On May 27, 2012, several Canon Group employees and their family members took part in “Walk the World,” a charity event held in Yokohama, which was organized by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Japan Association for the World Food Programme.

The event is a walkathon dedicated to ridding the world of hunger, which still afflicts a great number of children across the globe. It is designed to raise awareness of this problem by having participants walk all together at the same time. A portion of the participation fee is donated to the School Meal Programme, which supports the provision of meals in schools in developing countries.

Canon has taken part in this charity walk since 2006. This year, it was held after a two-year break, as unfortunately it was suspended last year due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Approximately 130 people from Canon Inc. and the Canon Marketing Japan Group took part.

Overall, a total of 2,800 participants enjoyed this charity walk, which began at Rinko Park and included a 5-kilometer course through the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse district, Bashamichi and on, and a 10-kilometer course taking in landmarks such as Harbor View Park and the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery. Under blue skies, the walkers proceeded at their own pace enjoying the sights and ambience of Yokohama along with a refreshing early summer sea breeze.

After completing the walkathon, participants expressed reactions such as that, “It was great to be blessed with beautiful weather and have this opportunity to enjoyably chat with my family,” “If us doing something enjoyable can be of service to someone, then there is nothing more joyful than this" and “This was an opportunity to explain the problem of the world food crisis to my children.”