Japan Gives US, Canada $6 Million For Tsunami Cleanup

Japan is giving $6 million to the U.S. and Canadian governments to assist with the tsunami debris cleanup. Some in Washington, D.C. hope it will spur action from the federal government.

The money will be split between the five Pacific states and the government of British Columbia. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski says the money will go to the federal government, which will then dole out the money to the states evenly.

Senator Murkowski says she appreciates and welcomes Japan’s measure of goodwill.  And the amount of money is considerably more than the U.S. has given to its own states.

“It’s taken a year for the debris to show up on U.S. and Canadian shores. We kind of new it was coming. We knew we were going to have to do something with it. And yet we really haven’t seen the assistance come from our government,” Murkowski said.

Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration allocated $250,000 to the five Pacific states for cleanup efforts.

• NOAA Marine Debris Program