Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and his wife on Thursday morning visited the Japanese Embassy where they signed a book of condolence opened there following last Friday's earthquake and tsunami disaster in that country.
Josipovic wrote in the book, among other things, that Croatians "admire the dignified behaviour, solidarity and courage of Japanese citizens."
He also expressed confidence that "Japan's strength, perseverance, competence and determination will lead to a fast recovery."
The Japanese Embassy on Wednesday issued a statement saying that it was deeply touched by expressions of sympathy coming from Croatian citizens after the recent natural disasters in Japan, as well as by the support to the residents of the affected areas.
Last Friday's earthquake, measuring nine degrees on the Richter scale, caused large-scale destruction in the Tohoku region in the northeast. An ensuing tsunami caused huge damage to the already hit areas, particularly in the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.
The death toll continues to rise and is expected to exceed 10,000. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without their homes and property. The current priority of the Japanese government is preventing a nuclear threat and radiation coming from the Fukushima nuclear power plant that was damaged in the earthquake, the embassy said.
In the period from 16 to 23 March, members of the public will be able to sign the book of condolence at the Japanese Embassy between 9 am and 5 pm every day, except on Saturdays and Sundays.
