Hello, this is Akira Hoshi of the CSR & Citizenship Group.

To contribute 100,000 solar lanterns to people without access to electricity by 2018 and help solve social challenges those people are facing―this is our project mission. Our outlying goal is a society in which the approximately 1.3 billion people worldwide living without electricity will have access to safe light sources and a better life.

As our project progressed, we started receiving inquiries from local governments and Panasonic group sites about collaboration opportunities, saying whether there was anything they could do to help.

Kota Town with a population of about 39,000 is located in Aichi, central Japan. The town is home to the Kota Plant of Panasonic Eco Solutions Housing Equipment Co., Ltd. where A・La・Uno fully-automatic self-cleaning toilets, bathroom vanities, and stairways for homes are manufactured. In 2010, Kota Town became a Friendship City to Siem Reap, home of the Ruins of Angkor, making it a town with close ties to both Panasonic and Cambodia.

This year, Kota Town is hosting a chain of events celebrating their 60th anniversary since their municipal merger. As one of the celebratory events, Kota Town, in sympathy with the 100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project, decided to donate 12 solar lanterns to Siem Reap's Torakiethto Elementary School through the Kota Lions Club. At the same time, the Kota Factory of Panasonic Eco Solutions Housing Equipment decided to donate 12 solar lanterns to a local NGO Joint Support Team for Angkor Preservation and Community Development (JST).

The Donation Ceremony held in the presence of Siem Reap Province Deputy Governor Bun Tarith: From Panasonic Eco Solutions Housing Equipment Co., Ltd. Managing Executive Officer Yusuke Takechi to JST Representative Chea Nol (Left) , and from Kota Town Mayor Issei Osuka to the Kota Lions Club (Right).

JST plans to use the solar lanterns together with those received through the 100 Thousand Lanterns Project at Bayon Junior High School which they built.

The 24 solar lanterns will be delivered together with the donation to Cambodia to be made through the 100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project by the CSR & Citizenship Group this upcoming November.

There are limits as to how much the 100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project can do to help solve issues in regions without electricity. But your help could bring new possibilities to our project.
Local governments and corporations interested in joining hands are welcome to contact us through our Facebook page. Going forward, we will also look into how we can work with people on the individual level.

We will continue our active drive in solving the various issues that people in areas without electricity face every day.