Japan Decides to Disburse $4Mln to Migrants in Lebanon, Balkans

Japan has pledged 480 million yen ($4 million) in financial assistance to nations on the frontline of the surging migrant flows in Europe and the Middle East, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Friday.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Half of the funds will be used to support Lebanon on the border with Syria, where a four-year war displaced millions.

The rest of the sum will be allocated to Serbia, Macedonia and countries that saw thousands of asylum seekers pour through their borders on the way to more affluent EU states. Assistance to the Balkan states will be dispensed through UN agencies and the Red Cross.

All funds are donated as part of an emergency action and will not be refunded, the ministry stressed.

Over 4 million refugees have fled war in Syria to neighboring countries, such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, according to US-based nonprofit organization Human Rights First. Thousands of Syrians travel to the European Union in search of safety.