In this section

Providing training and employment support
for disabled people > P.61
Supporting environmental protection > P.62
Supporting disaster relief and recovery > P.63

07 Thebigger picture
Contributing to the communities in which
we operate across the JT Group is part ofour responsibility as a corporate citizen.
We are guided by the JT Group Corporate
Citizenship Activity Policy, which focuseson community needs in four areas: socialwelfare, including poverty reduction,
assisting disadvantaged elderly people,
adult education, and support for those withdisabilities; arts and culture; environmental
protection; and disaster relief.
We provide support in a number of ways,
including through financial contributions
and corporate philanthropy, employee
volunteering, and an independent charity,
the JTI Foundation (www.jtifoundation.
org). In 2013, we invested a total of¥7,780 million in corporate citizenshipand community involvement activities(2012: ¥6,197 million). This includes
financial donations to organizations suchas the Eliminating Child Labor in Tobacco
Growing Foundation and a diverse range ofcommunity involvement activities within ourtobacco supply chain.
The Verbier Festival, supported by JTI

60 | JT Group Sustainability ReportProviding training and employment
support for disabled people
In 2012, in co-operation with the Kyrgyz Society for the Blind and the Deaf, JTI launched a project to establish mini-centers infive regions of Kyrgyzstan to provide computer training for visually impaired and deaf people. With the aim of helping develop
independence and providing social activities, the project launched 11 mini-centers and by the end of 2012, 108 participants had
passed computer training courses.
In 2013, the project was modified and expanded based on the experience gained in 2012. This included the launch of ‘Equal
Opportunities’, a social center in Bishkek offering a range of new computer training courses as well as programs to facilitate socialintegration and independence. The new courses include:• Computer technology courses for the blind and visually impaired, which comprise 164 hours in class, 164 hours of homework, and82 hours of individual work
• Computer technology courses for the deaf and hearing-impaired users, which comprise 80 hours in class, 80 hours of homework,and 40 hours of individual work
• Orienteering with a cane, which includes 30 hours in the classroom and 120 hours of practice outside the classroom• GPS navigation in the city for the blind, which includes 80 hours in class, 120 hours of practical work, and 40 hours of homework

07

The bigger picture

Legal support
Alongside the courses, the center also provides legal advice
to trainees and is assisted by a legal advisor, herself visuallyimpaired, who monitors and analyzes legislation in the Kyrgyz
Republic on the rights of people with disabilities. Employment
legislation for disabled people and government benefits for legal
support of program participants is also monitored.

Employment
Another important function of the center is an employment
program for those who have passed courses at the center, as
well as for citizens with disabilities who have applied for help.
Within the employment program, several databases havebeen established to record information on disabled people
seeking work, available jobs, and the most popular or suitablevacancies among disabled people. In March 2014, as part of theemployment program, the Equal Opportunities center launcheda joint project with call center provider Positive Contact, which
selected candidates to work as call center operators. Seven

participants started training in the call center in April 2014 andall will be employed by the call center upon completion of theirtraining.

“I was afraid to go out. Only on the initiative of mywife did I walk somewhere. Usually, I spent days
just listening to the TV. Through a blind neighbor I
learned about a society of the blind and the deaf, anddecided to join it. And today, I already signed up for acomputer course at Equal Opportunities.”
Igor Pustuyev
Equal Opportunities service userAccording to the Ministry of Labor,5 there are over 155,000
people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan, including 25,000 blind anddeaf. Annually, a quota of 500–700 jobs is allocated to disabled
people by employers; however, in practice, employment isprovided to not more than 200 people a year.
5
http://www.vb.kg/doc/273385_v_bishkeke_otkrylsia_centr_po_obycheniu_i_
trydoystroystvy_lovz.html

JT Group Sustainability Report | 61

Supporting environmental protection
Restoring forests in Japan – the JT Forest
Since 2005, we have worked to protect the environment by conserving and developing forests across Japan with our JT Forest
initiative. The initiative assists local communities in their efforts to protect and enhance areas of forest by leasing them for a fixed
period and establishing forest development plans that respond to a specific forest’s needs. We provide support for the identified
development plans in consultation and cooperation with various stakeholders, including experts, local communities, and localgovernments. The ultimate goal of the JT Forest is to create thriving forests that are used and maintained in a sustainable way.
The JT Forest currently operates in nine forest areas (see map), working on issues such as reviving previously deforested areasand conducting forest maintenance, including thinning, weeding, developing narrow paths for regular use, and protecting young
trees from damage caused by wild animals. We also run Forestry Program days, where JT employees, local residents, and local
government officials can come together to work on forest preservation.

Shakotan (Hokkaido)
since December 2010

Tsuruoka (Yamagata)
since April 2009

Nakatsugawa (Gifu)
since April 2008

Yunomae (Kumamoto)since April 2009

Kosuge (Yamanashi)
since March 2006

Shigetomi (Kagoshima)
Nahari (Kochi)
since November 200662 | JT Group Sustainability Report

Nakahechi (Wakayama)
since January 2005

Chizu (Tottori)
since August 2007

Extending our support
In 2013 and early 2014, we renewed three JT Forest conservationagreements in Gifu, Kumamoto, and Yamagata Prefectures. In 2013,
we renewed our agreement with Yunomae-machi, in Kumamoto
Prefecture, which was due to expire in March 2014, for a further
five years. The JT Forest project in Yunomae has thinned the forest,improving its ability to protect soil and absorb rainwater, and planted
trees to attract and support wildlife, including Japanese deer andJapanese dormouse. These maintenance and conservation initiatives
will continue and be expanded during the extended agreement
period.
In early 2014, we also renewed our forest conservation agreement
for the ‘Yamagata Forest of Kizuna’ with Yamagata Prefecture,
Tsuruoka-city, and Shimogawa Production Forestry Cooperative.
The new five-year agreement will continue to enhance coastal
sandstorm control and improve the forest, where environmental
education for the community’s younger generation can be provided.
The ceremony for renewed agreement for JT Forest Tsuruoka

Supporting disaster relief and recovery
Although it has been three years since the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the Tōhoku region of Japan, the recovery effort isongoing. Many people are still struggling to re-establish their lives and livelihoods. As a result, both human and financial resources
remain in high demand for the restoration of affected areas.

The ‘JT Reconstruction Support Project’ supports NPOs working
to reconstruct and revitalize communities in three areas mostbadly affected by the disaster – Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima
Prefectures. Its goal is to provide a greater level of funding forthese NPOs, ensuring stability for their future activities.
The JT Reconstruction Support Project is operated on our behalfby the Japan Earthquake Local NPO Support Fund, whichscreens applications from organizations for financial support.

FY2013

1st. term (Oct 2013)

The screening body, which is mainly made up of independent
experts, assesses applications four times each year. In total, theproject will provide a fund for three years to support around 20NPOs annually with grants of three to five million Yen for each.
Examples of activities supported to date include:• Support for female-led business start-ups that work to help
communities’ everyday life in tsunami-devastated areas• Preventing isolation of community members living in both
temporary housing and their own houses• Creation of jobs for women while helping them balance theparenting of young children in the affected areas• Support for families with disabled children in disaster areas• Projects to clear debris from the sea-bed in tsunami-affectedareas• Creation of cooperative business models both with local
people and those from outside affected communities• Support projects to empower women who immigrate toFukushima

2nd. term (Jan 2014)

3rd. term (Apr 2014)Total

No. of NPOs

Grants(million Yen)

No. of NPOs

Grants(million Yen)

No. of NPOs

Grants(million Yen)

No. of NPOs

Grants(million Yen)

Iwate Pref.

00

2

7.12

1

5.00

3

12.12

Miyagi Pref.

3

13.46

1

4.40

3

10.10

7

27.96

Fukushima
Pref.

2

9.12

2

7.70

3

12.50

7

29.32

Total

522.585

19.22727.601769.40

Activity base

JT Group Sustainability Report | 6307

The bigger picture

Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami, we supported
the urgent disaster relief efforts in the worst affected areas.
Over the longer term, we have supported the recovery effort
with donations, teams of volunteers, and programs of support
for non-profit organizations (NPOs) working in areas trying torecover and rebuild following the disaster. These programs arecarried out as part of the ‘JT NPO Support Program’, which has
been providing support to Japanese NPOs since 1999. Based on
the acute needs of the affected areas, however, we decided tolaunch a new support program in 2013.