Japan announced on Tuesday that they would send blankets for the victims of the successive tornadoes that swept the southern part of the United States. They said that this is their way of repaying the gratitude for the help U.S. gave them when they too suffered from tsunami and earthquake just months ago.

An official from the Japanese embassy said that Japan will give 125,000 US dollars worth of plastic sheets and blankets for the people who were left distraught by the tornadoes. The same calamity killed an average of 350 people. Jim Steinberg, US Deputy Secretary, expresses his appreciation on behalf of the U.S. government.

It has been reported that the US military conducted a 24-hour relief effort after earthquakes and a tsunami struck Japan on March 11. The US forces helped search for bodies, airlifted supplies to places inaccessible by land, and more importantly assisted in the repair of Sendai airport.

Foreign Minister of Japan Takeaki Matsumoto said that the damages the tornado left made him recall the earthquake that struck his country. When he visited Washington on Friday, he told State Secretary Hilary Clinton that Japan is prepared to offer aid to the best of their abilities.

Japan mentioned that the blankets and plastic sheets for the victims of the tornadoes will be shipped from a warehouse in Miami. That is where the Japan International Cooperation Agency keeps their supplies for the aid they usually send to Latin America during disasters.

In response to the calamity which struck Japan, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) launched an online boutique to benefit the victims of the disasters. The online auction is ongoing for a week now and more items are added into the collection.

One of the items added in the auction is the two tickets to a Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, which includes a face to face meet-up with the famous model star Doutzen Kreos. Aside from that, the new roster include two tickets to the fall 2012 Marc Jacobs Fashion Show with a free handbag; the privilege to meet Gwen Stefani at a L.A.M.B. fashion show; and,a chance to meet Anna Dello Russo in a Vogue photoshoot, which will happen in Japan.

CFDA has gathered their friends and designers for the online auction. They originally had 75 major donations before the auction started and now, the committee has added more to the entries. For CFDA, this charity buzz is more personal compared to their other charity fundraisings. That’s because they have close friends and colleagues which they have worked in the fashion industry that are also affected by the calamity.

100 % of the profits will go directly to the victims of Japan through Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.  So far, the biggest sale in the online auction is the “week in Paradise”. The winner gets to stay at Dian Von Furstenberg’s Harbour Island beach house for a week. The sale went up to $16,000. Followed by the two front row tickets to the Rag and Bone’s show which was sold for $6,010.

The auction will end on April 28, 2011.