Subject: American Community Security Update for January 4, 
2002

We use this service to provide you the most up-to-date 
safety and security related information we have available.  
We will continue to do so, sending out messages as soon as 
new information becomes available.

In addition to sharing security-related information, we 
will continue to include news and information about our 
American Citizens Services of a more general nature.


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Security Situation
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The security situation in Japan remains the same with no 
new threat information reported from either the American or 
the Japanese side.

The most up-to-date information from the Department of 
State on the worldwide security situation is the October 
23, 2001 Worldwide Caution.  You can read that message at 
http://travel.state.gov/wwc1.html


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Interim Final Rule Regarding the September 11th Victim 
Compensation Fund (Public Comment Period)
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The Department of Justice has published an Interim Final 
Rule regarding Administration of the "September 11th Victim 
Compensation Fund of 2001." The Interim Final Rule sets out 
procedures by which those injured and representatives of 
those killed in the September 11th attacks can apply for 
compensation.

This notice solicits input from interested parties 
regarding how the new compensation program should be 
structured.  Fax and email comments are encouraged as 
specified in the notice below.

Please direct your comments and questions to the Department 
of Justice through the mail, email, phone or FAX numbers 
below.  Please do not send your comments to the Embassy in 
Tokyo.  Please also contact the Department of Justice 
through the mail, email, phone or FAX numbers below with 
any questions.

Applications for benefits must be made directly through the 
Department of Justice; details and forms needed are on 
their website at 
http://www.usdoj.gov/victimcompensationadv_bene.html.

Persons cannot apply for benefits through the American 
Embassy in Tokyo.

Eligible claimants can receive immediate advance benefit 
payments of $50,000 in cases involving death and $25,000 in 
certain cases involving injury. A copy of the Interim Final 
Rule and request for comments, as well as instructions for 
applying for advance benefit payments, can be found on 
DOJ's website http://www.usdoj.gov/ under victims 
compensation.


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The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001
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The United States Congress authorized the creation of a new 
victim compensation program. Under this new program, 
individual victims who suffered physical harm, as a result 
of the September 11th attack or the representatives of 
deceased victims of the September 11th attack, will be 
eligible to apply for compensation for economic loss 
(including loss of earnings, business, employment 
opportunities, and others) and non-economic loss (including 
physical and emotional pain, suffering, physical 
impairment, and others).  A "Special Master" was appointed 
by the U.S. Attorney General to administer the program.

The Civil Division of the Department of Justice, which has 
responsibility for administering this new compensation 
program, drafted the Interim Rule, which was published in 
the Federal Register for comment by January 21, 2002. The 
notice appears at DOJ's website http://WWW.usdoj.gov/.


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INFORMATION
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The interim regulation is in place and will be until 
further notice, although public comment is available for 
only 30 days, until January 21. The notice solicits input 
from interested parties regarding how the new compensation 
program should be structured. Fax and email comments are 
encouraged as specified in the notice.


----- By Mail --------------------
Please write to:

Kenneth L. Zwick
Dir. of Office Management Programs, Civil Division
US Department of Justice
Room 3140, Main Building
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530 USA

----- By Email --------------------
Email comments to victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov

----- By FAX --------------------
FAX comments to 301-519-5956.

----- By Phone --------------------
Contact the Department of Justice at 888-714-3385.

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