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AKB48 Members, Ultraman Foundation Visit Quake Area

On September 16, three members of Japanese pop group AKB48 and the Ultraman Foundation appeared at the Moriokashi City prefectural office in Iwate Prefecture. The northeastern prefecture was one of the areas hit hardest by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

At Friday's ceremony, AKB48 members Ayaka Umeda, Sumire Satō, and Haruka Shimada joined The Ultraman Foundation to donate 20,000,000 yen (about US$260,000) and two microbuses. The microbuses have AKB48 and Ultraman themes, seat 26 passengers, and will be used as school buses. The donations will benefit the area's children still recovering from the earthquake and tsunami.

The Ultraman Foundation was founded to aid children affected by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai) disaster. It has held various events and raised funds for the affected children. At last month's Comic Market in Tokyo, visitors could purchase the Ultraman Begins 2011 Aratana Tatakai no Hajimari dōjinshi manga by donating at least 500 yen (about US$6) to The Ultraman Foundation.

Sources: Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun