Cyndi Lauper has been taking an active roles to help the Great East Japan Earthquake victims. She held a press conference at The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on March 12, a day after her visit to the disaster-hit Tohoku region on the first anniversary of devastating 3.11 earthquake. 
She emphasized those victims in northern areas need the financial stability to get the life back on, saying 'Buy things from there. Keep people working. You're gonna buy anyway. Buy from the areas that were hit, where the stores still open. Just keep the money moving so people can recover and get back on their feet.'
She also talked about her own story in Tohoku, 'It was my idea maybe to buy a piano and donate it to the school to keep the guy working and then to get kids into the music so that they grow up with the music.'
People in northern Japan were hit badly by the harmful rumors, called 'Fuhyo higai' (風評被害). People are afraid of buying the products made in the region that could be contaminated with radiation from nuclear plants.
But Cyndi Lauper made a clear point that, 'Those people cannot be isolated and cut off. They could have radiation issues but I don't think you can catch the radiation by shaking somebody's hands or giving them a hug.'
I am sure there are many people out there who want to give them a hand but don't know how. ''Buy things from there so that people get back on their feet!''
Here is an English website, called 'Shop Tohoku' (http://shoptohoku.com/) where you can purchase some products from small business in the region.
There are not many companies that are recovered and fully operated in the region. But there will be more if every one of us make a little contribution to help the people in Tohoku to get their life back on track.
Y★
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