By the end of 2016, nearly 580 NYK Group volunteers comprising employees, board members, and former employees had volunteered to assist recovery activities in the area devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and Typhoon Lionrock in August 2016.

 

Every year since 2014, new employees at NYK have engaged in these activities. The activities and the communication with the people of the area allow new employees to consider the need for the company to play a part in society. The engagement also helps the new employees gain experience in other fields and broaden their perspectives.

 

Our 2016 volunteer activities to assist the recovery are highlighted below.

 

Period: July 7–11, 2016, July 24–28, 2016; two groups; four nights, five days
Participants: 43 new employees
Area: Otsuchi town and Kamaishi city in Iwate prefecture
Activity: cutting rapeseed, threshing, cleaning farms, thinning brush, etc.

 

Period: August 26–28, 2016; two nights, three days
Participants: 17 staff members
Area: Kamaishi city in Iwate prefecture
Activity: cutting rapeseed, seeding, etc.

Period: October 7–9, 2016; two nights, three days
Participants: 6 staff members
Area: Rikuzentakata city in Iwate prefecture
Activity: recreation at a nursery school, making wind-breaking nets for pine seedlings, mowing grass around the temporary dwelling

 

Period: October 21–23, 2016; two nights, three days
Participants: 6 staff members
Area: Iwaizumi town in Iwate prefecture
Activity: removing mud and sand left by Typhoon Lionrock

 

 

Comments from participants in 2016 included, “I want to do what I can and inform others about the conditions of the area,” and “the people living in the area have their own approaches to doing things, and I learned a lot from them as a member of society.”

 

Twelve years has passed since NYK established a specialized section to promote social contribution activities. As a good corporate citizen in a global society, the NYK Group promotes employee involvement in volunteer activities and promises to work positively in activities that contribute to society.