Going Forward with Society
The Ajinomoto Group's Approach
Share global issues with society, and consider the contributions the Ajinomoto Group can make, what the group can do through cooperating with society, and what each citizen can do for society.
Symposium on food safety
On September 7, 2010, a symposium entitled "The Significance of Risk Communication in Food and Science" was held at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Food Safety. The special lectures began with a talk on advanced risk communication initiatives related to food in Europe by Irene van Geest-Jacobs, the former deputy director of communications at the European Food Safety Authority. It was followed by a lecture by Sue Hartley, a professor at the University of Sussex, who discussed plant evolution and its historical and future relationship with human beings. Based on her 2010 Christmas Lectures for the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the talk also touched on current improvements in the cultivation of edible plants.
The lectures were followed by a lively panel discussion in which participants exchanged viewpoints on food safety.
The panel discussion
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Professor Sue Hartley
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Irene Van Geest-Jacobs
Face to Face with Patients
AJINOMOTO PHARMACEUTICALS CO., LTD. is engaged in the research and development as well as production and sale of specialized pharmaceutical products for treating the liver, kidneys, and digestive organs, with a focus on pursuing core technologies mainly based on amino acids. As pharmaceuticals are delivered directly to hospitals and other medical institutions, there are few opportunities for company employees to communicate with the patients that use them.
To address this, AJINOMOTO PHARMACEUTICALS CO., LTD. took an opportunity to interact with patients suffering from intractable diseases at the Second Walk and Run Festival.
Second Walk and Run Festival held in 2010
With support from the Ajinomoto Group as a special sponsor, the Walk and Run Festival was held at the AJINOMOTO STADIUM on September 11, 2010. In response to an unexpected heat wave, extensive medical facilities were set up to handle cases of heat stroke or other potential problems during sports activities. Despite the heat, many people enjoyed mingling on the field, in the stadium concourse, and inside the facilities.
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Walking and running in pairs
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A wheelchair ski
First held in 2009, the Walk and Run Festival aims to bring together, engage and invigorate people with and without intractable diseases or disabilities through exercise. The second festival in 2010 attracted approximately 4,000 visitors and featured a new program of activities. They included a walking clinic and a running clinic open to people with or without disabilities, physical health and fitness checks, and a five-hour running race with newly established rules.
Other festival events were designed to enable participants to experience living with disabilities. For example, audio ping-pong required players to wear an eye mask and rely only on the sound of the bouncing ball during a game. A lecture for escort runners was held to give participants an opportunity to guide visually impaired marathon runners. The program also featured other special activities such as walking and running in pairs while holding a short rope, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair skiing using a Wii game console, and cycling on bicycles pedaled with the hands.
Festival participants were impressed with the events, with one remarking: "Whether people had a disability or not, there was simply no barrier and everyone naturally enjoyed the day together." Other comments included: "I had a good opportunity to consider the feelings of people who use wheelchairs," and "This event made me interested in sports."
The next Walk and Run Festival is scheduled for September 25, 2011 under the theme of working with each other.
Inflammatory bowel disease patients tour AJINOMOTO PHARMACEUTICALS CO., LTD. Fukushima Plant
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Observing the production process of ELENTAL®
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A letter from one of the visitors
On November 19, 2010, AJINOMOTO PHARMACEUTICALS CO., LTD. Fukushima Plant was visited by 19 members of the IBD Network, an organization for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)1. The participants came from all over Japan, spanning Iwate Prefecture in the north part of the country to Nagasaki Prefecture in the south, and they observed the production of ELENTAL®, an elemental diet for IBD patients.
During the tour, the plant's employees provided explanations while demonstrating the production processes of ELENTAL®. In a discussion with employees held after the tour, patients conveyed their opinions and impressions of the product, as well as various viewpoints of their families.
At a later date, the plant's manager received a letter from one of the visitors. The letter read: "I returned to health after I started to take ELENTAL®, and I believe that I can maintain my health with its continued use. I would like to thank everyone at the plant for their work, which directly relates to the health of people with inflammatory bowel disease." When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck the region where the Fukushima Plant is located, employees found inspiration in the letter as they worked side by side toward disaster recovery. 1. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an intractable disease characterized by inflammation and ulceration of the mucosa in the bowels. Symptoms include abdominal pain and diarrhea. Its cause is unclear.
