Ichiro, M's latest donors in outpouring of help for Japan

Donations from Seattle are pouring in to help Japan, from individual checks and company contributions to fundraising by online campaigns and sports teams, including the Seattle Mariners and Ichiro Suzuki.

Northwest aid organizations have sent teams to the disaster area, and community groups have been spreading the word to help raise money through their networks.

American donors have raised about $105 million for relief efforts so far, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

But among those good intentions, one question arose this week in philanthropy circles: Does the country actually need all this aid?

Some groups are using emotional appeals to raise money for their organizations without operations on the ground in Japan or plans for how it will be spent.

"The quickest and most reliable way to see if people you're trying to help need money is to see if they are asking for it," said Holden Karnofsky, co-founder of GiveWell, a site that advises donors on effective philanthropy.

So far, Japan has requested only limited outside help, he said.

But others watching the crisis deepen said any aid is welcome.

Kenichi Uchikura, founder and chairman of Pacific Software Publishing in Bellevue, has been in Japan all week. He dismissed the suggestion that the country doesn't want or need outside help.

"That is so ignorant," he said. In the face of widespread devastation, "there is no such thing as too much money."

Japan's government broadcaster NHK has been running appeals for earthquake-relief donations continuously.

"They need lots of help," Uchikura said. "They are happy to see any help."

At the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle, Consul General Kiyokazu Ota said reports about Japan declining aid "are not based on the facts."

"Japanese Red Cross Society does appreciate all the benevolent offers offered to them," he said. "As to what type of donations are helpful, however, only cash donations are much appreciated at this moment."

That's because there's no infrastructure set up yet to handle shipments of noncash aid, he said.

The consulate posted a message on its website Wednesday with links to the Japanese Red Cross Society and the American Red Cross.

It also gave instructions for how to designate donations directly to the victims.

Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki said he is donating about $1.25 million to the Japanese Red Cross. The Mariners will dedicate proceeds from the first six games played in Seattle this season to Japan relief, matching employee and fan contributions with a guarantee of $100,000.

More than 40 companies have donated at least $1 million or more, including Boeing, Microsoft and Starbucks.

After spreading the word on its website, Bellevue's Pacific Software said it helped raise more than $50,000 for the American Red Cross Japan earthquake fund and matched it with $20,000 more.

Even more than money, said Uchikura, people facing Japan's worst crisis in recent memory "need to know people around the world are watching and caring too. People like to hear that they are not alone."

Kristi Heim: 206-464-2718 or kheim@seattletimes.com