Google Launches Japan Earthquake Person Finder To Help Find Missing People

In the aftermath of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan Friday, Google has launched a Japanese-language Person Finder tool to help victims and families locate one another.

The Person Finder lets people enter an inquiry about a missing person or provide information for interested parties. A similar tool was launched after a large quake struck Chile in February 2010.

By 9 a.m. EST on Friday, the AP had reported that 60 are dead and 56 are missing in Japan as a result of the massive quake and the tsunami that followed. At that time, Google's Person Finder was tracking an estimated 5,500 records.

Google announced the Person Finder tool on Twitter. "Google Person Finder available after earthquake in Japan to help you get information about loved ones," read a tweet from the official Google account.

Visit the Person Finder Tool: 2011 Japan Earthquake page to view the Google service. For the latest updates about Japan, visit our live blog.

Comments

[samuel armijo]

01:48 PM on 03/15/2011

I am from Colorado - USA. About 36 years ago, around 1974-75, I had an unforgettable and very special roommate during a school year in Xalapa, Veracruz - Mexico. His name is Tamio Koshino.
My friend Tamio and his girlfriend Miwako lived in Mexico for a short while, perhaps just 6 to 9 months. Tamio speaks Spanish and he is from Tokyo. Miwako is an illustrator and draws characters. Tamio would now be somewhere between the ages of 57 and 62. My family is very worried and concerned about his safety. If anyone reads this and knows my friend Tamio Koshino and his fiancee Miwako = please contact me at: [e-mail]
Thank you

[sosjapan]

06:12 PM on 03/13/2011

http://sosjapan.org/ has been setup to help the people of Japan find missing family and friends following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami natural disaster.

sosjapan.org allows those who have lost contact with friends, family and colleagues to file a missing persons report.

Let those affected know about SOSJapan.org

[MilesLong]

03:20 PM on 03/12/2011

I hope there's nothing so crass as advertising on the site...

Miles "Altruism, Not Commerce" Long

[BlueZoo]

12:15 PM on 03/12/2011

I heard an American Mother on CNN who has a son in Japan say they never used Facebook but now she wishes they had. The social networking sites can be used for things other than reporting the minutia of your life! Google's launch of Person Finder is a great step in the right direction for those who have loved ones in this tragedy.

[Siren Song]

07:34 AM on 03/12/2011

Bless you, Google.

[Tony Zebrowski]

01:13 PM on 03/11/2011

don't visit don't clog up bandwidth for people trying to actually find people.

[Eric Schilling]

11:00 AM on 03/11/2011

Eric Schmidt for Commerce Secretary!