South Korean religious groups are stepping up relief efforts to assist Japan in recovering from last Friday’s powerful earthquake and tsunami.

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism sent a group of five volunteer workers to the city of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture on Friday. The group is discussing with local relief groups ways to provide continuous assistance in relief activities in the quake-hit regions.

“Good People,” a Christian nongovernmental organization, also sent a group of relief workers which delivered 25-thousand dollars worth of relief supplies, including food, to quake victims in the cities of Osaki and Furukawa in Miyagi Prefecture. The cities are located some 40 kilometers north from Sendai.

The Christian Council of Korea plans to set up an emergency countermeasures headquarters in Sendai and send relief supplies to Fukushima around next week.