Support for Disaster Victims
Support for Natural Disaster Victims Worldwide
Canon provides support through such means as relief donations and fund-raising activities for victims in areas affected by natural disasters throughout the world. After careful consideration of local needs and the feasibility of support efforts, we strive to effectively apply Canon's resources, which include advanced technologies, and do our utmost to provide timely assistance. We seek to verify the benefits and impact of our efforts, and in the case of long-term assistance we take care to optimize our efforts at each phase.
In our desire to help the victims of such disasters get back on their feet as quickly as possible, we made the following donations in 2011.
| January 2011 | Support for victims of Brazil floods | US$200,000 （approximately ¥16 million） |
|---|---|---|
| February 2011 | Support for victims of New Zealand earthquake | ¥10 million |
| March 2011 | Support for victims of Great East Japan Earthquake | ¥400 million |
| October 2011 | Support for victims of Thailand floods | ¥50 million |
| October 2011 | Support for victims of Turkey earthquake | ¥10 million |
| December 2011 | Support for victims of Philippine storms | ¥5 million |
Ongoing Support for Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake
Canon has been engaged in a variety of support efforts for the areas struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. In addition to overall Group donations of ¥300 million, Fukushima Canon also made a donation of ¥100 million to Fukushima Prefecture. Group employees additionally collected and donated approximately ¥50 million.
We have also donated and lent products useful to recovery in the stricken areas, such as medical devices, including portable digital radiography systems, and digital cameras.
Canon has been involved in multifaceted relief and restoration efforts in addition to the above.
Provision of Medical Equipment and Support to Stricken Areas
Canon has donated five portable digital radiography systems built around our CXDI unit as part of our relief support for areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The superior portability, durability, and quick results provided by the CXDI make it a powerful tool for use in severe environments not anticipated in everyday use, so it is valuable in examining disaster victims.
Canon Marketing Japan sought to ensure the effective use of this imaging system by inviting four radiologists to the Shinagawa Headquarters in Tokyo to conduct operational training. Positioning methods and basic use procedures for the equipment were demonstrated to the radiologists to ensure the equipment could be used immediately in the disaster areas, and careful answers were given to questions pertaining to a variety of use scenarios.
Canon Marketing Japan also provided the loan of a CDXI unit in response to requests from a disaster-response medical team operating at a provisional clinic set up in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, which had also been hit by the disaster. The company also provided unit testing and instructional lectures on how to operate the equipment.
Loan of a portable DR system to the Japan Red Cross
Lecture on CDXI operation at the Miyako City provisional clinic
The Smile Project- Helping Rebuild Communities in Stricken Areas
The Canon Marketing Japan Group launched the Smile Project in January 2012 as a new relief effort for the people in areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake. This effort is aimed at supporting community building in the disaster areas through photography, taking into consideration the emotional support needed by people, especially children, as their communities move from one period of restoration to the next.
Actual activities in this project include the holding of photography and printing workshops by professional photographers, Canon Inc.'s holding of its nationwide Junior Photographers events in the stricken communities, and invitations from the Canon Marketing Japan Group to families in the recovering region to participate in the "Furusato Project— Linking Our Dream to the Future," involving activities for restoring natural areas, which it conducts in 15 locations across Japan.
In January 2012, photography workshops were held for parents and children at three Children's Halls in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, with about 80 participants. The photos taken by the participants were then displayed at the Smile for the Future Photo Exhibition held at the Canon Sendai Gallery from March 8 to 19, 2012.
The support activities in the recovering communities are ongoing, and we will continue to display the photos of the people from those areas taken through this project at photo exhibitions and other events at places such as our Canon Galleries, as messages from them to the world.
Photography workshop at Kesennuma City.
Support for Recovery Through the "Furusato Project— Linking Our Dream to the Future"
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake struck last year, the Canon Marketing Japan Group has donated a total of ¥11.57 million* to six NPOs and NGOs as part of its "Furusato Project— Linking Our Dream to the Future" a social contribution effort dedicated to preserving green communities for future generations.
This donation represents an increase in funds for relief efforts from various sources, including contributions from the Furusato Project calculated based on the number of used cartridges recovered and sales of PPC (Plain Paper Copier) paper, as well as the Click Donations made through the website.
We will continue to support efforts made by NPOs and NGOs to rebuild communities affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
- *Other than this, the "Furusato Project— Linking Our Dream to the Future" has also donated about ¥10.73 million to environmental NPOs, for a total of approximately ¥22.31 million.
Michi no Cafe: Supporting Recovery Through Photo Prints of Cafe Gatherings
Canon has joined with Starbucks Coffee Japan and the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management to sponsor the "Michi no Cafe" recovery project.
Through this project specially built outdoor cafes are set up so local people in the areas hit by the disaster can have a place to relax and converse, and rebuild their sense of community. Photos of local people at the cafe as they get on with the recovery effort are sent throughout Japan as part of a continuous effort to call out for support.
As part of the project, Canon also sent out photojournalists to take pictures of the smiling faces and relaxed expressions of the people gathered at the cafes. These photos were printed out onsite using inkjet printers and presented to the people there for free.
The project got underway at Rikuzentakata City in Iwate Prefecture in July 2011, followed by Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture in October. We plan to continue with this project, taking into consideration the situation in the recovering areas.
The photo printing service area (Rikuzentakata City)
A photojournalist captures a photo of guests at the event (Kesennuma City)
© Kei Sato 2011
A Michi no Cafe (Rikuzentakata City) in an open space near temporary housing
© Atsushi Shibuya 2011
The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) offers support with CIPA Photo Aid
The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), of which Canon is a member, together with the Nippon Foundation is developing a disaster relief support initiative entitled CIPA Photo Aid.
This project aims to create and maintain a record of the disaster itself as well as the recovery and rebuilding efforts, and also contribute to the emotional well-being of the victims of the disaster through photography and images. To this end, we are providing support to NPOs, NGOs, volunteer organizations, schools, and regional groups engaged in such efforts.
In July 2011, a fund was set up to take donations from CIPA member companies, and agreeing with the spirit of the initiative, Canon elected to participate in CIPA Photo Aid.
During the first round of support, applications were accepted from July through October 2011, and 18 of the organizations that applied were selected to participate in the project.
Partnering in the Signal of Hope Project for Rebuilding the Sanriku Coast Fishing Industry
Canon is a corporate supporter of the Fund to Support the Resumption of Tohoku Fisheries and has provided a total of ¥100 million to the Signal of Hope Project, which manages that fund for the recovery of the fishing industry in stricken areas.
The project supplies items useful to restoring port and market functions, such as refrigerated containers and trucks, and office equipment, with the aim of contributing to a rapid return to fishing, a core industry of the afflicted Tohoku region.
Ceremonies were held at the Onagawa and Ishinomaki fish markets in August 2011 to celebrate the presentation of retrofitted refrigerated containers for commercial fishing use. The gift of the containers coincided with the start of the saury pike season, and the containers were put straight into use in September.
Containers provided by Signal of Hope
Support for Areas Stricken by Floods in Thailand
In addition to donations by the Canon Group of ¥50 million in relief funds for the victims of the record flooding in Thailand in 2011, Group companies in Thailand also launched their own support efforts.
Canon Marketing Thailand staff prepared and donated 1,000 sets of emergency kits containing necessities and supplies, including food, potable water, medical supplies, lights and insect repellent. The Canon caravan made the rounds of Ayutthaya, Chainat Province, and other disaster-hit areas in September, distributing the kits.
In addition, Canon Hi-Tech Thailand prepared relief supplies, which included dried foods, potable water, daily necessities, trash bags, portable toilets and toilet paper, among other necessities. These were donated to flood victims in the Lopburi area in September.
Distributing relief supplies in the Thailand flood zone
