Contributing to Society

Approximately 100 employees gathered as volunteers at Mount Tabunan in the center of Cebu Island, home to TAIYO YUDEN (Philippines), to plant 10,000 tropical tree seedlings. The planting work covered four hectares of jungle and was hard work, but it was completed without mishap and the group photo taken afterwards was full of smiles.

"Taiyo no Mori" (Forest of the Sun), located in the city of Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture, is where volunteer activities are conducted in forest maintenance.
These activities are aimed at protecting and improving the health of the forest, which helps to reduce greenhouse gases by absorbing carbon dioxide. The activities are based on regulations in Gunma Prefecture to prevent global warming. TAIYO YUDEN signed an agreement with the forest owner and Gunma Prefecture as an intermediary for forest maintenance in 2007. This was the fourth year we carried out these annual activities.
Maintenance activities in the forest include trimming underbrush in the Japanese cedar forest and thinning trees. For the children of our employees a woodworking workshop is also held using wood thinned from the forest.

Every year, as an annual event to benefit the local community, employees pick up trash on a fun hike on Mt. Omine in Tsukiyono-machi. This year a total of 26 people participated, including employees' families. The hiking course is not very difficult, so everyone picks up discarded cans or other trash, cleaning the trail while enjoying the outdoors. The event was a healthy outing and encouraged friendship among the families.

A volunteer project to stain a roadside fence with wood preservative was carried out. If a fence loses its coat of stain it becomes prone to rotting. The local government was unable to secure funds for the job, and eventually a proposal came to the company asking for volunteer help. Our president and 33 employees worked hard with paintbrushes and were able to paint 44 meters of fencing out of a total of 3,000 meters. We will continue to participate in this project with the goal of completing the entire job.

TAIYO YUDEN has provided support and instructors for a manufacturing workshop organized by the Takasaki Youth Science Center since 2008. Volunteers from TAIYO YUDEN and former employees serve as instructors, teaching kids how to build line tracking cars that run along a black line using sensors. The workshop generated many positive comments such as: "I'm happy that I was able to build one well. In the future I want to work with machines." The instructors were aiming to help in the education of local schoolchildren, and at times even found themselves moved by the interaction.

Upon request from Gunma Prefectural Women's University, TAIYO YUDEN's head of public relations gave a public lecture for the Faculty of International Communication at the university. The talk touched on overseas living on assignment, which students took a strong interest in, and introduced the global activities of TAIYO YUDEN. Their keen questions included, "Can capacitors get any smaller than they are now?" and "How do you communicate with local staff in a foreign country?"

The full TAIYO YUDEN Women's Softball Team conducted an instructional softball clinic for students of the Gunma Prefecture Junior High School Physical Culture Association upon request by the association. Fifty junior high school students from around the prefecture took part in the clinic, practicing softball skills through pitching and batting exercises and receiving instruction on technique via a practice game. Participating students gave positive feedback such as "I can't wait to take back what we learned to my team." In the future, more opportunities will be created to help children of the region improve their athletic skills.

Collecting used stamps, telephone cards, and PET bottle caps is a way to raise money for tree-planting activities and vaccines for children in developing countries.
Used stamps and telephone cards are sold to collectors through a Japanese charity, the Defense of Green Earth Foundation, and the proceeds are used to carry out tree planting.
PET bottle caps are handled through the Japan Committee for Vaccines for the World's Children to supply children with polio vaccines.