Entertainment Mar. 23, 2011 - 03:35PM JST ( 4 )

NAHA —

Popular Japanese actress Saki Aibu, 25, and comedian Yuichi Kimura, 48, gathered together with other celebrities at the Okinawa International Movie Festival this week to send a message of encouragement to the quake-stricken Tohoku region.

The film festival, which started on March 18 and is being held for the third consecutive year, added the word “Yell” to its logo of “Laugh & Peace,” in an initiative to bring more smiles and laughter to the survivors of the March 11 earthquake.

The festival’s opening ceremony began with one minute silence in remembrance of the over 9,000 people who lost their lives.

Stars from Japan’s top comedian entertainment company, Yoshimoto Kogyo, walked the red carpet in original T-shirts with the words “We can do something” printed on them.

Aibu, who was five during the 1995 Kobe earthquake, stars in the Japanese movie “FLY!” She also does the Japanese dubbing for the Chinese film “Aftershock,” which depicts one family’s tragedy following the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake. Due to the current events in Japan, however, its screening was canceled.

“For the sake of the devastated areas and all people who lost their homes and families, we need to move on step by step and help them along,” Aibu said.

Actress Satomi Ishihara, 24, also present during the event, said she will do her best for everyone in northeastern Japan and urged people to keep believing that better days will come.

The festival lasts until March 27.

Compiled from news reports