Japan to help pay for tsunami debris cleanup

The Japanese government will help pay for the disposal of debris washing up on Canadian and American shores due to the catastrophic tsunami which hit the country last year, according to press reports from Tokyo.

Japandoes not have to take care of such debris under international law, but in a report on Mondaythe English-language Nikkei newspaper said officialswould announce a plan to provide assistance to the U.S. and Canada later this month.

According to Japan's English-language Kyodo News network, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimara confirmed a strategy for retrieving the debris could be drawn up before the end of September.

Beaches like landfills

Experts estimate more than 1.5 million tonnes of debris were swept out to sea when the tsunami struckon March 11, 2011.

The Kuroshio ocean current runs from Japan's east coast to North America, passing Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii, where beaches havebegun to resemble landfill sites because of the volume of debris washing up.

While mostof this debris consists of smaller items, including a motorcyclewhichvolunteers are attempting to reunite with its Japanese owner, larger debris is already costing authorities millions of dollars to dispose of.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Coast Guard decided tosink an unmanned Japanese fishing boatafter it appeared in March, floating about 275 kilometres off the coast of Haida Gwaii.

And in June, a 20-metre-long dock that had torn loose from a fishing portin northern Japan washed up on a beach in Oregon.

According to the Nikkei, Japan sees helping to pay for the cleanupas a "way of expressing appreciation for the outpouring of support following the disaster."