Social Contribution Topics 2019
December
ITOCHU Presents the Okinawa Prefectural Office with a Donation to Support the Restoration and Reconstruction of the Fire-damaged Shuri Castle in Okinawa Prefecture
ITOCHU donated 3 million yen to Okinawa Prefecture to support the restoration and reconstruction of the damage to Shuri Castle caused by a fire on the dawn of October 31 (Thu).
Takei, General Manager of Kyushu Branch, said the following at the start of the donation certificate presentation ceremony on December 13 (Fri): “Shuri Castle supports the hearts of everyone in Okinawa. It is not possible to express in words the sadness of everyone in Okinawa at losing this important asset that tells the history of the prefecture. I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone. We make this donation to the rebuilding of Shuri Castle with the hope that it will be even just a little help.” After that, he presented the donation certificate to Kakazu, General Manager of the Okinawa Prefecture Commerce, Industry and Labor Department. Kakazu conveyed the intention to use this donation in the early restoration and reconstruction of Shuri Castle. He also expressed his gratitude for the donation.
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November
ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE Holds "Chubei Itoh × Shiga – Visiting the Founding Place"
ITOCHU held "Chubei Itoh × Shiga – Visiting the Founding Place" to line up with the anniversary of the establishment of ITOCHU and the Icho Festival from November 12 (Tue) to December 1 (Sun). This was an updated event to introduce Ohmi where ITOCHU was founded.
This exhibition introduced the history of Shiga Prefecture where ITOCHU was founded, buildings such as the Chubei Itoh Memorial Museum and scenery of the four seasons through videos and panels with the full cooperation of Shiga Prefecture. We sold special products of Shiga Prefecture and provided tea from Shiga Prefecture in the café. Goshi Hosono, a member of the House of Representatives from Shiga Prefecture, visited on November 29 (Fri). We plan to again update and hold this event for a limited time next year.
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26 Employees from the Chubu Branch Cleanup around the Building
The Chubu Branch cleans up around the branch building once a year as a part of its activities to contribute to society.
The branch cleaned up this year during the lunch break on November 19 (Tue) while, despite being sunny, the north wind was strong. A total of 26 people participated: 24 Chubu Branch employees from Imai, General Manager of the branch, on down and two employees from the CISS group company. The members divided into four teams to collect garbage around the building. The streets of Nagoya seem to be gradually getting cleaner. The amount of garbage collected was less than usual. The Chubu Branch will continue to work to be able to contribute to the creation of beautiful and cheerful streets in Nagoya.
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October
16 Employees of ITOCHU Hokuriku Office and Others Participate in the Hohoemi Sports Festa Kanazawa
The 28th Hohoemi Sports Festa Kanazawa was held in the Kanazawa City General Gymnasium on October 20 (Sun). This is a sports day for people with disabilities. A total of 16 employees of ITOCHU Hokuriku Office, employees of group companies based in Kanazawa and members of their families participated. They volunteered to help with the progress of the event. Approximately 250 people with disabilities participated in this event together with a total of approximately 100 volunteers to make it a great success. We also received many sponsorship products from our business partners in the Food Section of Hokuriku Office. These delighted the participants as prizes for the event.
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August
ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE Held "Sugoroku Journey – The Road of Chubei Itoh and "Sampo-yoshi" Opening Ceremony
On Tuesday, August 20, the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Sugoroku Journey – The Road of Chubei Itoh and "Sampo-yoshi" was held at ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE to introduce the history of ITOCHU Corporation from its founding to the present. The exhibition is free of charge and is available in Japanese, English and Chinese, so visitors from Japan and overseas as well as members of the ITOCHU Group can see "Sampo yoshi" and the history of ITOCHU. The museum was renovated and closed at the end of September, and will reopen from Tuesday, November 12 to Sunday, December 1 as Ver. 2.0 "Chubei Itoh × Shiga – Visiting the Founding Place".
http://www.itochu-artsquare.jp/permanent/en/
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July
ITOCHU Holds the 2nd Green Turtle Protection Tour on Chichijima in the Ogasawara Archipelago
ITOCHU has been supporting the conservation activities of endangered green turtles through Everlasting Nature (ELNA) since FYE2017. We do this to conserve biodiversity as part of environmental conservation – part of our Basic Activity Guidelines on Social Contribution. We held the Green Turtle Protection Tour from July 23 (Tue) to 28 (Sun) for the second time following on from last year. The tour took place on Chichijima in the Ogasawara Archipelago. This island is home to the largest breeding ground for green turtles in Japan. The purpose of the tour was to deepen understanding of this conservation activity. A total of 10 ITOCHU employees and members of their families participated in this tour. They took part in a sea turtle workshop at the Ogasawara Marine Center run by ELNA. They also fed sea turtles, polished their shells, observed nighttime spawning and released juvenile turtles. Biodiversity conservation is an effort that also contributes to the achievement of the E (environment) in ESG and SDGs.
*Click here for the website of Everlasting Nature (ELNA):https://www.elna.or.jp/
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June
ITOCHU Accepts 46 Third-grade Students of Aoyama Elementary School in Minato for Out-of-school Learning
A total of 46 third-grade students of Aoyama Elementary School in Minato visited our Tokyo Headquarters for a social studies class on June 27 (Thu). The children took in the view of the buildings from the upper floor with great interest. They could see Meiji Jingu Stadium, the new national stadium under construction and Roppongi Hills from the north, south, east and west windows. The children deepened their understanding of the city where we live. For example, the children actively asked questions to our employees and their teachers about the things they were wondering and took notes.
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ITOCHU Supports Work Experience at KidZania for Brazilian Students in Public Schools
The Associação Nipo Brasileira Economia e Cultura (ANBEC) held "ANBEC Program for Work Experience at KidZania by Brazilian Students from Public Schools," on June 8 (Sat). The ANBEC held this event as part of job education support activities for Brazilian children living in Japan. The ANBEC invited approximately 100 Brazilian elementary school and junior high school students in the Kanto area to participate in work experience at KidZania Tokyo. ITOCHU sponsored part of the admission fee for the children. These experiences of the students at KidZania helped to cultivate their vocational outlook.
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Kobayashi, Senior Representative for Business Community Relations, Interacted with Approximately 130 Visiting Junior High School Students
Approximately 130 junior high school students visited our Tokyo Headquarters as part of a school trip from Fukui Prefecture – 61 third-grade students from Wakasa Town Mikata Junior High School on May 29 (Wed) and 65 third-grade students from Wakasa Town Kaminaka Junior High School on June 5 (Wed). Kobayashi, Senior Representative for Business Community Relations, gave them a special talk. He told these junior high school students who will lead the future about the three aspects of health (head, body and mind) and the importance of friends.
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Employees of Osaka Head Office and their families participate in the rice planting in Amano no Sato
ITOCHU supports the Corporate Furusato program (companies supporting the revitalization of farming and mountain villages) promoted by Wakayama Prefecture as part of our CSR activities. We signed a memorandum of understanding with Katsuragi in Wakayama Prefecture on May 25, 2009. Since then, we have been engaged in exchange activities aimed at regional revitalization. We do this mainly by employees of our Osaka Head Office participating in rice planting in the spring and rice harvesting in the fall every year with the cooperation of the labor union. A total of approximately 40 employees participated in the rice planting on June 1 in Amano no Sato, selected as one of the 100 best villages of Japan, in FYE 2020. We also interacted with those in the community through a barbecue. We plan to continue our exchanges with everyone in the community in the future. (Secretariat)
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May
ITOCHU Sponsors the Lake Biwa Museum Renovation Project
ITOCHU has sponsored the renovation project up to FYE2021 for the Lake Biwa Museum. We have done this to contribute to the region where we were founded. Chubei I carried goods to Osaka and Kishu via Lake Biwa by boat from a nearby waterway. This museum is operated with a mission to deepen understanding of Lake Biwa’s nature, history and life and to build an even better relationship of coexistence between people and the lake. Shiga Prefecture extols the spirit of Sampo yoshi (good for the buyer, good for the seller and good for society) on its website. It is also working to achieve the SDGs under this spirit.
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ITOCHU Sponsors Kokoro no Gekijo to Convey What Is Important in Life Through the Theater to Children
ITOCHU sponsored Kokoro no Gekijo as part of the nurturing of the next generation in our Basic Activity Guidelines on Social Contribution. This is a project organized by the BUTAIGEIJUTSU CENTER and the Shiki Theatre Company to invite children from all over the country to the theater for free. The plan is to invite 540,000 children in 158 cities to the theater through this project in FYE2020. We agree with the purpose of the theater to address the issues of the children who will lead the future with society working together as one.
(Credit for the photograph on the left: Akihito Abe)
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ITOCHU Participated in WFP Walk the World 2019 (Yokohama)
WFP Walk the World 2019 was held in the Minato Mirai district of Yokohama on May 12 (Sun). This event is a charity walk. Part of the participation fee is donated to the school lunch program implemented in developing countries by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). A total of 140 employees and members of their families participated from ITOCHU. These included the United Nations WFP board member-serving Kobayashi, CAO, Kaizuka, President of the Food Company, and Hosomi, Executive Vice President of the Food Company. The many participants walked around the sights of Yokohama with the hope of eradicating hunger in children in developing countries.
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April
General Trading Company Pavilion Opens in KidZania Tokyo
ITOCHU has served as the official sponsor of KidZania Tokyo since 2012. This is a vocational and social experience facility for children designed and operated by KCJ GROUP Inc.
KidZania Tokyo opened the General Trading Company pavilion on April 19 (Fri). Kidzania is a place where children can experience the fun of connecting to the world. The pavilion contains the desire for children who will lead the next generation to get even closer to the world, to increase their interest in English, and to become citizens of the world with bargaining and presentation skills. Children give a presentation to overseas customers of products made in Japan as trading company employees who work on the world stage in the experience. Edwin Co., Ltd. in the ITOCHU Group provides its cooperation with this.
Please see a video here: https://youtu.be/mDu8cWuyRrg (Japanese only)
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ITOCHU Participates in the Light It Up Blue Campaign Event for the United Nations’ World Autism Awareness Day
ITOCHU has participated in the Light It Up Blue campaign since 2015 as an effort to promote understanding of people with disabilities toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. We again turned the inside of our Tokyo Headquarters and nearby bases the theme color of blue together with ITOCHU International Inc. (III) and group companies on April 2 (Tue) this year.
*Blue is a color that expresses healing and hope. It is the symbol color to promote understanding of autism and development disorders.
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ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE Held “Shoko Kanazawa Calligraphy Exhibition ‒ Pray ‒”
From February 25th to April 2nd, ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE held Shoko Kanazawa Calligraphy Exhibition ‒ Pray ‒ as the final exhibition of the Heisei era. Shoko Kanazawa, a female calligrapher, is a famous calligrapher who is active in various parts of Japan despite having a disability of Down syndrome, and the exhibition at Art Square will be held for the fourth time. Her calligraphy is powerful yet warm, and continues to fascinate viewers, and is always very moving. This time, too, works that expressed her feelings and what she wanted to convey as "prayers" were exhibited.
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March
Supporting Recovery from the Earthquake
We held the Rikuzentakata Product Exhibition in our Tokyo Headquarters.
Please see here (Japanese only) for details.
February
Supporting Recovery from the Earthquake
We held an exchange game for strong youth baseball teams from Fukushima in Meiji Jingu Stadium through the ITOCHU Children’s Dreams Fund.
Please see here (Japanese only) for details.
Total of 211 People Participate in the 12th ITOCHU Baseball Class
The baseball class is an activity to allow children with disabilities to enjoy baseball together with our employees. The purpose of the class is to put into practice the removal of barriers in the mind and to nurture the next generation toward the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. We held a joint class for elementary, junior high and high school students targeting high school students for the first time this year. We have been holding this baseball class in cooperation with ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd. to promote the employment of people with disabilities since last year.
Volunteer employees of the baseball clubs in the ITOCHU Group paired with children on the day of the event. They played catch and fielded balls hit to them for practice under the guidance of a former Tokyo Yakult Swallows player.
A total of 211 people participated in this event – the children, members of their families and the volunteers. Our employees also received a lot of energy from the children.
13 Partner Group Companies
DAIKEN, ITOCHU Human Resources & General Affairs Services, ITOCHU KENZAI, ITOCHU-SHOKUHIN, ITOCHU Orico Insurance Services, ITOCHU Pulp & Paper, ITOCHU REIT Management, ITOCHU Techno-Solutions, ITOCHU Uneedus, ITOCHU Urban Community, Marubeni-Itochu Steel, NIPPON ACCESS and UNY FamilyMart Holdings (In alphabetical order. Corporate status omitted.)
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ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE Held “Technical Hokusai Exhibition”
ITOCHU is proud to sponsor “HOKUSAI UPDATED,” to be held at Mori Arts Center Gallery (Minato-ku, Tokyo), as part of its support for the Mécénat activities. To commemorate this event, from January 17th to February 16st, ITOCHU held “Technical Hokusai exhibition -Art and beauty of evolving Ukiyoe woodblock prints-” at ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE, aspiring to contribute to the creation of local culture.At ITOCHU AOYAMA ART SQUARE, in contrast to Mori Arts Center Gallery, Hokusai’s masterpieces and the secrets of their production are introduced through Adachi’s reprinted Ukiyoe woodblock prints, focusing on the production technique of Ukiyoe woodblock prints.Moreover, an original woodcut (today’s Ukiyoe woodblock prints) created by today’s Horishi (carver)/Surishi (printer) who has inherited the technique and an artist who is active in Japan and overseas is also exhibited.Please come and see the appeal of traditional woodcut technique that is evolving even as it is being preserved.
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January
ITOCHU Holds a Vocational Talk at Aoyama Junior High School
We held a vocational talk at Aoyama Junior High School located near to our Tokyo Headquarters on January 29 (Tue) as part of career education for first-grade students of the school.
Nine companies headquartered in Minato participated in this event as part of their contribution to the community. We introduced the content of the work of a trading company and the companies of ITOCHU in our booth. Young employees directly advised the junior high school students on the significance and purpose of working. We will continue to promote activities in cooperation with neighboring schools as activities to lead to the development of the next generation in the future.
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Chugoku & Shikoku Branch and Local Group Employees Volunteer at the Hiroshima Men’s Ekiden Relay Race
The annual 24th Emperor’s Cup Inter Prefectural Men’s Ekiden Hiroshima (Hiroshima Men’s Ekiden Relay Race) was held on January 20. A total of 46 people from the Chugoku & Shikoku Branch and 14 group companies participated in support and cleaning volunteer activities.
ITOCHU served as a member of the organizing committee of this volunteer activity in the Hiroshima Corporate Social Contribution Study Group. We stationed two people from the Management Office in the tent in front of the NHK Hiroshima Broadcasting Station together with people from the other companies on the organizing committee on the day of the event. They distributed/lent cleaning tools and collected garbage.
The employees in our group again came together as one this year in blue hats emblazoned with the ITOCHU logo! After taking a group photograph, the volunteers started cleaning. Fortunately, it was relatively warm, so it was a very easy day on which to do the work.
Approximately 285,000 spectators attended this event. This exceeded the number by 10,000 in the previous year. The passionate cheers of the spectators are spreading year by year. Fukushima won a close contest in which the leadership changed hands at a bewildering pace for the first time for the Tohoku region. Hiroshima also made a big leap to fourth place from 12th place last time. Both Fukushima and Hiroshima achieved results to energize their disaster-hit areas through the hard running of the athletes.
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ITOCHU Holds the Mottainai Poster Award in India
ITOCHU is deploying a story-telling caravan for a popular Japanese picture book called Mottainai Grandma (author: Mariko Shinju) together with Kodansha in elementary schools in Delhi, the capital of India. This is an effort to contribute to environmental conservation and nurturing the next generation in ITOCHU’s Basic Activity Guidelines on Social Contribution and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We held the Mottainai Kya Hai? (What Is Mottainai?) poster exhibition in Delhi from January 14 together with this effort. Hasegawa, President of the ITOCHU India Pvt. Ltd., also visited this exhibition. Approximately 120 pictures were exhibited at the event. These were selected from approximately 900 pictures containing the feelings toward mottainai of each Indian child.
We awarded the Mottainai Poster Awards and praised the people concerned for their achievements at the award ceremony on January 19. The award-winning children were really delighted to pick up their trophies, certificates and many presents.
Please click here for details of the story-telling caravan for the Mottainai Grandma picture book:https://www.itochu.co.jp/en/csr/news/2018/180801.html
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