Social Contribution Activities
Management
Social Background
As a corporate group that operates businesses both in and outside of Japan, Casio recognizes that meeting the expectations of local communities and building good relationships are essential for Casio to sustain its business at each site.
Risks and Opportunities for the Casio Group
Casio believes that it can contribute to sustainability in society, while also increasing the trust of stakeholders, by meeting the expectations of local communities.
Policy
Casio’s social contribution initiatives aim to help build a healthy, spiritually rich society. The five priority areas are education of the next generation, study and research, environmental conservation, community service, and culture and arts.
Casio takes a proactive approach to these initiatives, seeking to communicate with various stakeholders in order to determine how it can be most helpful as a good corporate citizen. In this process, Casio seeks to make innovative social contributions, leveraging its unique expertise and management resources as well as the broad range of knowledge and experience possessed by its employees.
System
Casio promotes community-based social contribution activities under the leadership of the Sustainability Promotion Department in the Corporate Communication Headquarters while collaborating with related departments and group companies inside and outside Japan in accordance with the company’s policy on social contribution activities.
Activity Results
Invention Ideas Workshop Helps Elementary School Students to Think Up Useful Inventions
Since 2017, developers at Casio Computer Co., Ltd. have been serving as instructors for the Invention Ideas Workshop for elementary school children to have fun while thinking up an invention that is useful for someone.
The Kashio Toshio Memorial Foundation launched the workshop in 2017, the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., in order to convey the commitment to contribute to society by creating inventions of Toshio Kashio, one of Casio Computer’s founders who came up with numerous inventions. A team of developers from Casio Computer, including G-SHOCK developer Kikuo Ibe, served as instructors and got children to think up ideas for “inventions that are useful for people.” After introducing the G-SHOCK development story and doing some mental exercises as preparation for thinking outside the box, the instructors and staff got children to come up with ideas while chatting with them.
In fiscal 2023, workshops were held in Memuro-cho, Kasai, Hokkaido and Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefectures. The children came up with some fun ideas, including a stuffed animal that guides you home, a combination hoe/shovel that automatically ploughs the fields in Memurocho, Hokkaido, shoes that can walk on the sea, and a clock that can tell a person’s personality using colors in Yokohama.
Workshop
Calculator Disassembly and Reassembly Workshops at Kids’ Events
With a desire to convey the excitement of product creation to children, the leaders of tomorrow, Casio Computer Co., Ltd. has been involved in kids’ events since 2014. In this workshop, the children took apart actual calculators with their own hands. Then they learned to how to reassemble them, how a calculator works, and what kind of environmentally friendly features it has.
In fiscal 2023, Casio exhibited products at the events held in August 2022 and in March 2023. Employees who wanted to volunteer used games such as quizzes and magic tricks to teach the children about the features of Casio products with environmentally friendly designs, which are “small, lightweight, slim, and energy-saving,”' as well as the history of the evolution of calculators, the inside of calculators, and the fun of calculations. Casio will continue to provide support for the education of children who will lead the next generation by offering activities like this.
Workshop
Supporting Key Person 21
Key Person 21 is a certified non-profit organization for youth career education. It promotes activities to bring out the potential in each child and nurture their ability to choose a future that suits them. As a company that focuses on educating the next generation and promoting educational initiatives, Casio shares the mission of Key Person 21, and so began supporting the organization in fiscal 2017.
In fiscal 2023, Casio held career education programs for three elementary and junior high schools in Shibuya Ward, where Casio Computer Co., Ltd. is headquartered, with the participation of 22 employees.
The lecture-based program “Here Come Some Interesting Workers!” aims to provide an opportunity for students to learn about diverse lifestyles and think about their own future. In this program, employees shared stories about their own elementary and junior high school days, failures at work, and other episodes and discussed what they wanted to communicate. During the final question time, the children asked so many questions that there was not enough time to answer. Casio also implemented “Favorites Bingo & Job Map,” a hands-on program that aims to bring out children’s independence by helping them learn about how the things they like and value are connected to jobs in society. Employees formed groups with the children, fostered deep communication while talking about what they like, and supported them in discovering the “excitement engine” that they each have inside them.
Results of Collaboration with Key Person 21
No. of times program implemented |
No. of employee participants |
No. of students program implemented for |
|
|---|---|---|---|
FY2017 |
3 |
12 |
186 |
FY2018 |
3 |
34 |
227 |
FY2019 |
3 |
31 |
229 |
FY2020 |
4 |
53 |
248 |
FY2021 |
3 |
7 |
245 |
| FY2022 | 3 | 30 | 229 |
| FY2023 | 3 | 22 | 204 |
| Total | 22 | 189 | 1568 |
Industry-academia partnership with Musashino Art University
Casio began an industry-academia partnership project with Musashino Art University in fiscal 2018. The starting point for this project is supporting foreign students in their Japanese language studies. Students of Musashino Art University collect information on various initiatives that support multicultural coexistence in Japan and disseminate and share the findings they gain through these activities with society. Casio draws on its insights in the education business and promotion to support the students.
The project in fiscal 2023 addressed the theme of multicultural coexistence and art. The project explored the question of what role art can play in promoting multicultural coexistence by interviewing people in three different positions: artists, art project planners, and researchers. Afterwards, based on the results, an event called “Do you know our world? Multicultural coexistence encountered through art” was held with three panelists, a panel session, and group discussions.
For more information, see the following site.
Co-sponsorship of education contest
Casio (China) Co., Ltd. provides support for efforts to train the next generation of human resources by co-sponsoring an education contest.
The 31th China National Biology Olympiad
15th Japan-China Research Casio Cup
15th Shanghai International Studies University Casio Cup Speech Contest for Chinese Undergraduates and Postgraduates Majoring in Japanese
Study and Research
Support for the Casio Science Promotion Foundation
Casio is contributing to the development of science and technology by supporting the Casio Science Promotion Foundation.
About the Foundation
The Casio Science Promotion Foundation was established in 1982 by the four Kashio brothers and the former chairman, Shigeru Kashio.
The Foundation provides research grants with the principle objective of fostering pioneering and creative research in the early stages by young researchers who are persevering with challenging research on limited funding. This is based on the philosophy that advanced R&D should be promoted in various fields, in order to fulfill the Foundation’s mission of helping Japan contribute to the world as a nation of advanced technology.
The Foundation provides grants in a wide range of scientific fields—from cutting-edge device research in electronic and mechanical engineering to natural sciences related to telecommunications, AI, IoT, environmental electronics, health, sports, and health engineering—as well as in the cultural sciences including human resources development, human behavior and information and communication technology (ICT) in education.
Over the last 40 years, the Foundation has provided a total of about ¥2,120.207 million in 1,603 grants.
Grants in fiscal 2023
Adding to its existing 22 basic categories in six fields, the Foundation established a special topic (research aimed at problem-solving to achieve the SDGs) considered to be important based on changes in the global environment over the past few years.
After asking 204 universities to submit research topic proposals, 192 proposals were received from 95 universities. Based on a rigorous selection process, a total of 98.0 million yen in grants was awarded to 70 different proposals.
The grant presentation ceremony scheduled for December 4 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year again, more than 90% of the grant recipients were in their twenties through forties, so the grants went to support the activities of young researchers representing the promise of the next generation.
Grants from the Casio Science Promotion Foundation
Environmental Conservation
Leveraging products for environmental conservation
Casio supports the activities of environmental conservation groups by collaborating with them to develop and sell special-themed product models.
ICERC Japan
Earthwatch Japan
Aqua Planet
The Nature Conservation Society of Japan
For more information, see the Living in Harmony with Nature section.
Hayama Beach Cleanups
In March 2021, Casio Computer concluded an Agreement on Collaboration to Reduce Plastic Waste with the town of Hayama (Miura District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Mayor: YAMANASHI Takahito). As part of this agreement, Casio decided to participate in the beach cleanups carried out by Hayama, providing support for more advanced environmental conservation activities.
Casio employee volunteers took part in beach cleanups in May 2022. Engaging in activities with other local people not only deepened exchanges with them but also increased employee awareness of environmental problems, particularly micro plastics.
Casio will continue to discuss with the town of Hayama what the local government and companies can do together to reduce plastic waste in addition to beach cleanups.
Some of the waste collected
Group photograph of participants
Casio Forest
In August 2018, Casio Computer concluded the Tokyo Waterworks: Corporate Forest (Naming Rights) Agreement with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Waterworks. Based on this agreement, a 2.46 hectare portion of the water conservation forest managed by the Bureau of Waterworks was designated as Casio Forest, contributing to the maintenance and management of water conservation forest land and providing opportunities for employees to engage in volunteer activities.
For more information, see the Living in Harmony with Nature section.
Supporting the Sanriku Volunteer Divers
Yamagata Casio Co., Ltd. has been supporting the activities of the Sanriku Volunteer Divers since 2016 by loaning them Logosease dive transceivers, which the company developed and manufactures, free of charge.
Sanriku Volunteer Divers is a non-profit organization established with the aim of recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. The organization continued its efforts to support the revival of the fishing industry and the restoration of the beautiful see and rivers in Sanriku, which was completely transformed by the tsunami. Now that it is reaching a turning point in the “recovery,” the organization’s activities are focused on restoring the marine environment and supporting fishing industry in the area. In addition, the organization actively engages in environmental education for local children.
Recent years have seen the serious damage of ocean desertification, in which large numbers of sea urchins eat up all the seaweed that has begun to grow, causing the rock surface to become completely white. Sanriku Volunteer Divers has been carrying out activities to regenerate seaweed beds, including monitoring the marine environment, removing and transplanting sea urchins and other creatures, and growing seaweed. In addition, in the past, fishing industry operators regarded the divers as “poachers” and were skeptical about the steady efforts to regenerate the seaweed beds. However, in the areas where seaweed beds have been regenerated through the steady efforts of the divers, sea urchins grow well, abalone have increased, and resources have been recovering. As a result, there has been a big change in local views and awareness, and the local fishing industry operators and divers now actively interact with each other. Activities aimed at deepening their understanding of each other, such as diving tours to observe fish farms, have also led to discovery of new potential in the fishing industry as a resource for tourism.
In the fishing industry, and aquaculture in particular, the active involvement of human beings in maintaining and improving the marine environment in order to make the use of marine resources sustainable leads to the cultivation of the seas and the protection of marine biodiversity. In particular, as they form a huge carbon dioxide sink, the regeneration of seaweed beds is also an important initiative from the perspective of action to address global warming. Volunteers and local fishing industry workers should not be the only people responsible for such marine environment conservation activities. However, as ocean desertification and other such problems occur in the ocean, the severity of the situation is not yet well known, and there has been no progress in public initiatives. In such circumstances, the activities of Sanriku Volunteer Divers, which have already produced results, are playing a very important role as a model for similar initiatives which have started or should start across the country.
Many of the people who take part in the activities of Sanriku Volunteer Divers are ordinary recreational divers and snorkelers, and it can be said they are at the forefront of marine environmental regeneration activities. Yamagata Casio hopes that supporting these activities by loaning its Logosease underwater communication devices, which recreational divers can easily use, will help to foster initiatives to protect the abundance of the oceans as well as concreate measures to address climate change.
Logosease
Logosease supports the underwater work of Sanriku Volunteer Divers (seaweed bed regeneration)
Community Service
Adopting tulips and Ohga lotus plants
Hamura City, located in Tokyo, is promoting cultivation of tulips and other plants as an effort to preserve fallow rice fields and to make effective use of rice fields after their crops have been harvested. Casio has an R&D center in the city and has been a foster-sponsor for the tulips and for Ohga lotus plants since 2004.
A number of varieties bloom in the greatest tulip field in the Kanto region, which is planted with approximately 400,000 bulbs in roughly 23,000m2 of rice fields, and many tourists visit the tulip festival held in April each year.
Casio became the owner of about 500m2 of one 1,000m2 paddy field and helps to cultivate the Ohga lotus. The descendants of local farmers in Hamura city cultivate the Ohga lotus in fallow rice fields, and the flowers bloom from mid-July through to mid-August. The Ohga lotus plant is an ancient form of lotus from the Yayoi Period (about 2,000 years ago) discovered in the Kemigawa ruins in Chiba Prefecture under the guidance of the late Dr. Ichiro Oga in 1951.
Support for Cherry Marathon in Higashine City
Yamagata Casio has been supporting the Cherry Marathon in Higashine City since 2004. The company’s intention is to become an enterprise that is appreciated by the local residents not only for its corporate activities, but also for its contribution to the local community and Higashine City.
In addition to participating in the marathon as runners, Casio employees also cooperate indirectly, including by helping out at water stations during the event. Although the 2020 marathon was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 and 2022 marathons were implemented online, Casio will continue to actively engage in such community contribution activities to further strengthen cooperation and trust with local residents.
Culture and the Arts
By sponsoring symphony orchestras and cultural facilities, Casio provides people with opportunities to feel delight and deep emotion and promotes the development of culture and the arts.
・Sponsorship of the NHK Symphony Orchestra
・Sponsorship of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Other
Helping to resolve social issues with Ittan Partner
Ittan Partner is a project in Japan organized by the Agriculture and Welfare National Council of the Shizensaibai Party that encourages corporations to support rice cultivation at a welfare center for one season. The project supports welfare centers with their projects to convert abandoned farming land into rice paddies and to work with people with disabilities on the land to grow rice using natural cultivation (shizensaibai) without agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers. Then, corporations buy the rice harvested from one tenth of a hectare (ittan) for a set price regardless of the yield. The aims are to combine job satisfaction and increase income (to support financial independence) for people with disabilities, revitalize abandoned farming land, and provide safe food.
Endorsing the aims of the project, Casio has been supporting two tenths of a hectare’s worth of rice per year since 2017. As a part of its educational programs, the company also recruited volunteers to work with people using the welfare center to carry out rice planting in spring and harvesting in autumn. The employees who took part had impactful experiences as they actually communicated with people with disabilities. This is expected to lead to new perspectives and learning that cannot be obtained through everyday life and work.
Along with Ittan Partner, in addition to contributing to solving the social issue that is the aim of the project, Casio hopes that the awareness and learning of these employees will promote understanding of people with disabilities and lead to new projects, products and services designed to solve social issues. Harvested rice was provided in employee cafeterias to spread awareness of this activity within the company and also given to children’s cafeterias close to Casio headquarters.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employee volunteers were not able to take part in the farm work in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022. However, the work resumed in June 2022, with 20 Casio employees and their family members taking part in the rice planting experience. In October 2022, 17 Casio employees and their family members took part in harvesting rice.
Since 2017, a total of 199 Casio employees and their family members have taken part in the farm work.
Participants of all ages harvest rice and hang it to dry over the rice paddy
Supporting and participating in Respite Trip organized by Oyako Haneyasume
The certified non-profit organization Oyako Haneyasume provides support for children with serious diseases or disabilities and their families in Japan. It runs a program (Respite Trip) to support family travel under which a third party provides temporary substitute care so that families who are usually swamped providing nursing care can take a short break. Casio began volunteer participation in the Respite Trip in fiscal 2017, and a total of 33 employees volunteered through fiscal 2020, including in the Sibling Camp. Casio has provided full-scale support, including donations, as the first corporate sponsor, since fiscal 2018.
IIn fiscal 2021 and 2022, Respite Trip was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was resumed in July 2022. Casio will continue to provide support for this program, which creates time and space to completely relax for children and families who need to recuperate, as a valuable activity that fulfills the SDG pledge to “leave no one behind.”
Respite Trip
Product disassembly and separation work contracted to a welfare workspace
Aiming to be a company that is good for people and environmentally friendly, Casio Business Service Co., Ltd., has contracted disassembly and separation work of Casio products to a welfare workspace operated by a social welfare corporation as part of its recycling initiatives in product disposal since 2000. Recently, the workspace has been disassembling and separating mainly used tape cartridges and ink ribbon cassettes collected at Casio Eco Stations. At the welfare workspace, which enrolls persons with disabilities, most of the work is light work such as making bags and presentation boxes and folding leaflets.
Work such as disassembly and separation increases their concentration and ability to keep going on a task, which also gives the workers a high sense of fulfillment on the job. This initiative is considered to support the independence of workers through social education and the acquisition of morals and rules. As part of its CSR initiatives, Casio Business Service will continue contracting out this work to help support the independence of workers.
Disassembly and separation of tape cartridges and ink ribbon cassettes
Support for People's Hope Japan
People's Hope Japan is an NGO involved in international cooperation. It provides support for activities focused on educating people in developing Asian countries about insurance and healthcare. As a company that supports the organization's mission, Casio has been corporate sponsor since 2006.
Assistance for disaster victims
Casio donated funds to assist people affected by the earthquake that occurred near the border of Turkey and Syria in February 2023 and to help with reconstruction in the disaster-affected area.
Support donation: 5 million yen
Donated to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)