Japanese music and fashion icon Yoshiki, is spearheading the Japan Relief Fundraising Auction (JRFA), a major celebrity auction to benefit the survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The JRFA is in conjunction with Yahoo! Japan, and is the company's first worldwide auction. Yahoo! Japan will have an internationally accessible web page with translations in English, Korean, Chinese, and also, through j-Grab, Russian, Italian and French.
The Foundation has also reached out to celebrities to donate auction items. To date, the Foundation has received items from Marilyn Manson, Anthony Kiedis, Stan Lee, and through members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, donations from Rob Pattinson, James Franco and Reese Witherspoon, and others. In addition,Yoshiki, leader of X Japan, the multi-Platinum Japanese rock band, is donating his beloved "crystal" piano, a see-through Plexiglas Kawai grand. The auction for Yoshiki's "crystal" piano runs in Japan from April 17 until April 24 through Yahoo! Japan in conjunction with Yoshiki Foundation America Japanese Relief Fundraising Auction ( http://bit.ly/ffEkFA ) or through the Yoshiki Foundation America Auction Page ( http://www.yoshikifoundation.org/?page_id=1252 ). Additional celebrity auction items will be added each week.
Yoshiki, who now lives in Los Angeles, was in Tokyo recording a new X Japan album when the recent 9.0 earthquake struck. The quake and resulting tsunami have killed more than 12,000 people, injured and displaced tens of thousands more, damaged nuclear power plants and destroyed homes, marine life and critical infrastructure. After witnessing the devastation first-hand, Yoshiki decided to devote himself to the relief effort. Since then, he has taken an active role in reaching out to celebrities, dignitaries, and the media who can help make a difference. Yoshiki is also partnering with other organizations involved in Japan's recovery.
"The situation in northeastern Japan is desperate and the need is tremendous," said Yoshiki. "Not only have thousands lost their loved ones, homes and jobs, but entire neighborhoods and towns have been swept away. More recently, thousands more have had to evacuate their homes because of radiation from damaged power plants. We can't turn our backs at such a desperate time."
In addition to the auction, Yoshiki Foundation America has been actively soliciting contributions through its website. The organization has also partnered with The Japan America Society of Southern California, which recently announced it had raised a million dollars for earthquake and tsunami relief.
The JRFA, organized by the Yoshiki Foundation America in association with Yahoo! Japan, will benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society's earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.
History of Yoshiki Foundation America
Yoshiki Foundation America is a California non-profit, public benefit, 501(c) Corporation founded in 2010 by Japanese musician Yoshiki of the multi-million-selling rock band X Japan. A number of personal experiences brought Yoshiki to the launch of his Foundation beginning with the loss of his own father when he was just a teenager. Like so many people around the world, he read news accounts and was deeply moved by the devastating effects of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe; in 2009, he paid an emotional visit to an orphanage in Sichuan, still reeling in its recovery, with so many children still displaced and orphaned. Additionally, and as a tribute to Yoshiki's late X Japan band mate Hide, who embraced the support of children with bone marrow disease, the Yoshiki Foundation provides funds to offer assistance through music to children with this debilitating illness. The Foundation, which has supported such causes as St. Vincent's Meals on Wheels, Make-a-Wish Foundation, and the Grammy Foundation will, for the foreseeable future, be 100% dedicated to assisting in the relief efforts of Japan.