ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) and the ITOCHU Foundation (located in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Eizo Kobayashi, Chairman) announced today the commencement of joint activities with our shareholders to support the development of the next generation from fiscal 2012.

Objective

Our shareholders have always shown a strong interest in ITOCHU’s social contribution activities and after the Great East Japan Earthquake the company received requests to actually participate. In response to this, we are commencing a support program together with our shareholders to promote the “development of the next generation”, which is one of the basic policies of the company’s social contribution activities.

Outline of “100 Children’s Books Subsidy” project implemented with our shareholders

Specifically, this is an initiative to switch from sending out the notice of the ordinary general meeting of shareholders and other printed matter by post to e-mail for those shareholders who have agreed to receive information for shareholders electronically, and to donate the cost savings in paper and postage to the ITOCHU Foundation’s “100 Children’s Books Subsidy” project. ITOCHU will also participate by donating the same amount to be saved. In fiscal 2012, the first year of the initiative, it is planned to give this donation to volunteer groups operating in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Also, in conjunction with this joint initiative with our shareholders, it is planned to create a joint stakeholder “100 Children’s Books Subsidy” support scheme in future by appealing for wider support from employees, group companies, and alumni.

Profile of ITOCHU Foundation

ITOCHU established the ITOCHU Foundation in 1974 to encourage the sound development of youth, and for the past 38 years it has been engaged in a variety of activities. The subsidies for the development of children’s literature collections, one of its key projects, began in fiscal 1975 and up to fiscal 2011 has granted 1,640 subsidies in Japan and overseas. The “100 Children’s Books Subsidy” commenced in fiscal 2002 as a project to support the promotion of reading among children by donating sets of 100 children’s books selected by the ITOCHU Foundation, with around 40 sets per year being donated to organizations nationwide that are engaged in volunteer “reading aloud” activities.
In fiscal 2011, following the Great East Japan Earthquake, we visited groups in the disaster area that had received books subsidies in the past, chose six locations in three prefectures of Tohoku (Otsuchi, Ofunato, Rikuzentakata, Onagawa, Yamamoto, Koriyama), and conducted support activities such as opening a picture-book library in Onagawa. Our support activities centering on these six locations are ongoing, and include the “bookmark project,” a proposal from a new employee of the company that involves inserting bookmarks in the children’s books containing messages of support to the disaster area and delivering them to children in the three prefectures.

With the understanding and cooperation of many of our shareholders, ITOCHU, our shareholders, and the ITOCHU Foundation will act in unison to promote social contribution activities.

About ITOCHU Foundation

Company name	ITOCHU Foundation
Representative	Eizo Kobayashi, Chairman
Address	Kita-Aoyama 2-5-1, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Date established	September 1974
Main business	Subsidizing the development of children’s literature collections and promoting the development of e-book library, etc.
URL	http://www.itc-zaidan.or.jp/