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Support for the Future Granted by the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATIONThe AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION has continued to support the growth of future generations for nearly 50 years since its establishment. The foundation’s scholarship activities are closely linked to MARUI GROUP’s management approach, which entails a focus onshareholders and other stakeholders and its impacts as it accelerates co-creation with younger generations. The following is a chronicle of a discussion between three scholarship recipients, current recipients Daisuke Sasaki and Anna Tode, and former recipient andcurrent screening committee member Yumiko Horie, during which they talked about memories associated with the foundation as well as
about their future dreams.

Yumiko Horie

Former Scholarship Recipient

Representative Director, Posse Nippon

Daisuke Sasaki

Current Scholarship Recipient

University Junior

Anna Tode

Current Scholarship Recipient

University Junior

Encounter with the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION
Horie: Hi, I’m Yumiko Horie. It’s nice to meet you. I received ascholarship from the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION up until
I graduated from university in 1998. I will be joining today’sdiscussion as a former scholarship recipient. After graduating,I spent 12 years working at a newspaper before going back toschool in my late 30s, at a graduate school in London. I laterwent on to work at United Nations organizations and NGOsand eventually started my own company. I am also a memberof the foundation’s screening committee. Could you please
each introduce yourself and explain some of the goals you areworking toward in your studies?

Sasaki: Hi, I’m Daisuke Sasaki and I am currently researching
AI and other information technologies as a junior at university.
I hope to find an area of engineering that interests me so that
I can apply AI and other methodologies to that field.
Tode: Hi, I’m Anna Tode and I am also a junior at university. I am
studying the structures and functions of animals and plants
based on their genes, DNA, and genetics. In addition, I havebeen looking into proteins and amino acids. I am also concerned about environmental issues. After choosing to take partin the Miss Earth Japan 2020 pageant, an event promoting
awareness on environmental issues, I was selected to be theJapanese delegate to the international Miss Earth pageant, so
I have been engaged in activities on this front as well.

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Support for the Future Granted by the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

Horie: The foundation has been unable to hold gatherings forscholarship recipients recently as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. However, we have still been receiving twice-annual
newsletters, and I am always sure to read these. I knew about
your activities, Ms. Tode, as they are sometimes covered in thenewsletters. There are a lot of scholarship foundations inJapan. What made you two choose the AOI SCHOLARSHIPFOUNDATION?
Sasaki: I was born and raised in Iwate Prefecture, whichmeans that living alone in Tokyo while going to school would
require a lot of money. I applied for the scholarship of the AOISCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION as there were no fees attachedand no requirements to pay back the money received and also
because the amounts of payments were higher than otherscholarships. It is not uncommon for people moving to Tokyo
for school to spend a lot of their time at part-time jobs. I am
happy that I don’t need to do this and can instead devote mytime to my studies or to other interests.
Tode: I have a twin sister, which means that tuition costs aredouble for my parents. This is why I decided to look for a scholarship. I remember spending a lot of time writing the application
essay. When I was a freshman, I devoted a good portion of mytime to doing things you can only do while you are still at school,
like joining clubs and working part-time. As such, there was aperiod when I found it difficult to focus on my classes. However,when I think about the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION, I am
reminded of why I chose to go to university. This is just how
important the foundation is to me.
Horie: I also remember being inspired by the AOI SCHOLARSHIPFOUNDATION when I was still in school. We would listen tospeeches from people of high social standing, like the foundation director, at gatherings. These speeches reminded me of theneed to give it my all in my studies.

Future Dreams of Scholarship Recipients
Horie: As I mentioned when introducing myself, I run my owncompany. When making the decision to leave the newspaper
where I had worked for 12 years, I consulted two associates
who had entered into the scholarship program before me. Yes,
the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION was just that important apresence to me. I graduated nearly a quarter of a century ago,but you two are still at school, preparing to start your careers.
Is there anything you want to accomplish while you are still inschool? Also, what are your dreams for the future?
Tode: I became involved in beach and trash cleanup activities
through the Miss Earth Japan pageant. This experience filledme with a desire to engage in similar activities with my friends. I118

therefore want to create opportunities for younger generations
to become more involved in environmental activities, perhaps
by using social media. Also, I hope that one day I will be able tostart my own business, like you, Ms. Horie.
Sasaki: I plan to go to graduate school. I don’t necessarily needa Ph.D., but I want to get a master’s degree before joining theworkforce. In the future, I hope to use what I learned in theengineering program to develop products that are used bypeople throughout society. It would be most gratifying if I wereable to accomplish this dream.
Horie: I see that you both have dreams for the future, and thatyou are both studying hard to make these dreams a reality.
When you have been working for a long time, you start torealize the importance of the positivity, health, and senseof appreciation that the foundation director often speaks of.
I hope you will keep such ideas in mind going forward. Tochange topics, we are currently in a time of great change, due
in part to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. What are
your thoughts on this topic?
Sasaki: I try to think of the potential for new innovations toemerge as a result of the great changes we are seeing as apositive development for me. If I am ever in the position ofcreating something new during such a period of change insociety, I will make sure to develop products that respond to
those changes. To whatever degree possible, I will try to takeadvantage of these changes to entrench what I have made insociety on a fundamental level.
Tode: Participation in a beauty pageant usually requires one tospend several months overseas, a situation that would havemade it difficult for me to keep up with my studies. As an odd
benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pageant judging was
performed online when I participated, which allowed me to join
without taking time off from school. The pandemic also triggered an increase in the number of events by NGOs and otherorganizations that allowed for remote exchange with people
from outside of Japan. I was thus able to interact with people
from around the world to an even greater degree. Change is notalways a bad thing, and I therefore look to focus on the positive
outcomes of change.
Horie: You two did a really good job of casting light on thepossibilities unlocked by taking a positive view toward change
and using it for the benefit of your future. Ms. Tode talked
about her interest in exchanges with people from around theworld. When you are young, working overseas or taking othersuch concrete action is a very effective way to broaden yourhorizons. However, this is not the only way. Regardless of
where you are working, if you keep tackling new challenges
and gain enough experience, you will naturally come to gain

Support for the Future Granted by the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATIONa broader perspective. This is something we should remember,especially as the COVID-19 pandemic limits our ability to taketrips overseas.

Hopes and Dreams for Future Generations
Horie: What do you both expect of companies going forward?
Sasaki: Society is changing, and this means that companies
need to change too. In recent years, we have seen companies
put forth bold slogans, like “resolving issues on a global scale,”and back these with grandiose advertisements. However, thesecompanies often fail to change their work environments oremployee treatment to match the implied virtue of these slogans. Before companies try to address the SDGs, they probably
should focus on improving the conditions for their employees. I
understand that MARUI GROUP has always viewed employees
as family members. That type of sentiment is what we needtoday. As a student, I hope that we will see an increase in thenumber of companies that offer strong support to their employees, and I want to work at such a company in the future.
Tode: I have a lot of interest in addressing social issues. In fact,
I was involved in activities related to the SDGs, sustainability,and ethics as part of my participation in the Miss Earth Japan
pageant. As Mr. Sasaki says, there are a lot of companies
whose efforts don’t go any further than their words. I

understand that companies have to turn a profit, but I still want
to see more companies that are truly devoted to sustainability
and the accomplishment of the SDGs.
Horie: As an entrepreneur, I aspire to create an organization inwhich all employees are able to fully exercise their talents. The
director of the AOI SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION has long said
that the 21st century is an era of authenticity. I agree that this isa time in which the authentic can assert itself as such. The
foundation does not just offer monetary aid; it also provides
opportunities and other support. I hope to help shape thecoming era together with you and the other foundation scholarship recipients.
Tode: I feel the same. It is important to call upon the aid ofothers through the foundation. The world will keep changing. I
therefore want future scholarship recipients to seek the aid ofothers while tackling new challenges. They should always
remember to enjoy themselves as they do this.
Sasaki: No matter what one is doing, they always need to takethe first step by themselves. The same goes with scholarships.
You have to research them yourself, but this research will likely
reveal that there are more organizations offering help than one
would have imagined. In the future, I will look to be quick intaking such first steps, and I hope that members of future
generations will do the same.

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