Contribution to a Public Policy

Panasonic is responding to the changes in the social environment, and we are performing external affairs activities primarily through the contribution to the healthy development of society and preservation of the global environment.

Working on initiatives with related divisions, primarily through external affairs group

Panasonic Chairman Kunio Nakamura is a member of the Consumer Administration Promotion Committee established by Prime Minister Fukuda and tasked with the job of creating a society in which the people who live in that society, the consumer, plays a leading role.

The committee deliberated the following items and submitted a report in preparation for the establishment of the Consumer Agency (temporary name).

1. The necessary authority to promote the unification and centralization of consumer policy
2. The jurisdiction and organizational form (including the establishment of a permanent minister to oversee consumer administration)
3. A public contact point that is easy for the consumer to contact

Panasonic will continue to work to value the customer's viewpoint and ensure product safety, work in tandem with the government and other companies, and contribute to the creation of a society in which the consumer plays a vital role.

Increasing energy consumption in the home has become a major issue in Japan, and by replacing home appliances with new energy-saving models, one can increase lead a more convenient and comfortable life and reduce CO2 emissions.

This was the concept underlying the formation of the Energy-Saving Appliances Promotion Forum established in October of last year by manufacturers, distributors, and consumer groups, among others, and with the cooperation of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE). Panasonic Chairman Kunio Nakamura was appointed as the first chairman of the forum. The forum contributed to forming government policy, for example, through a presentation outlining the reductions possible in CO2 in the consumer sector through energy-saving products given at the LDP Headquarters for the Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures.

Inspired by a program to encourage households to switch from conventional incandescent light bulbs to energy-saving fluorescent lights by 2012, originated by METI, the Energy-Saving Light Forum was established under the Energy-Saving Appliances Promotion Forum. Mr. Ito, president of the Lighting Company was a member of the forum, and he is implementing initiatives to promote the replacement of incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs.

With the globalization of the economy and the global-scale environmental and social problems that have emerged, the role that politics plays in creating a better world is becoming all the more important.

As one aspect of our corporate responsibility, Panasonic makes voluntary political donations. Following Nippon Keidanren (Japan Economic Federation) 's perspective on political contributions, our purpose is to encourage policy integrity, the healthy development of representative democracy, and transparency in political donations.

In deciding which particular political parties to donate to, we use the ten policy issues deemed important in Nippon Keidanren's "Priority Policy Issues" to evaluate a party's policies before making a donation to their political fund raisers.

The 10 priority policies were made public last December, and they are as follows:

1. Tax and fiscal reform to boost Japan's economic dynamism and international competitiveness
2. Comprehensive reform of the social-security system in order to remove the anxieties of the Japanese people and measures to counter the decline in the birthrate
3. Regulatory reform, public-private partnership, and the enactment of economic legislation to make full use of private-sector dynamism
4. Promotion of innovation to create a new strategy for growth
5. Advancement of truly effective energy and environmental policies to bring about a sustainable society
6. Educational reforms that nurture people who possess charitable spirit, broad mind, and individuality
7. Promotion of employment and labor policies that harness the diverse potential of individuals
8. Introduction of a system of states and establishment of attractive regional economic zones
9. Promotion of trade, investment, and economic-cooperation policies to appropriately cope with intense global competition
10. Creating an environment conducive to the enactment of a new constitution, and implementing strategic diplomacy and national-security policy