May 20 - Ann recently showed me a website created by the actor Ken Watanabe called kizuna311. He posted a message there in fluent English about how shocked he was to hear the news of the earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan. He was wondering what he could do to help.

Mr. Watanabe explained that his friends in the entertainment industry both in Japan and the United States began sending him messages of condolence and encouragement. That was when he realized that these ties of friendship were great assets. He decided to create a website where his friends could post messages of solidarity and encouragement.

This is a bilingual site. On the Japanese side many famous Japanese entertainers read poems or have posted artwork. There is also a link to videos posted by many Hollywood actors who wanted to convey their message to Japan.

I hope you will visit this site to see for yourself the large number of friends who have sent messages of encouragement to their friends in the Tohoku region of Japan.

Until next time,

Jim