Kanematsu is aware of the importance of its responsibilities as a corporate citizen, as laid down in our Code of Conduct, and is committed to proactive social contribution activities. We also support activities by employees that help bring greater comfort and security to the community on a day-to-day basis.
Social Contribution through Our Operations
Every employee of the Kanematsu Group, as a good citizen, acts with an awareness of the importance of their social responsibilities, proactively working to solve social issues through business and social contribution activities with the aim of realizing a sustainable society. At the same time, through volunteering, employees broaden their horizons, learn new values and gain new insights, helping to create richer and more vibrant communities.
Kanematsu Joins SEMA
Kanematsu has joined the Social Emergency Management Alliance (SEMA). SEMA links private-sector companies and civil society organizations (CSOs) to provide support to areas in Japan affected by disasters. Information about the products and services that member companies can provide is aggregated in a database that can be used to rapidly provide goods and services where they are needed when a major natural disaster strikes. Kanematsu provides supplies that those affected need for daily life, primarily alkaline batteries for use in LED flashlights and radios as well as for charging smartphones--especially important in disasters as a means of communication and gathering information. Through SEMA, Kanematsu will support disasterstricken communities by swiftly providing the batteries and disaster-readiness products that it handles in its businesses.
initiative to promote safe and secure use of the internet “e-Net Caravan”
“e-Net Caravan” is an initiative targeting elementary through high school students as well as their parents and teachers to raise awareness and provide guidance regarding safe internet use.
Kanematsu Communications Ltd., the Kanematsu Group sends employees who have been certified as instructors to carry out “e-Net Caravan” activities.
In fiscal 2024, the program reached 36,082 participants at 103 schools. The number of schools where we have given lectures is the highest in National Association of Mobile-phone Distributors, continuing from last year.
)
Achievements (Cumulative)
Period : fiscal 2018 to the end of March 2024
Number of schools lectured : 821
Number of lectures : 963
Number of participants : 221,784
The internet is evolving every day and has become an essential part of our daily lives. However, its use also comes with risks.
The Kanematsu Group will continue to contribute to local communities through the "e-Net Caravan" initiative, promoting safe internet use among young people who will carry the next generation, and continuing to support the spread of responsible usage.
Reconstruction Support Activities
After the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the Kanematsu Group donated money and supplies to affected areas. Since September of the same year, the Group has provided ongoing support for Rikuzentakata city in Iwate, through its own volunteer program. In addition to the Company's volunteer leave system, Kanematsu has a system to support employees volunteering in disaster-affected areas that includes reimbursement of transportation and accommodation expenses for employees participating in the Company's volunteer program.
Volunteer activities in Rikuzentakata
Since September 2011, the Kanematsu Group has been involved in relief activities through its own volunteer
program in the city of Rikuzentakata.
They took part in rubble clearance and searching for victims' belongings, and helped the local fishing
industry get back on its feet. We will carry out further support activities in future years.
Our Donation of Yamabiko-go, a Mobile Library Vehicle
Kanematsu donated the mobile library vehicle "Yamabiko-go" to the city of Rikuzentakata. The body of Yamabiko-go bears the logo of Ipponmatsu (the sole pine tree that survived the tsunami) and an illustration of Takata no Yumechan, and it is equipped with a retractable awning that serves as a shelter from summer sunlight or rain. The vehicle interior is brightly lit with LED lighting, and the partially adjustable bookshelves can hold approximately 900 books.
Kanematsu Foundation for the Research of Foreign Trade
The Kanematsu Foundation for the Research of Foreign Trade was established in 1940, endowed by funds
donated to Kobe Higher Commercial School (now Kobe University), with the purpose of contributing to the
economic development of Japan through scholarships and grants for research into trade and international
economy.
In 1993, the Kanematsu Fellowship--a Kanematsu postgraduate research scholarship--was jointly established by
the Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration of Kobe University, the Kanematsu
Foundation for the Research of Foreign Trade, and Kanematsu Corporation. Every year, graduate students are
invited to submit their dissertations to apply for the fellowship. The Kanematsu Fellowship thus provides
graduate students in the fi elds of economics, management, and accounting across Japan with opportunities to
win a research fellowship and to present their research.
Commemorative Projects
Among the main commemorative projects we have carried out in accordance with the will of our founder Fusajiro Kanematsu are the Research Institute for Economic and Business Administration (Kanematsu Memorial Hall), a commerce research institute granted by Kanematsu to Kobe Higher Commercial School (now Kobe University); the endowment of the Kanematsu Auditorium of Hitotsubashi University; and the endowment of the Kanematsu Memorial Institute of Pathology to Sydney Hospital in Australia, which was partially endowed by Kanematsu with joint funding from the Australian Government.
The Research Institute for Economic and Business Administration of Kobe University (Kanematsu Memorial Hall)
In 1919 the Company donated the Kanematsu Memorial Hall, now the Research Institute for Economic and
Business Administration, to the then Kobe Higher Commercial School (the present Kobe University).
The building (completed in 1921) was constructed at a cost of 300,000 yen, which translates into
about ¥420 million in today's money under a simple calculation of the currency's inflation since
that time (consumer price basis). An endowment of 300,000 yen was also made to Kobe Higher
Commercial School for the founding of the Kanematsu Foundation for the Research of Foreign Trade. A
second endowment of 200,000 yen relating to the Foundation was made in 1940.
Throughout its more than 80 years of existence, the Institute has operated as a body for intensive
research into the international economic system and related managerial issues. The Institute is
renowned, not only in Japan but also internationally, for the extensive research findings it has
produced.
In 1993, the Kanematsu Fellowship - a Kanematsu postgraduate research scholarship -- was jointly
established by the Kobe University Research Institute for Economic and Business Administration, the
Kanematsu Trade Research Fund, and the Company. The fellowship solicits prize-winning essays each
year, providing research scholarships for graduate students from all over Japan in addition to the
opportunity for research
publications.
The Kanematsu Auditorium, Hitotsubashi University
In August of 1927 construction was completed of the Kanematsu Auditorium of the Tokyo University of
Commerce, now Hitotsubashi University. The building was designed in the Romanesque style. It is said
that all of Kanematsu's employees donated their bonuses to this project.
The Kanematsu Auditorium is a precious part of Japan's 20th century cultural heritage, and in 2000
the building was chosen as one of the country's registered tangible cultural properties. Extensive
restoration work on the building was undertaken in 2003-2004, funded largely by donations from the
university's alumni as well as from Kanematsu itself. As the acoustic properties of the hall have
always been excellent, in addition to its main purpose as a lecture hall, it has also frequently
been a venue for chamber music concerts.
The Kanematsu Memorial Institute of Pathology, Sydney Hospital
Construction of the institute was begun in 1929 after receipt of a donation from Kanematsu, and
completed in 1933. The history of Kanematsu is inextricably bound up with Australia, as Company
founder Fusajiro Kanematsu in 1989 established Kanematsu's predecessor company as a specialist
Japan-Australia trading house. Fusajiro Kanematsu, who passed away in 1913, was not only responsible
for building the foundations of trade between Japan and Australia, he also made a number of
significant contributions to Australian society. During the Second World War, the Australian
government prohibited the use of Japanese names for products, businesses and so on, as it was the
language of the enemy.
An exception was made in the case of the Kanematsu Memorial Institute of Pathology, however, partly
at the vehement insistence of the Director of Sydney Hospital. The Kanematsu Memorial Institute of
Pathology has thus continued, to this very day, to bear the name of the Company's founder and to use
the Kanematsu family crest.
The Institute is a highly respected one among the global medical fraternity, and has produced two
winners of the Nobel prize for medicine: Sir John Carew Eccles in 1963, and Sir Bernard Katz in
1970.< In 1982 the Institute was separated into four sections, one of which - specializing in clinical testing of blood disorders, microcirculation studies, and histopathology at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on the campus of Sydney University - retains its links with our Company through the use of its current name of The Kanematsu Laboratories.
Commemorative Projects History
1919
Donated Kanematsu Memorial Hall (completed in 1921, now the Research Institute for Economic and Business Administration) along with a ¥300,000 research endowment to the Kobe Higher Commercial School (the current Kobe University) as part of its first commemorative undertaking.
1925
Donated Kanematsu Auditorium (completed in 1927) to the Tokyo University of Commerce (the current Hitotsubashi University) as part of its second commemorative undertaking.
1929
Donated Kanematsu Pathology Research Institute (completed in 1933) to Australia’s Sydney Hospital as part of its third commemorative undertaking. Afterward, some individuals from this research institute were awarded with the Nobel Prize.
1940
Donates a second endowment of ¥200,000 to Kobe Commercial College (now Kobe University), founding the Kanematsu Foundation for the Research of Foreign Trade.
1973
Donated a Hitachi-made electron microscope to Australia’s Sydney Hospital in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Kanematsu Pathology Research Institute. (equivalent to ¥30 million)
1990
Set up the Kanematsu Fund in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Kanematsu and Company (Australia). Donated ultrasound diagnostic equipment made by Toshiba Corporation to Sydney Hospital’s Kanematsu Research Institute. (equivalent to ¥20 million)
1993
In collaboration with the Kobe University Research Institute for Economic and Business Administration and the Kanematsu Trade Research Fund, established the Kanematsu Fellowship, a Kanematsu graduate students’ research scholarship in May. Solicits prize-winning essays every year, providing research scholarships for graduate students from throughout Japan in addition to the opportunity for research publications.