COMMUNITY
community Social Contribution
Basic Concepts
KOKUYO strives to be a trusted corporate citizen on both regional and national levels via proactive interaction and planning with regional communities, while respecting regional culture and customs and encouraging their advancement.
Initiatives in 2023
Updated shareholder benefit program
We provide a shareholder benefit program to give shareholders a better understanding of our businesses and of the products and services we deliver. We have added an option from December 2022 to make a charitable donation so that shareholders can more deeply appreciate our efforts to address material issues. The donations will be used in social contribution activities such as to support children’s independence and learning.
Comments from staff on the updated shareholder benefit program: Mr. Miura, head of IR office
Over the years, we’ve provided gift packs to shareholders so that they can get a better idea of our products. More recently, we’ve pivoted to a sustainability strategy to aid our sustainable corporate development. As part of this, we now want shareholders to engage with us in tackling the material issues. That’s why we, with the help of 20% Challenge members, introduced the charitable giving option.
Comments from staff: Ms. Nishibayashi, an employee engaging in the 20% Challenge
KOKUYO runs the 20% Challenge, an internal moonlighting program. Through this program, I applied to do moonlighting at the IR office, as I wanted to learn skills for communicating with shareholders and other stakeholders. I had a great time working on the shareholder benefit program. It was exciting and I learned a great deal. I’ll use the experience to spread the word about how KOKUYO is addressing the material issues.
Campus Art Awards 2023: A Painting Competition for Junior High and High School Students
We hold the Campus Art Awards in partnership with The Yomiuri Chukosei Shimbun. Campus Art Awards is a drawing competition for students at junior high school and high school. The award program began in 2015, and 2,281 works were showcased this year. The theme for 2023 was titled “my sweet hometown.” This theme focused on the landscapes, customs, traditions, events, cuisine, confectionary, and other motifs associated with the students’ hometowns. The purpose was to give students an opportunity to take an interest in their hometown, discover its charms, and express them. For the top individual prize, the winner received 50 Campus notebooks featuring the person’s winning picture. The school of the winner received 1,000 of the notebooks featuring the winning picture.
Click here for more information about the Campus Art Award
The top individual prize-winning piece: “God watching over us” by Nao Sato, a second-year student at Akita University of Art High School (the academic year is as of FY2023)
Michinoku Future Fund: A scholarship for students left orphaned by the 2011 disaster
Since the year after the Tohoku disaster of March 11, 2011, we have donated to Michinoku Future Fund*, a scholarship program for students who lost their parents in the disaster. In 2024, the foundation awarded its 14th annual set of scholarship. Scholarships were awarded to 46 students, securing them a place in a higher or further education institution, where they can start their journey towards a bright career.
Students, graduates and foundation staff gather at a ceremony held in March every year for the benefit of the recipients of the scholarships as well as the students who are about to graduate. Supporter companies were also able to participate in this ceremony for the first time in four years in March 2023 to hear directly from the students about their dreams and goals. (This ceremony will be held with a focus placed on interaction between students in FY2024, so no supporter companies will participate.) We remain as committed as ever to supporting the good work of the foundation.
Founded by Rohto Pharmaceutical, Calbee, and Kagome, Michinoku Future Fund provides higher or further education scholarships to students who lost their parents in the March 2011 disaster, on the belief that future generations are the foundation for the recovery. There have been 1,145 scholarship recipients since the foundation of the fund (as of April 2024). Most of the students have finished their schooling and are working in their respective fields.
The sendoff event held for the first time in four years in FY2023
CSR in China: Chasing Big Dreams with Small Notebooks
We want to contribute to a self-directed, collaborative society, in which everyone thrives. In 2014, we launched a community outreach program called Chasing Big Dreams with Small Notebook. This year marked the eighth year of the program. Volunteers from KOKUYO’s workforce visit an elementary school in Yunnan, China. They conduct a lesson and organize games with the children to forge ties with the community. The school receives a donation from KOKUYO and the children receive KOKUYO notebooks.
With everyone’s good will, we make a huge difference
This was the first time members of another operating company (LAMEX) participated in KOKUYO’s social contribution event. It provided an opportunity to deepen mutual understanding and interaction.
Yong‘an Primary School,Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture,Yunnan Province
