Ikuo Hirayama, president of the Japan-China Friendship Association, on Tuesday in Tokyo called on Japanese people to give aid to China in its battle against SARS.

Hirayama himself donated one million Japanese yen (8,563 US dollars), and other members of the association followed suit.

The association's spokesperson said their first batch of medical materials, including 6,000 surgical masks and 3,000 exposure suits, would be sent to the Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital.

"The donation from President Hirayama and other Japanese friends demonstrates general Japanese public's friendly feelings towards the Chinese people, and displays to the world the two nations' long-standing friendship and cooperation," said a spokesperson of the China-Japan Friendship Association.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2003)