Numerous people living in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake have been traumatized by the tragic events that unfolded and now have to cope with harsh living conditions. Since the earthquake struck, the Benesse Group has assisted with the recovery of the affected regions in three different ways: providing support by donating relief money, offering customer assistance, and providing relief supplies and information.

In regard to relief money, the Benesse Group donated a total of around ¥189 million to the Japanese Red Cross Society and other organizations (from March to May 2011). Additionally, through the Benesse Fund, the Group made donations to organizations helping to rebuild the lives of children, senior citizens and other people. In these ways, the Benesse Group’s relief money has been put to good use in providing relief to those affected and assisting with the recovery of the disaster-stricken regions.

In rendering customer assistance and providing relief supplies and information, the Benesse Group has supported the lives and education of children ranging from preschoolers to high-school students both in educational settings and in the home, as part of the “Challenge for the Future ” project. To illustrate, for those customers experiencing difficulty with continuing their correspondence courses or magazine subscriptions from Benesse Corporation because of damage from the disaster, we set up a special support system making 11 services, including the Kodomo Challenge and Shinkenzemi correspondence courses, available free of charge from the April 2011 issue to the September 2011 issue.

Going forward, we remain committed to continuously offering forms of support that leverage our close ties with schools and households nationwide through the Shikenzemi correspondence course, Shinken Simulated Exams and other services. We will also conduct support programs in other areas, as we put the full weight of the entire Group behind assisting the recovery of the affected regions.