Social and Community Contributions
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory values coexistence with local communities, expressing our gratitude through initiatives such as cultural promotion, environmental conservation, and building disaster-preparedness systems in collaboration with local communities. Moreover, under our mission as a leading company in IV solutions, in times of emergency we promptly deliver relief supplies necessary for initial treatment to disaster-affected areas in Japan and overseas. In addition, we actively promote social contributions through our business, such as providing appropriate-use information for actual medical practice, and we will continue striving to be a company loved and trusted by our communities.
Aiming to be a Company Cherished by the Community
Otsuka Museum of Art
Sistine Chapel (photographed from the exhibit at the Otsuka Museum of Art)
In 1998, the Otsuka Group established the Otsuka Museum of Art to commemorate 75 years since the Group’s founding, and it is through this Museum that we are active in promoting regional art and culture. Along the Museum’s approximately 4 km art-appreciation route, visitors can wander through the artwork of 26 countries, including more than 1,000 full-scale ceramic board faithful reproductions of masterpieces of Western art ranging from ancient murals to modern paintings, all while never having to leave Japan. Among them, the “Environmental Exhibits,” which reproduce murals of ancient ruins and chapels in their entire environment, provide visitors with a sense of realism. You can see 12 works, including the “Sistine Hall,” which reproduces murals of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican, and the “Scrovegni Chapel” in Padua, Italy, which was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2021.
Advanced Disaster-preparedness System in Partnership with the Community
Local residents participating in an evacuation drill
At our Head Office, which is located close to the coast, we make the rooftops of our plant buildings available to local residents as temporary tsunami evacuation sites and provide storage space for stockpiled emergency and daily-use supplies. We also hold briefings and facility tours on our BCP (Business Continuity Plan) initiatives and conduct joint tsunami evacuation drills for local residents and stakeholders. Furthermore, we have concluded disaster-preparedness agreements with local governments, setting out the cooperation our company will provide in the event of a disaster.
Recognized for these advanced initiatives with local residents and municipalities, and upon recommendation from the local government, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory and the surrounding voluntary disaster-prevention associations were selected as an FY2015 Community Disaster Management Model District under the Cabinet Office's Community Disaster Management Plan. Our activities were then featured in the Cabinet Office's 2016 Disaster Management White Paper as a distinctive initiative through collaboration between a local company and neighborhood associations. Going forward, we will work even more closely with the community and further strengthen advanced initiatives for disaster preparedness.
Environmental Volunteer Activities in the Community
To help protect the environment and to express our gratitude to the community, each business site proactively carries out environmental volunteer activities. Each site independently plans and regularly conducts environmental beautification activities such as picking up litter around the site. In addition, our headquarters has concluded a partnership agreement for the Tokushima Cooperative Forest Creation Project, based on Tokushima Prefecture's ordinance for promoting measures against global warming, and we cooperate with maintenance efforts such as thinning and tree planting in the designated forests. Employees also actively participate in environmental events, working hard on thinning and tree-planting activities.
In addition to beautification activities at each site, we actively take part in environmental volunteer activities organized by local governments, striving to raise employees' environmental awareness and deepen connections with our communities.
For details, see the Environmental Communication pageSupporting Events Organized by Local Governments
Each site supports cultural events organized by local governments to help revitalize the community.
As a Tokushima-based company known for Awa Odori, we carry on our local traditional culture and participate in Awa Odori in Naruto and Tokushima cities as the Otsuka Uzumaki-ren troupe. To live up to the name of Uzumaki-ren, the oldest troupe in Naruto, our men's dance is powerful and dynamic and our women's dance is graceful; with our hearts dancing, we take to the bustling streets.
Our Capabilities
In light of our responsibility as the leading company in IV solutions in Japan, especially needed for initial treatment in emergencies, and guided by our philosophy of contributing to local communities, we actively engage in disaster recovery support and assistance for those affected. At our overseas subsidiaries in the IV solutions business, employees seconded from our company are also deeply involved in these activities.
Support for Areas Affected by the Kumamoto Earthquakes
Beginning on April 14, 2016, a series of earthquakes struck Kumamoto Prefecture, Oita Prefecture, and the surrounding areas. For the first time since the current JMA seismic intensity scale was established, intensity 7 was observed twice during this series of earthquakes, resulting in a catastrophic disaster that left the region with immense damage. We quickly established a response headquarters and, amid the main shock and the frequent aftershocks that followed, prioritized the safety of local employees and their families while providing on-site support. Driven by a strong sense of mission—“As a company that handles clinical nutritional products and oral rehydration solutions that are especially needed in times of disaster, we cannot turn our backs on the affected areas”—our local employees, mainly from the Kumamoto Branch (which existed at the time), worked tirelessly to deliver relief supplies and support recovery efforts.
The Otsuka Group delivered to the affected areas approximately 620,000 servings of beverages and food, including the oral rehydration solution OS-1, along with about 15,000 hygiene items and other relief supplies.
Support for Those Affected by the Nepal Earthquake
At 11:56 a.m. local time in Nepal on April 25, 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred with its hypocenter at a depth of 15 km about 77 km northwest of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, resulting in an unprecedented catastrophe that left approximately 8,700 dead and about 17,000 injured.
In response to requests from local hospitals, we immediately donated 15,000 bags of basic IV solution to the affected areas via our India-based subsidiary Claris Otsuka (now Otsuka Pharmaceutical India Private Limited). In May, the following month, in view of the rising local demand for IV solutions, we donated an additional 15,000 bags of basic IV solution.
Support for Those Affected by the Eruption of Mount Sinabung
Mount Sinabung in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, has been erupting since September 2013, and the prolonged ash plumes have forced many people to live as evacuees.
At the request of the local health office, on October 24, 2014, following earlier donations in September 2013 and February 2014, we donated 5,000 bags of IV solution through a local agent.
Support for Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake
In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, in response to requests from relevant ministries and industry organizations, we provided IV solution and other pharmaceuticals to the affected areas through local governments and, to help prevent dehydration in evacuation centers, supplied oral rehydration solutions, mobilizing the entire company with the Sendai Branch (which existed at the time) as our base of operations. Other Otsuka Group companies also provided emergency support by supplying drugs, beverages, and food, among other items, thus supporting the disaster-stricken areas in various ways.
We will continue to carry out support activities to aid the recovery of the affected areas.
