YOSHIKI Donates 10 Million Yen To Red Cross To Support Victims Of The Taiwan Earthquake
April 15, 2024, 8 months ago
Yoshiki has donated 10 million yen to the Taiwanese Red Cross organization through his 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Yoshiki Foundation America, to support victims of the Taiwan earthquake that occurred on April 3rd. The donation was made to the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China.
Yoshiki said, "I have performed many concerts in Taiwan. My heart hurts when I think about the feelings of all the fans and the victims of the disaster. I would like to express my deepest sympathies to everyone affected by this disaster. I pray that peaceful days will return as soon as possible."
In January of this year, Yoshiki donated 10 million yen in support of the Japanese earthquake victims, and also put his beloved crystal piano up for charity auction, donating the winning bid of 40 million yen to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Yoshiki's donation continues the acclaimed musician's humanitarian work, which includes charitable support for numerous international emergencies, such as $100,000 in disaster relief for Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas in 2017 and $100,000 to combat wildfires in the Amazon rainforest in 2019. In 2020, he donated $100,000 to the Australian Red Cross and the Rainforest Trust’s Conservation Action Fund to aid bushfire victims.
Yoshiki has provided support to areas affected by earthquakes and other disasters many times, and in 1995, after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, he donated pianos to elementary and junior high schools in the affected areas. In 2009, he donated musical instruments and a music room to the area affected by the Sichuan earthquake in China and invited children orphaned by the earthquake to a concert held by X Japan.
He provided continuous support after the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. Immediately after the disaster, he donated a total of more than 13 million yen, including the proceeds from the auction of his crystal piano. In 2015, he donated more than 28 million yen in proceeds from X Japan's recovery-from-earthquake concert, and in 2016, he donated more than 6 million yen in proceeds from the auction of his drum set. In addition, a donation of 10 million yen was also made after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, the 2018 Hokkaido Iburi East earthquake, and the 2019 Typhoons number 15 and number 19 respectively. In 2020, he donated 10 million yen to the Japanese Red Cross Society to support the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, nine years after the disaster.
In 2021, Yoshiki established an annual grant of $100,000 for MusiCares, a partner of the Recording Academy, to help music creators and industry professionals affected by mental health concerns. Previously, YOSHIKI donated $100,000 to MusiCares to help music professionals affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Between 2022 and 2023, he donated a total of 30 million yen to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the growing number of displaced persons in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
Yoshiki is internationally recognized for his long-term philanthropic activities and has donated over 2 million dollars to charity through Yoshiki Foundation America. For his prolific philanthropic endeavors, he was chosen by Forbes as one of "Asia’s Top 30 Heroes of Philanthropy" in 2019 and received a Medal of Honor from the Japanese Government in 2021 for his support of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine and ongoing charitable works.
(Images courtesy of Yoshiki)