"Donations from Seattle are pouring in to help Japan, from individual checks and company contributions to fundraising by online campaigns and sports teams, including the Seattle Mariners and Ichiro Suzuki.

Northwest aid organizations have sent teams to the disaster area, and community groups have been spreading the word to help raise money through their networks.

American donors have raised about $105 million for relief efforts so far, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

But among those good intentions, one question arose this week in philanthropy circles: Does the country actually need all this aid?

Some groups are using emotional appeals to raise money for their organizations without operations on the ground in Japan or plans for how it will be spent.

"The quickest and most reliable way to see if people you're trying to help need money is to see if they are asking for it," said Holden Karnofsky, co-founder of GiveWell, a site that advises donors on effective philanthropy.

So far, Japan has requested only limited outside help, he said.

But others watching the crisis deepen said any aid is welcome.

Kenichi Uchikura, founder and chairman of Pacific Software Publishing in Bellevue, has been in Japan all week. He dismissed the suggestion that the country doesn't want or need outside help.

"That is so ignorant," he said. In the face of widespread devastation, "there is no such thing as too much money."

Japan's government broadcaster NHK has been running appeals for earthquake-relief donations continuously."