Reconstruction Initiatives from the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster

In the hope of a speedy recovery for those affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster, The CITIZEN Group donated 100 million yen through the headquarters of the Japan Red Cross, and CITIZEN WATCH COMPANY OF AMERICA, INC. donated $50,000 through the American Red Cross. Furthermore, we also donated 3,000 digital thermometers to the Japanese Red Cross Fukushima Hospital.

Since 2011, The CITIZEN Group has been continuously supporting the ARTS for HOPE project, which uses art to heal the hearts of those affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster. It holds hospital art programs and workshops in the disaster-stricken areas and supports the recovery and mental well-being of those affected.

In February 2012, to support efforts toward recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster, two CITIZEN WATCH Group companies—CITIZEN WATCH ITALY S. P. A. and CITIZEN WATCH EUROPE G.M.B.H.—donated a total of 453 musical instruments, including instruments for fife-and-drum bands, clarinets, horns, and harps, to elementary and junior high schools in Shinchi Town, Soma District of Fukushima Prefecture, which was home to the CITIZEN Tohoku Soma Works (currently CITIZEN WATCH MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.). A commemorative concert was held together with a presentation ceremony for the donation. In FY2017, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra provided instrumental instruction to students in the brass band club of Shoei Junior High School in Shinchi Town. Having witnessed the growth of the students and a certain level of success in their performances six years after the disaster, the companies decided to end their support for disaster recovery through music. However, support will continue to be provided to Shinchi Town.

In June 2013, employees of CITIZEN WATCH MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.’s Tohoku Plant visited Onagawa Town, Miyagi Prefecture, to hold a watchmaking workshop there. The event provided elementary school students in the fishing town, who normally have little exposure to manufacturing, with the opportunity to experience the joy of making things through tasks such as painting dials and assembling hands.

Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. has been holding a Reconstruction Marché since 2015 to support the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake by selling specialty products from Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate Prefectures. Many employees who wish for the recovery of the affected areas have purchased local products from those areas. The event is scheduled to continue to be held in the future as a reminder of the areas still in the process of recovery.

The building and surroundings of JR Joban Line Shinchi Station, the nearest station to the Tohoku Soma Plant, sustained enormous damage by the tsunami generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake. After the entire area near the station was raised four meters in the reconstruction project, a new station building, relocated 300 meters southwest of its predecessor, resumed operations on December 10, 2016. CITIZEN WATCH MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., in cooperation with Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. and CITIZEN T.I.C. CO., LTD., donated a monument clock to be installed in the rotary in front of the station on January 30, 2017. The clock tower is five meters high with three clock faces and is atomic solar-powered.

In November 2017, a CITIZEN Group table tennis exchange event was held in Shinchi Town, Fukushima Prefecture, where CITIZEN WATCH MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.’s Tohoku Factory is located. With “Ganbaro Soma!” (“Let’s do our best for Soma”) as the event slogan, five members of the CITIZEN Table Tennis Club in the first division of the Japan Table Tennis League visited the disaster-stricken area, hoping for its early recovery. Elementary and junior high school students from Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures gathered at the venue. They practiced serving and hitting smashes with the top players, received practical instruction, and watched a demonstration game between players with speedy rallies.

After the Tohoku Soma Factory of CITIZEN WATCH MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. discontinued its initiative to assist in post-disaster recovery through music, which had been implemented since 2012, the factory began to support this festival as a new recovery assistance initiative. The factory provides visitors with the experience of making a one-of-a-kind wristwatch with a picture and letters they draw and write as they like on the dial. Additionally, the factory offers wristwatches as prizes in a raffle draw.