Two of Japan’s leading solar companies are to donate ¥600 million to the relief fund for the Sendai earthquake. Mitsubishi Electric and Kyocera will give ¥500 million and ¥100 million respectively to help the victims and the rebuilding process in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami which struck northeastern Japan last Friday.
Mitsubishi is also coordinating a matching gift programme, which will see it match contributions made by its employees worldwide; it also plans to donate products and other goods. Kyocera will also be organising fundraising initiatives to supplement its donation.
The magnitude of the quake has also encouraged philanthropic gestures from several other PV companies, including German firm Mage Solar, which has established a Disaster Relief Fund currently totalling ¥2.8 million, and Constellation Energy, which has donated US$50,000 to the American Red Cross's relief efforts in Japan. Like Mitsubishi, Constellation has also agreed to match all employee donations through its Matching Gifts programme.
The quake, measured at 8.9 on the Richter scale, was Japan’s largest since records began and the death toll currently stands at over 5,000, with thousands more still unaccounted for.