On October 21, 250 members from the board of directors as well as employees of Panasonic Group of Companies in Vietnam excitedly participated in the charity event Mottainai run, and contributed to the program’s fund to support underprivileged children. This year, the event was made all the more special as it coincided with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

As one of the sponsors for the event, hundreds of members from the board of directors as well as employees of seven companies of the Panasonic Vietnam Group and their families gathered at the Hoan Kiem Lake walking street early in the morning at 6:00 am with enthusiasm to participate in the fundraising Mottainai run. Joining thousands of locals, all of the Panasonic participants completed the 1.7 km route, named Green Living, strongly reflective of the company inspiration. They also donated nearly 50 million VND to the event’s fund to support orphans and children with disabilities. Two women runners from Panasonic System Networks Vietnam skillfully won the second and third-place prizes. Panasonic was also honored by the organizing committee for being the enterprise with the most participants in this year’s running competition.

Mr. Oka Hiroyuki, Director of Panasonic Vietnam shared: “Panasonic officially presented in Vietnam in 1971, and we are proud to be one of the Japanese companies contributing to the 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations. With an eye toward the next 50 years in Vietnam, Panasonic has committed to contributing to the wellness of the Vietnamese people and sustainable development of their society. Therefore, we have dedicated ourselves to joining Mottainai Festival to spread the spirit of Mottainai—an immersive aspect of Japanese culture—and join hands to raise funds to support underprivileged children, while inspirationally promoting our company vision for wellness and a sustainable Vietnam. Moreover, this is a valuable opportunity for us to unite all member companies of the Panasonic Group in Vietnam, nurturing organizational pride and strengthening the connections between our members.”

Mottainai 2023 is the fourth time Panasonic has sponsored this meaningful program. This is one of the Japanese company’s corporate citizenship activities aiming to realize its commitment of contributing to society and inspire each employee to become a sustainable ambassador to convey the message and their enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle, environmental protection and sustainable development to the community. Previously in April, nearly 100 Panasonic employees across Vietnam joined with local people and authorities to plant 13,500 trees in Xuan Lien Nature Reserve and neighboring areas in Thanh Hoa province, along with various supporting activities for local communities such as eco-learning class for students, sustainable tourism workshops for local resident and more.

Ms. Hoang Thi Lan, employee of Panasonic System Networks Vietnam, who won third place in the women’s running category shared: “I started running every day since participating in the company’s internal running competition. So, I was very exciting to join this meaningful event with my colleagues with so much pride and energy to inspire the community to get excited about wellness and sustainable living.”

Mottainai run is the main activity of the 10th Mottainai program, organized by the Vietnam Women’s Newspaper, co-organised by the Vietnam Women’s Union and the Japanese Embassy, National Traffic Safety Committee and sponsorship from domestic and Japanese corporations, and aims to promoting green lifestyles, environmental protection and the raising of funds for underprivileged children, especially orphans or those with disabilities. More specially, the program is part of activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan (1973-2023), with many Japanese cultural immersive activities. In addition, various activities for public such as marketplaces, auctions and fundraising attracted thousands of locals to visit and participate during weekend.

‍

‍