CSR Activity Reports: FY2010

MC provided support to the Japanese Research Seminar conducted by Monash University in Melbourne. Monash University is one of Australia's top 8 universities, and its Japanese Studies Center was established in 1981. At the university's request, MC held the "Mitsubishi Corporation Seminar Series," which focused on Japan-Australia relations in the fields of environment, international cooperation, as well as culture and the arts.

MC supported the expansion of Thies Health Center through a public-private partnership with the Embassy of Japan in Senegal. The Embassy assisted in the construction of the laboratory and orthodontics wing through its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects. MC supported the construction of the radiation inspection wing in addition to donating equipment.

MC has been providing support to the reforestation project of National Chung-Hsing University in Taiwan. The university is the oldest agricultural education institution in Taiwan, and it began reforestation efforts in 2010 based on a 6-year plan. In March 2011, employees of MC's Taiwan office participated as volunteers in the reforestation activities as well as in the donation ceremony for this project.

MC, together with international NGO Plan Japan, has been providing work training support to the youth in impoverished areas of Dakar for the last three years since 2009. This project provides two work training courses to youth: the installation and repair of refrigerators and air conditioning equipment, and sewing and traditional embroidery. About 50 youths receive work training each year. Out of the courses' first class of students, who graduated in March 2010, more than 90% have obtained employment.

Based on the results of MC employees' participation in a volunteer program sponsored by MC in the first half of fiscal 2010, MC has funded scholarships for 50 children in Cambodia to attend the final three years of elementary school.
The children who have received the scholarship have been given a uniform, school bag and water flask for going to school, and they are going to school in high spirits.
MC plans to continue its support for the education of children.

Each year since fiscal 2005, MC and Mitsubishi Corporation Taiwan have jointly supported the Yang Ming Home for the Disabled, which is the largest Taipei municipal facility conducting rehabilitation and work training for people with intellectual impairments. In fiscal 2010, our support helped refurbish a classroom for rehabilitation and purchase related equipment. As a result of these support activities, the president of Mitsubishi Corporation Taiwan received an honorary citizen award from the Taipei City Government.

MC positively supports the "Child Sponsorship" program, which is run by World Vision to support the education of children and support the communities in which these children live. From December 2010, MC began sponsoring 20 children in the Republic of Malawi (Southeast Africa).
MC plans to continue its support to bring smiles to children's faces.

MC has donated two Isuzu pick-up trucks to the Cultural Secretariat of the Presidency of El Salvador, which is busily engaged in protecting and nurturing its country's culture.
The donated trucks will be used by the Secretariat in activities to protect culture and art including research of the country's culture and art, production of craft products, and support for holding of events.

Since fiscal 1991, as part of its social contribution activities, MC has operated a scholarship fund that supports international students attending universities in Japan. MC is currently paying scholarships to about 100 students annually. In November 2010, MC invited international students to Head Office and held a networking and social event, providing them with an opportunity to participate in a lively exchange of views concerning MC's activities and other matters.

As part of its social contribution activities in Algeria, MC provides support to local NGO FPMA (Family & Popular Mutual Help Association), which conducts work training for people with intellectual impairments. The donation provided by MC is expected to be used to pay for necessary equipment in the work training facility including the purchase of materials and the construction of a craft workshop and kitchen.
Previously, in March 2009, MC donated a printing machine, which now enables the trainees in printing technology to earn money from producing business cards and other printing materials.

MC has been supporting the "Japan-Korea Festival" every year since fiscal 2005. The event consists of cultural exchange events sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Held annually both in Japan and in South Korea, it promotes mutual understanding amongst the peoples of the two countries. While showcasing the art and culture of both countries, it also provides a valuable opportunity to deepen friendships among the peoples of the two countries. In fiscal 2010, employees from Mitsubishi Corporation Korea voluntarily participated in this event held in South Korea in October.

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) held an exhibit at the Interactive Fair for Biodiversity in conjunction with the COP10 Convention on Biological Diversity. With 'biodiversity' as its key theme, the fair hosted exhibition booths and forums arranged by government and local government agencies, citizens, NGOs, NPOs, universities and companies. Over 200 organizations from both Japan and overseas participated.
MC's booth gave focus to two of its projects, the Experimental Project in Tropical Forest Regeneration which has been running for 20 years, and the Global Coral Reef Conservation Project carried out in Okinawa, Australia and the Seychelles. Details of these activities, including the objectives, highlights and results so far, were given through the use of panels and videos. The booth visitors - totaling approximately 3,000 people - listened attentively to talks given by MC employees, and showed a particular interest in our efforts towards coral preservation.
In addition, more than 500 of the attendees took the time to complete our interactive panel quiz on tropical forests. At the end of the quiz, participants planted trees virtually, which resulted in a pledge on MC's part to plant 51 trees in Malaysia next year.
The booth display was an opportunity not only for MC to inform participants about its activities, but also to spread awareness about biodiversity issues and prompt wider engagement on the topic.. MC plans to continue its efforts to conserve biodiversity.

Since 1990, MC has been implementing the " Tropical Forest Regeneration Experimental Project", and from October 14-18, 2010 MC held a tree planting ecotour in Malaysia as part of the company's continual support to this project.
About 30 people participated in this most recent event including employees of MC and MC Group companies from Japan. During the tour, tree planting was conducted at two locations: inside the Gunung Apeng Forest Reserve on the island of Borneo and at the campus of the national agriculture university Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) near Kuala Lumpur.
The tree planting held in the Gunung Apeng Forest Reserve was conducted together with participants connected with the Forest Department Sarawak as well as local Bidayuh indigenous people. Each volunteer paired up with local participants to plant the trees. The tree-planting method conducted here followed a line-up system whereby rain-forest trees (dipterocarpaceae) were planted in rows to form the primary trees amongst second-growth forest. Each person planted about 20 trees. At the UPM campus, about 600 people participated in the tree planting, including employees and their families of Mitsubishi Corporation Kuala Lumpur Branch, local high school students and students and staff members of UPM. A mixed-species dense-planting method called the Miyawaki Method was utilized whereby 6,000 trees of 48 different species were planted.
Also during the tour, MC volunteers had a chance to do some jungle trekking in a national park where they experienced the nature of the tropics, and which left them feeling more strongly about the importance of conserving tropical forests and the global environment.
Despite it being the period between the dry season and the rainy season in Malaysia, the weather was excellent and the entire program, including tree-planting, trekking and seminars, was completed as planned.

MC supported "The Crescent and The Sun, Three Japanese in Istanbul" exhibition held in Istanbul, Turkey from October 2010 to February 2011. By tracing the footsteps of three Japanese (Torajiro Yamada, Chuta Ito, and Kozui Otani) who contributed to building a friendly relationship between Japan and Turkey at the turn of the 20th century, the exhibition has promoted mutual understanding and friendship between Turkey and Japan.

Launched in 2005, MC's Global Coral Reef Conservation Project supports a wide variety of coral research through the joint efforts of industry, academia and public volunteers. The project is centered at three global locations: Okinawa, Midway Atoll, and the Seychelles.
The second volunteer program for 2010 in Okinawa took place from September 18th to the 22nd at the Sesoko Station Tropical Biosphere Research Center of the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa. Ten volunteers, including five MC employees, supported research activities that included collecting samples from the field and recording data related to the geographical make-up of the corals and tidal currents. Back at the research center seawater samples were filtered, analyzed and recorded along with other samples and data collected in the field. Researchers also provided volunteers with a series of lectures on topics related to corals and the current progress of the overall project in order to further deepen the volunteers' understanding.

From September 7 to 16, 2010, the Mitsubishi Corporation Art Gate Program (MCAGP) 2009 Scholarship Student Art Exhibition was held at GYRE (Omotesando).
MCAGP provides a scholarship system and supports the careers aspiring young artists. This exhibition was designed to give many more people the opportunity to view the fruitage of a one year's work by the ten recipients of the first MCAGP scholarship, and more than 500 people visited over the span of the exhibition.
A reception to commemorate the art exhibition was held on September 12. Everyone who purchased works at the MCAGP Charity Auction was invited and the guests enjoyed a presentation by the artists and a convivial party. The participants of the event provided many messages of encouragement to the scholarship recipients such as "please cherish your passion and keep working hard," and "please contribute to everyone's happiness by continuing to paint splendid artwork." On September 15, Ken Kobayashi, MC's president and CEO visited the exhibition, mingling with the artists and speaking words of encouragement.

MC held the eighth charity auction for the Mitsubishi Corporation Art Gate Program (MCAGP) on June 19 and 27, 2010. The Auction attracted as many as 170 people, and amid a lively atmosphere, all 50 artworks selected for auction from those submitted were sold (20 at GYRE in Omotesando and 30 at the Mitsubishi Shoji Building in Marunouchi).
Those who attended were able to mingle with the artists. For the artists, it was an opportunity to broaden the scope of their activities such as by going over, with portfolio in arm, to thank the person who purchased his or her work. Those attending the auction were also seen idling over to the artists and their works and engaging in enjoyable conversation.
The auction this time ended as a success thanks to many people understanding the purpose of MCAGP and providing their cooperation.

Mitsubishi Corporation (Shanghai) Limited has donated conference room equipment materials and audio visual equipment to the Center for Japanese Studies of Fudan University, one of China's most prestigious universities. The conference room, which is also equipped with simultaneous interpreting facilities, has been named the "Mitsubishi Corporation Hall."
The Center's 20th anniversary ceremony was held last November. In attendance were scholars who have contributed to joint academic research and development between China and Japan, and representative of companies that have supported the Center. Four staff members from MC and Mitsubishi Corporation (Shanghai) joined the cerebrations.

Launched in 2005, MC's Global Coral Reef Conservation Project supports a wide variety of coral research through the joint efforts of industry, academia and public volunteers. The project is centered at three global locations: Okinawa, Midway Atoll, and the Seychelles.
The five day Okinawa research and volunteer program for 2010 got underway on May 14 at the Sesoko Station Tropical Biosphere Research Center of the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa and wrapped up on the 18th. Ten volunteers, including five MC staff, supported research activities that included collecting samples from the field as well as filtering and measuring the alkalinity of seawater samples and recording a variety of other related data back at the research station. Researchers also provided volunteers with a series of lectures on topics related to corals and the current progress of the overall project in order to further deepen the volunteers' understanding.

MC has been supporting social contribution activities such as activities related to culture, the arts and education in Uzbekistan through the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan Foundation (the Fund Forum) since 2008.
The Fund Forum, which was established in 2004, working in cooperation with international organizations such as UNESCO, focuses on the exchange of international culture through activities.
In 2008, the Children's Creativity Center of the Fund Forum in Samarkand was reconstructed.
On April 16, the reconstruction completion ceremony was held for a children's creativity center in Tashkent, which was MC's support activity for fiscal 2009.
At the ceremony, local children with their guardians and the local media also attended, and MC received words of appreciation from the Japanese Ambassador to Uzbekistan and the secretariat of the Fund Forum for not only this support, but also for the various other international contribution activities conducted by MC in Uzbekistan.

MC provided support for the "Exhibition of Three Major Calligraphies": Asia, Middle East, and Ancient Rome, that was held by Turkey's Sakip Sabanci Museum from April 14 to June 27.
The exhibition presents Asian (Japanese and Chinese), Latin, and Islamic styles of calligraphy and it also featured, situated close to the entrance, the original calligraphy of MC's "Three Corporate Principles."
On the first day of the exhibition, about 300 people attended the opening ceremony, including the Turkish Minister for Tourism and Culture and Turkey's Ambassador to Japan.