As a life sciences company, in addition to our business activities, the Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Group is engaged in a wide range of medical and welfare-related initiatives that seek to achieve a vigorous life for patients, their families, and others.
The Company subsidizes medical training that is independently planned and operated by medical societies and associations, to help improve the quality of medical care offered in Japan through better literacy in patients and healthcare professionals, and in 2021, the Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Medical Educational Subsidy was established. We added new domains to the original ones, and in fiscal 2024 provided a total of 29.39 million yen for 12 projects to support education initiatives in the fields of diabetes, renal disease, and ailments of the central nervous system.
For further information about the supported projects and eligible organizations please refer to the Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Medical Educational Subsidy website. (https://www.tanabe-pharma.com/jp/sustainability/educational_subsidy.html) (Japanese language only).
The Company believes in the importance of developing new drugs for intractable diseases and providing support for patients with diseases and their families. Accordingly, in 2012, we established the Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Tenohira Partner Program. This program provides aid for the activities of organizations and support groups for patients with intractable diseases. These organizations work to improve patients’ medical treatment, education, and career prospects and to enhance their quality of life. In fiscal 2024, 14 organizations were selected for assistance.
Additionally, in fall every year we receive a report from each organization we provided assistance to in the previous fiscal year, detailing their activities, and take the opportunity for the exchange of opinions and other information. In fiscal 2024, we held the event over two days, September 27 (Osaka) and October 2 (Tokyo), utilizing a hybrid format combining face-to-face reports from 12 patient groups with online participation.
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- Meeting to report on support operations
For details about grant recipients and other information, please see the page “Support activities for patient groups with intractable diseases.” (Japanese language only)
Patients with IBD*1 must live for the rest of their lives with an illness that will cause them to routinely experience digestive system difficulties such as abdominal pain and diarrhea that fluctuate in severity, and which may require long-term hospitalization for surgery. It is said is said that many experience difficulty in balancing work with their illness.
Since fiscal 2021, we have worked with GoodTe Inc. to hold online employment support seminars for IBD patients. At these seminars, patients are offered lectures by career consultants, gaining insights on how to work with IBD through panel discussions with others with experience doing so and through interactions with other IBD patients.
The seminar for fiscal 2024 was themed, “How to communicate for a better career.” It offered hints on how IBD patients could use assertive communication*2 in their jobs and daily lives to build a more rewarding career. We hope that these seminars help to address the worries and concerns that IBD patients have with regard to work.
- IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease): Generally referred to as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
- Assertive communication: A method of communication that involves expressing one’s opinions and needs accurately while respecting the other party in the conversation
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- Seminar information
September 2024 “Tips for working with IBD: How to communicate for a better career —Exploring the balance between treatment and work through communication—”
We also offer information on a website for IBD patients, which can be viewed below.
Health support websites:
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America (MTPA) proudly co-sponsors and participates in various charitable and awareness walks focused on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).
In fiscal 2024, we supported and participated in 49 fundraising events, joined by approximately 150 employees along with their families and friends. These events serve not only to raise awareness and recognition of ALS and Parkinson’s disease but also to foster a sense of community among patients and advocates. They provide valuable opportunities for patients, families, and caregivers to learn more about ALS and PD and connect with supportive resources.
Through these sponsorships, we contribute to regional and national initiatives—including fundraising for ALS research, patient education, hospital transportation, respite care*, and advocacy activities across state and national levels.
- Respite care offers temporary relief for caregivers, allowing them time for rest and recuperation.
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- Participating in disease awareness events
MTPA supported 56 educational initiatives in fiscal year 2024 designed to provide valuable tools and resources for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP). These efforts extend to patients’ families and aim to enhance understanding and education of these illnesses.
MTPA led a diverse array of initiatives—including educational symposia, mental health workshops, caregiver support programs, forums for patient organizations, and outreach efforts aimed at young professionals. MTPA proudly supported these vital activities, helping to expand their reach and impact for individuals affected by ALS, Parkinson’s, EPP, and XLP.
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- Webinar “A Journey With Our ALS Treatment Option”
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea sponsored and took part in the Route Challenge walking event (June 21–July 20, 2024), in which ALS patients, their families, and volunteers walked together to support patients and raise awareness of Lou Gehrig’s disease. The Route Challenge is a charity event in which cooperating businesses offer donations reflecting the number of steps participants walk. Approximately 35,000 people participated over the course of a month, with around 50 employees taking part. We hope that our participation will give us the opportunity to gain an understanding of the difficulties that patients fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease face, while at the same time deepening awareness and understanding of the disease in patients and their families.
Note: Called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” after the American professional baseball player Lou Gehrig, who suffered from it. The medical name for this disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
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- Participants in “World Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS) Day”
Through support for NPOs, etc., we engage in activities to assist children battling illnesses, along with their families.
Children’s Hospices are facilities that provide children faced with life-threatening illnesses, along with their families, opportunities to learn and play, offering them the close relationship of a friend. However, there are only two such facilities in all of Japan that are not attached to hospitals, one each in the cities of Osaka and Yokohama. By participating in charity events and offering assistance through volunteering, we support the TSURUMI Children’s Hospice and Yokohama Children’s Hospice.
The Children’s Hospice Festival was held on April 28, 2024, coinciding with Japan Children’s Hospice Day. As part of our corporate citizenship initiatives, we conduct a range of activities in support of children’s hospices, and we provided advertising sponsorship for this event.
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- Fiesta poster
Located in Osaka City’s Tsurumi Ward, TSURUMI Children’s Hospice (TCH) is the first community-based children’s hospice in Japan to be created in accordance with the philosophy of the United Kingdom’s Helen House, the first children’s hospice in the world. Five employees of the Company participated in the Osaka Marathon held on February 24, 2025 as TCH charity runners. A volunteer cheering squad also came on the day to provide enthusiastic encouragement for our runners.
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- The Osaka Marathon runners and the cheering squad
[Comments from employees who participated in the marathon]
- I took part in the Osaka Marathon because I wanted to bring a little cheer to everyone involved with the Children’s Hospice.
- The support from everyone helped me complete the marathon.
- I hadn’t anticipated snow falling on the day of the marathon, and I was able to enjoy the run even more than I thought I would.
The Tokyo Yamathon* was held on October 19, 2024, by International Volunteer Group Japan (IVG). This event is a marathon intended to make social contributions by donating all participation fees to NPO groups selected according to IVG standards. The Company participated as a supporter business with 20 of our employees in attendance in five teams. Thirteen employees also helped run the event as volunteers, distributing bottles of our Aspara Drink to all runners who reached the goal. As part of our activities to contribute to society through sport, it proved to be a fulfilling day.
- The Tokyo Yamathon is a fundraising event in which teams of two to four people walk to all or half of the stations on the JR Yamanote train line within a 12-hour period.
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- Participants and volunteers at the Tokyo Yamathon.
Participating in a cross-industry corporate Christmas party for Yokohama Children’s Hospice
A Christmas party was held on December 7 and 8 in 2024 at Umi to Sora no Ouchi (Home of Sea and Sky), a facility run by the certified NPO Yokohama Children’s Hospice Project. Planned as an event that anyone could enjoy, regardless of age, illness, or disability, the Christmas party is intended to offer children an opportunity to experience society. Ten companies from different industries participated in this event, and there was a large variety of booths on display. With a range of activity corners available featuring mini-games and workshops for Christmas ornaments and reusable bags, the venue was bustling and lively. We offered a game in which participants used boccia balls to hit targets on a board shaped like a Christmas tree, which everyone enjoyed.
We also distributed Christmas boot-shaped bags filled with sweets from our Company, Yonezaki apples from Rikuzentakata City, and our own Aspara Drink, to the delight of those who received them. It was a heartwarming and fulfilling two days, filled with the smiles of everyone who attended.
[Comments from event participants]
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This was my first Christmas party. The children enjoyed the games and the praise from so many people, and received gifts from Santa Claus and many different adults, filling them with smiles.
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In addition to content that children can enjoy, this was an opportunity to learn about the Children’s Hospice.
[Comments from volunteers]
- I was able to learn about hospice facilities I don’t normally hear about, which prompted me to think about what I will be able to do myself in future.
- This was a valuable opportunity to learn about the hospice, the people who use it, and interactions with the staff.
The Umi to Sora no Ouchi and Tanamin Christmas Party
Since 2013, we have sponsored Santa Parade Osaka 2024, a charity event that delivers Christmas presents to children who are confronting illness.
On December 1, 2024, 4,000 participants gathered under the spreading blue skies in Osaka Castle Park, all dressed in Santa Claus costumes to enjoy walking the four-kilometer course in their own style. It was impressive to see people enjoying themselves wholeheartedly, some running with family and friends, others strolling leisurely, while others walked with their pets. Eight employees and family members participated as volunteers, distributing our Aspara Drink to participants at the parade goal point. The event came to life, with our company mascot Tanamin also making an appearance.
This charity event helped to spread a circle of kindness, allowing us to offer an early Christmas present to children who were spending time in hospital.
Note: From fiscal 2024, the name of the event was changed from “Santa Run” to “Santa Parade” with the addition of a new parade along Osaka’s Midosuji bringing even more to the event.
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- Participants and volunteers at the Santa Parade Osaka
According to the Japanese Red Cross, because blood cannot be artificially produced or stored for long periods of time, in order to secure blood that is needed for transfusions, there is said to be a need for approximately 14,000 people to donate blood each day. Blood is important to save the precious lives of patients who need blood transfusions due to a disease or accident.
The Group cooperates actively with the Japanese Red Cross in blood donation activities at each site, including our head offices. Moreover, the Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Indonesia’s Bandung Plant collaborates with the Indonesian Red Cross Society to participate in blood drives. In fiscal 2024, 490 employees donated blood in Japan and overseas.
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- Donating blood at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Indonesia (Bandung plant)
On the third Thursday of every month, we hold direct sales of freshly baked bread and confectionaries made at welfare facilities catering to people with disabilities at our headquarters. Each carefully made, these baked goods are a favorite of our employees and sell out every time. The welfare facilities appreciate these sales as an opportunity to receive feedback from their customers directly. We will continue to support their efforts by purchasing from them.
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- Sales of freshly baked bread and confectionaries
TFT is a social contribution activity that originated in Japan. It is aimed at simultaneously resolving the problems of hunger in developing countries and the problems of obesity and lifestyle-related diseases in industrially developed countries. At the employee cafeterias, when employees eat low-calorie meals that help prevent obesity, through TABLE FOR TWO International, 20 yen of the price is allocated to the cost of school meals in developing countries, such as countries in Africa and Asia. Twenty yen is the amount of money needed to provide one meal in a developing country.
In 2014, we introduced the TFT Program at the employee cafeteria at the headquarters office. Also, at offices, we have installed TFT vending machines, and a portion of the sales of drinks purchased from these machines is used to provide meals for children in developing countries. Employees have given high evaluations to this initiative, in which they can readily participate, and which enables children in developing countries and employees to improve their health at the same time. In fiscal 2024, 86,400 yen was donated, and the cumulative total donated since the start of the activity reached 1,590,000 yen.
The school meals that are provided through donations are expected not only to help solve hunger among children but also to increase school attendance rates and grades, lead to gains in the children’s fundamental strength, and help prevent disease. In this way, these meals are playing an important role in helping to eliminate poverty. Moving forward, we will continue this initiative to help solve hunger and poverty among children in developing countries.
Fiscal 2024 meals contributed through participation in the TABLE FOR TWO program (Converted at 20 yen per meal)
|
Contributions from the TFT menu |
Contributions from TFT vending machines |
Total |
|
37,960 yen （1,898 meals） |
48,440 yen （2,422 meals） |
86,400 yen （4,320 meals） |
Participating in Onigiri Action 2024
Onigiri Action is a campaign of social contribution held every year on October 16 in conjunction with World Food Day. Themed around the concept of changing the world with Japanese cuisine, this campaign seeks to provide hot lunches to children in Africa and Asia through onigiri (rice balls), a typical Japanese food. Under the Onigiri Action system, five hot meals are distributed to children in these areas for every post of an onigiri photo on social media and other dedicated websites.
On October 23, 2024, the Group held Onigiri Action events at four locations simultaneously: company headquarters and our Yokohama, Yoshitomi, and Onoda offices. With the collaboration of the cafeterias at each location, we offered onigiri containing slightly different ingredients to those normally used and special lunches for the event. Each office offered its own innovations, such as preparing fun onigiri point-of-purchase materials to take photos with, and many employees participated by taking pictures of onigiri and posting them to social media and the dedicated Onigiri Action website.
This event gave each employee a personal perspective on global food and health issues, and provided an opportunity to start from small acts of support.
Onigiri Action（https://onigiri-action.com/）
The Group has been participating in vaccine support activities for children in developing countries since 2014. Through this program, unneeded books, CDs, and DVDs are donated, and the proceeds from their sale are donated to Authorized NPO Japan Committee Vaccines for the World’s Children. Through this international contribution activity, those donations are used to deliver vaccines to children in developing countries, such as vaccines for six major infectious diseases. The price of a polio vaccine is only 20 yen per person. One book that is sitting on a shelf can protect two children from polio.
In fiscal 2024, a total of 234,572 yen, equivalent to polio vaccines for 11,729 children, was raised from employee donations and matching gifts from the Company. Since the start of these activities, total donations were about 2.99 million yen, equivalent to about 149,500 polio vaccines.
As part of our support for access to healthcare, we will continue these activities as we aim for a future in which children in developing countries live healthy and happy lives.
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- Offices participating in vaccine support
Fiscal 2024 contributions resulting from participation in vaccine support activities for children in developing countries
|
Amount of contributions |
Polio vaccine (estimate) |
|
|
Employees |
117,286 yen |
5,864 doses |
|
Company matching |
117,286 yen |
5,864 doses |
|
Total |
234,572 yen |
11,729 doses |
Note: Information on this page pertains to activities and results for fiscal 2024.