Alaska's Governor and the state's senior Senator responded to the announcement from Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda that his government will contribute funds for the clean-up of debris that resulted from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011.

Japan’s cabinet Office told the AFP that , “Although Japan is not obliged to retrieve debris on western coasts of the Pacific, we can’t say we will do nothing about it as we received enormous support from the United States and other countries after the disaster.” It was announced that Japan will contribute $6 million to the U.S. and another additional $1 million to Canada for clean-up efforts for the tons of ocean-going debris washing up on Pacific shores.

Debris from the disaster began washing up on Pacific Coast shores early this summer. Much more is expected on the Pacific coast of North America in the coming months.

Alaska’s Governor, Sean Parnell welcomed the news of clean-up monies. “The people of Alaska appreciate this expression of goodwill,” the Governor said. “This will help in the ongoing efforts to remove and dispose of debris that reaches Alaska’s coasts.”

Governor Parnell signed an Administrative Order in July in response to the debris on ALaska’s shores. The Department of Environmental Conservation is leading the state task force.

“Private cleanup crews working on the outer beaches of the Kenai Peninsula and on islands in the Gulf of Alaska this summer reported a marked increase in the amount of marine debris they found on certain beaches compared to previous years,” according to DEC Commissioner Larry Hartig. “The type of debris they found is consistent with much of it having originated from the March 2011 tsunami. An aerial survey contracted for by DEC, and which is still being evaluated, supports these observations.”

Alaska’s senior Senator, Lisa Murkowski, who convened a tsunami debris risk roundtable in January 2012 and has been outspoken about the threat posed to Alaska’s shoreline, had the following response to the news from Japan, “Countries on both sides of the Pacific are sharing the worries and risks connected to the Fukishima earthquake and tsunami, so I thank the Japanese government and the Japanese people for stepping up to be part of the solution. I hope this spurs on discussions and plans on the international, federal, state and local level to address this looming issue not just for Alaska – where we have more coastline miles than the rest of the country, combined – but for the four other states who are dealing with this threat. On behalf of the Alaskans who will benefit from this gesture, I say ‘Domo Arigato.’”

The devastating tsunami that followed the quake that occurred off of the coast of Japan killed approximately 19,000 people.