For those who have cut the Red Cross checks to aid victims of the earthquake in Japan, that warm assurance that they’ve done something to help out may be premature.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Japan’s Red Cross has yet to distribute any of the more than $1 billion it’s collected for victim relief. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary has asked for the process to speed up.

The Red Cross faced similar scrutiny in January when it was revealed that the organization had yet to distribute funds collected for victims of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake.

The organization has dispatched emergency workers to the disaster zone but has yet to hand out any financial support to victims.

The president of the Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster said the Red Cross is acting slowly because it has”a policy of equity and places a high value on equality, and it takes times to assess damages.”

Red Cross aid hasn’t reached Japan quake victims [Los Angeles Times via Fark]

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