与社会间的工作开展
We in the Kuraray Group consider the sound and sustainable advancement of society a precondition for corporate growth and prosperity, and the ultimate objective of corporate activities. It goes without saying that we see it as our duty to contribute to society through provision of products and services of genuine value to people. Beyond this, we consider assistance with resolution of social issues within a proper scope to be another requisite form of social contribution in our capacity as a corporate citizen.
Activities of Social Contribution
The Kuraray Group applies its ingenuity and initiative in promoting activities of social contribution on an ongoing basis in the fields of education, medical and welfare, which require improvement of social infrastructure. We also support volunteer work by our employees toward the goal of harmony with local communities.
Chemistry Classes for Boys and Girls
Since 1992 Kuraray has conducted the Chemistry Classes for Boys and Girls program with the goal of enabling children in the upper grades of elementary school to experience the fun of chemistry through experiments by themselves. Kuraray employees volunteer to serve as instructors or assistants to conduct classes at special classrooms on plant premises and at local elementary schools and public facilities. A total of 190 children participated on seven occasions in fiscal 2008.
Since 2002, we have been exhibiting at Dream Chemistry-21, a chemistry experiment show held during summer vacation by the Japan Chemical Industry Association. In fiscal 2008, our experiment for production of aromatics using highly water-absorbent resin attracted the participation of about 2,000 children and their parents.
Chemistry Classes for Boys and Girls Held
| Plant | Class name | No. of classes to date |
No. of participants to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kurashiki Plant | Fun Chemistry House | 53 | 1,563 |
| Saijo Plant | Exciting Chemistry Class | 47 | 1,390 |
| Okayama Plant | Fun Chemistry House | 29 | 1,050 |
| Niigata Plant | Wondrous Laboratory | 34 | 979 |
| Kashima Plant | Fun Chemistry House | 7 | 513 |
| Total | 170 | 5,495 | |
Sending School Bags across the Sea
Packing the school bags for shipment
Sending School Bags across the Sea is an annual program of international cooperation under which we send school bags once used by Japanese elementary school students along with school supplies and other commodities to children in Afghanistan and other countries where wartime devastation has robbed children of schooling opportunities.
Begun in 2004, this program is now in its sixth year and has been steadily expanding. In 2009, we collected some 10,000 school bags from all parts of the country. Filled with the good wishes of the children, the bags are sorted and packed by a team of about 200, including members of the JOICFP* and other concerned groups as well as Kuraray Group employees, before being sent overseas with the cooperation of many other volunteers. This year, too, we delivered the bags to children in need of them in Afghanistan and other countries.
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* JOICFP (Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning)
The JOICFP was founded in Japan in 1968 as an international nongovernmental organization devoted to population problems around the world. It engages in grassroots projects of international aid close to local communities.
Support for Self-help Efforts of the Mentally Challenged
To help the challenged lead self-supporting lives by providing them with opportunities for employment, Kuraray sets up workplaces especially for the mentally challenged in coordination with local welfare facilities.
The Kuraray Workshop at the Niigata Plant opened its doors as a place of work for the mentally challenged in 1997, with the cooperation of Nakajo town (the current city of Tainai) and the social welfare institution Nanahokai “Niji-no-ie”. At present, it has 20 employees, who perform sorting for recycling of scraps derived in production processes and produce articles with the guidance of four instructors.
At the Himawari Workshop, which opened on the grounds of the Saijo Plant in 2007, six employees engage in recovery and weighing work required for recycling of leftover fiber derived in production processes under the guidance of two instructors.
Support for Medical and Welfare Facilities
Magosaburo Ohara, our founder, also helped to pioneer philanthropy in Japan, and was involved in the establishment of numerous medical, welfare, and cultural/research facilities. As part of its activities of social contribution, Kuraray continues to offer support in both the management and financial aspects to Kurashiki Central Hospital, Ishii Memorial Aizen-en Aizenbashi Hospital, and Doushinkai Saijo Central Hospital. In addition, we operate a nursing facility for the aged utilizing welfare facilities in our plants.
Nursing Care Facilities Operated or Supported by the Kuraray Group
| Nursing Care Facilities | Services |
|---|---|
| Tulip-en (Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture) |
Communal assisted-living facility for people with dementia (capacity for 18) Shared type day-care facility for people with dementia (capacity for 3) Small-scale multifunctional in-home care and day care facility (contract capacity for 25) In-home care support center |
| Fruits-no-ie (Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture) |
Group home (capacity for 41) Day-care service (capacity for 10) Home visit care and nursing In-home care support |
| Mori-no-ie (Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture) |
Group home (capacity for 18) |
Kurashiki Central Hospital
Aizenbashi Hospital
Saijo Central Hospital
