Contributing to Society

The Kobelco Community Contribution Fund was established in June 2006. Continuing work in fiscal 2010, the fund provides support for children, in nine cities and one town where the Kobe Steel Group has operating facilities and laboratories: Kobe, Kakogawa, Takasago, Harima, Fujisawa, Ibaraki, Higashihiroshima, Moka, Inabe, and Shimonoseki.

Providing support for daycare centers (Kakogawa)

Fifth grade social studies classes at Ikeda Elementary School in Kobe were learning about steelworks and thesteel industry in Japan, using the Kobe Works as an example. As part of their curriculum, we were asked if one of our employees could talk to students and help them learn even more. In response, we organized classes based on the theme "Steel and the Environment".

In an effort to enable children to experience the wonders of manufacturing for themselves, we sent out employees to elementary schools in Amagasaki (Meijo Elementary School) and Kakogawa (Befu-Nishi Elementary School) to organize monozukuri classes.. Last year, students made stained glass lamps.

We have been organizing Chofu Festa every year since 2000 in an effort to promote exchange with the local community. The event has established itself as a fixture on the local calendar each fall. In fiscal 2010, around 4,000 employees and members of the community took part in the event and enjoyed a range of performances, a grand prize draw and other attractions.

In conjunction with Kobelco Construction Machinery (East Japan) Co., Ltd., we organized a work experience event to show children what it is like to work for a company. Children taking part were presented with work experience certificates, printed on the spot, and went away with satisfied smiles on their faces.

The 1^st Takasago Hamakaze Relay Race took place on February 12, 2011. Organized chiefly by Takasago City, Takasago Chamber of Commerce and Industry and local companies, with the aim of revitalizing the local community and promoting community sports, the race consisted of a circular course around Takasago Industrial Park.

With lots of people living and working in Takasago taking part, the event was a great success and attracted even more participants than expected (around 1,500 participants in 224 teams). A total of 286 Kobe Steel Group employees took part in the race, split between 34 teams.

We organize summer festivals and cultural events at Domani Kobe and two other retirement homes every year, for residents, their families and members of the local community. Summer festivals include entertainment such as bon odori dances and outdoor stalls. Cultural events meanwhile include song and dance performances by local children and activities such as the tea ceremony by residents, providing an ideal opportunity for people to interact with one another.

At our home care center in Kobe's Higashinada Ward (Okamoto Anshin Sukoyaka Center), we have put together a network to look after local elderly people with dementia, in partnership with police stations, medical facilities, shops and other establishments in the area around Okamoto Rose Garden. We share information based on our experiences and organize workshops in an effort to make the local area a safer place for elderly people with dementia to live their lives.

As part of Moka City's basic environmental plan, the Moka Environmental Partnership Committee promotes efforts to preserve the environment within the city through collaboration between local government, citizens and companies. We have signed up to this scheme at the Moka Plant and organize clean-up activities, weeding and other environmental activities in the area around Okubo River. Around 90 of our employees take part in such activities, including managerial staff.

As part of our community activities, we do our bit to improve the local environment by picking up litter strewn along roadside areas around the laboratories. Once a month, we get together volunteers from our General Administration Section and Group company Japan Superconductor Technology, Inc., and carry out clean-up activities along the roads around the laboratories and in nearby parks.

We have agreed to clean up the walking paths alongside the Toga River , which flows through Kobe's Nada Ward, and take part in beautification activities of the river itself five times a year. Our continued participation in such activities is much appreciated by local people, especially as we clean up areas that are beyond the reach of elderly volunteers.

We started monthly clean-up activities in the vicinity of company premises, including collecting litter and weeding, because we wanted to do something to help the community on an ongoing basis. Participants are often surprised to see that so many people do not care about throwing away litter along public roads. This encourages the participants to make more of an effort to keep the area clean.

* Absorbed into Kobe Steel on April 1, 2011

The 90^th National High School Rugby Tournament took place from December 27, 2010 to January 8, 2011 at the Hanazono Rugby Ground. The Kobe Steel Group has been providing special support for the tournament for six years now, alongside the Kobelco Cup National High School Combined Team Rugby Tournament every summer.

On January 8, 2011, just before the final, the 3rd Under-18 Combined Team East-West Match also took place, featuring players selected from those who took part in the 2010 Kobelco Cup. The chance to play at the hallowed Hanazono Rugby Ground was a dream come true for the high school rugby players taking part.

The NPO Sports Community & Intelligence Complex (SCIX) (President: Seiji Hirao) was set up in 2000 with the aim of contributing to the local community through sports. On September 20, 2010, SCIX held a Sports Symposium to commemorate its 10th anniversary. The event featured speeches and panel discussions, and was attended by over 500 people.

Given that rugby sevens will be officially included in the Olympics for the first time in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, for both men and women, SCIX has also decided to launch a women's rugby team as part of the SCIX Rugby Club, in an effort to improve conditions for female rugby players and promote women's rugby.

Kobe Steel will continue to provide support for activities such as these in the future.

From their first match of the season in September 2009 to their final match in February 2010, Kobe Steel's rugby team, the Kobelco Steelers, collected donations for the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation at all of their games. They also added part of the receipts from the 2010 Kobelco Rugby Festival, making a total donation of ¥388,612, which was presented to the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation on August 30, 2010. The Kobelco Steelers have been making donations to the foundation for the last nine years and will continue to engage in fund raising activities in the future.

We have signed up for the Forest Caretaker scheme, organized by the Rokko Sabo Office of the Kinki Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and take part in a range of forest improvement activities. Under the guidance of the NPO Rokko Nature Learning (Rokko-san no Shizen wo Manabo-kai), we also carry out volunteer improvement activities in a designated area of forest on the south side of Mount Kincho, which we have named Kocoro-Chan's Forest (kokoro-chan no mori).

We organize Rokko Clean Hiking activities meanwhile, which have been up and running since 2006, three or four times a year in conjunction with the Forest Caretaker scheme.

Kobelco Systems first planted trees at the Iyashi no Mori Forest at Arima Hot Springs in 2007, to commemorate its 20th anniversary. It has continued the practice ever since, organizing planting events in the same spot every year. The fourth such event took place in November 2010. Twenty employees took Mountain Hydrangeas that they had grown at home or in other locations and replanted them in the Iyashi no Mori.

Winter coats donated by the players were also sent to the affected area.