Japan Tsunami Appeal

I agree; except I would say do hesitate to donate. Japan is capable of dealing with this situation without the, relatively, minor funds that will be raised through appeals. Many other places in the world are not. Think about where in the world your money will do the most good; in Japan it is unlikely it will actually save lives. In Haiti, as Mr Smyth mentioned, it will. And in many other places too.

I disagree. Japan will rebuild and recover, it is one of the most capable countries of doing so, rebuilding is something they do well. If we are only talking long-term economic aid, I agree - put it elsewhere.

However right now, huge areas of the country are without water, food, electricity or fuel. Access is difficult, districts are yet to be reached. Thousands have already died, but more will die in the next few days and weeks. Water and food-aid, medical supplies, search&rescue and access can save lives.

It's cold there, even blankets help. It might be that they can fix up their infrastructure enough (while dealing with nuclear issues) to get water supplies working again, but the next few days might show that air-drops are needed. I can't imagine that however well prepared they are, humanitarian aid isn't also desperately needed. I don't know what they have and what they need, but it's a critical time, I think even minor assistance can save lives.