Overview
Since its foundation in 1877, the JRCS has conducted a number of relief operations both at home and abroad pursuing the principle of humanity. Regarding international activities, in particular, the JRCS has co-operated closely with other components of the Red Cross Movement and assisted the victims of countries and regions affected by conflicts and natural disasters. The JRCS also undertakes development cooperation programmes in Asia and the Pacific, in partnership with the National Societies concerned. International humanitarian assistance takes many forms, and the JRCS focuses on medical assistance by dispatching medical teams. Thus, among the 60 JRCS delegates assigned abroad in 2007, approximately half were medical personnel assigned to Red Cross hospitals. The JRCS attaches importance to the training of field personnel and organises basic training courses (BTCs) which must be complete by everyone wishing to become a Red Cross delegate. BTC is to be replaced by International Movement Preparation for ACTion Programme (IMPACT) from 2009, which focuses more on offering practical skills necessary in the fields.

Human Resource Development
The JRCS introduced the “Policy for the International Operations of the Japanese Red Cross Society (FY2009-2013)” in 2008 in order to establish the policy and the strategic policies that guide its international humanitarian work. The policy especially emphasises the rapid response to emergencies in disaster management and health activities especially in Africa.

NHK Helping Hand Campaign
In FY2007, the total amount of international assistance for programmes conducted by the JRCS was about 4.8 billion yen. Voluntary contributions accounted for about 78.1% of this amount and funds raised through the NHK Helping Hand Campaign for 16.2%. This campaign is organised every December, and the contributions the campaign brings in are used exclusively for the JRCS’s relief operations and development cooperation programmes. In addition, a Red Cross Symposium is held every year with a focus on a timely topic, and it is televised by NHK in December during the campaign.

International Disaster Response activities
The JRCS provides humanitarian relief to refugees, victims of war, and survivors of natural and human-generated disasters through the world-wide network of the Red Cross Movement. The Society also works to develop the capacity of vulnerable people to prevent, mitigate, and cope with both sudden and silent onset emergencies that threaten their lives. It ensures that all its activities are consistent with the Fundamental Principles of the Movement, the Principles and Rules of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Disaster Relief, and the Code of Conduct of the International Red Cross and NGOs providing disaster relief.

The JRCS prioritises its assistance according to humanitarian needs and strives to ensure that resources and public awareness are directed towards those most in need. In response to appeals from the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (hereinafter the Federation), the JRCS aims to provide the most effective support in the form of personnel, material, and financial assistance. Its latest major relief operations include aid to victims of earthquakes in Sichuan, China, the cyclone in Myanmar, and HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, the JRCS contributed more than 490 million yen in response to 45 appeals from the ICRC and the Federation.

The JRCS runs 92 Red Cross hospitals nation-wide and has designated five of them as "international medical relief core hospitals" for participating in international disaster response. These core hospitals provide the bulk of the health delegates, such as medical doctors, nurses, and midwives, who are deployed overseas. Also, to provide essential curative, preventive, and community health care for victims of disasters and to contribute further to the overall disaster response capacity of the Federation, the JRCS has basic health care Emergency Response Units (ERU) ready for deployment. These units are built on the experience the JRCS gained by running a mobile clinic during relief operations for earthquake victims in India in early 2001. Currently, over 100 potential delegates have been fully trained for future deployment.

When a major natural disaster strikes, not only does it cause serious loss of life and property, it often takes away or threatens the livelihoods and future of the survivors. As the impacts of recent huge natural disasters such as the tsunamis in Indian Ocean (2004), the earthquake in Pakistan (2005) and the earthquake in Central Java, Indonesia were extremely severe, the victims are still in great need, especially concerning housing and livelihood, health and sanitation, and disaster risk management in the future. If the victims are abandoned in the present conditions, their lives and health will be endangered in the long run.

The JRCS therefore continues its humanitarian activities in the affected areas for the purpose of saving lives, improving the health of victims and preparing for possible future disasters. Specially, the JRCS plans to implement projects regarding housing construction, health and medical care, disaster management and support for children.

Development Cooperation
The Society’s development cooperation is conducted in partnership with sister societies, particularly in the Asia and Pacific region, in promoting activities in Health, Disaster Management and Youth. In 2007 the JRCS provided continued assistance for HIV/AIDS in some Asian countries where the window of opportunity for bringing the HIV/AIDS epidemic under control is narrowing rapidly, as well as long-term support for reducing risks in disaster-prone countries and youth activities in five Asian countries, with funds collected from the Japanese Junior Red Cross Youth members. The JRCS has also conducted projects of promoting first aid and community based health, with technical and financial resources mobilised from the JRCS nation-wide chapters and hospitals.

Since 1983, the NHK International Helping Hand Campaign has been providing the Society with a solid financial base, allowing it to offer substantial long-term development cooperation to a number of National Societies. The chapters of the JRCS have subsequently allocated funds for development co-operation, forming another financial source for the development funding. The Japanese Junior Red Cross members also collect funds for the youth activities in Asian countries. National Societies in 15 countries and 8 regions now enjoy a rewarding partnership with the JRCS, either on a bilateral basis or under the co-ordination of the Federation.

・Health (HIV/AIDS, Community Based Health, Water and Sanitation, First Aid): Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Nepal, Mongolia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Pakistan, Palau, Pacific region, Africa region, etc.
・Disaster Management: Vietnam, Myanmar, China, Bangladesh, Laos, Pakistan, Pacific region, Caribbean region
・Youth: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia, Philippines

The programme has brought help to people in many countries. In Indonesia, an HIV/AIDS project focusing on raising awareness and reducing stigma and discrimination targeting communities and high-risk groups has been undertaken in North Sumatra. In the Philippines, trained community health workers visit each household to offer basic health information, in order to improve the health and living conditions of vulnerable people in North Luzon. The Society deploys nurses and doctors from JRCS hospitals to the Philippines and Indonesia for monitoring the projects as well as gaining field experience on the actual health situation in those countries.

The JRCS has extended its support not only to specific country programmes and projects but also to various regional programmes in the fields of health, disaster management, information/communication, and human resources development in South East Asia, South Asia, East Asia, the Pacific and Africa regions.

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