04-08-2025
Library completed in Turkey's quake-hit area with donations from Japan
A library has been completed in a Turkish area hit hard by twin major earthquakes in February 2023. It was constructed using donations from Japan.
About 50 people attended a ceremony in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Sunday to celebrate the completion. The participants included Japanese Ambassador to Turkey Katsumata Takahiko.
They used a teleconference system to communicate with people at the library, which was built on the premises of a high school in the southern province of Hatay.
The library has roughly 1,200 books. It is expected to help quake-affected children further their studies.
The facility was constructed using more than 4.47 million yen, or around 30,000 dollars, in donations raised in a collection drive launched across Japan's southwestern region of Kyushu right after the quakes.
The campaign was organized by a group represented by Murat Ensici, a Turkish resident of Fukuoka Prefecture in the region. He said he is grateful to many people for making the donations warm-heartedly.
The quakes claimed the lives of more than 53,000 people in Turkey and about 6,000 in neighboring Syria.
