U.S. and identified her Saturday.
Fund for Japanese
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) A group of Japanese nationals in Louisiana has set up a fund to help Japanese living in the area who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, its organizer said Monday.
"We've established the fund because we've received donation offers but there was no window to receive them," said Yoshinori Kamo, an associate sociology professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge who is heading the drive.
About 350 Japanese in the New Orleans area and about 100 more in Mississippi were affected by the storm, including some who lost homes and jobs, according to the Foreign Ministry.