Sociocultural Support Activities
Initiatives
Major Initiatives
Miraisha Programme Aims to Increase Employment Opportunities and Technical Skills in Africa
High youth unemployment is a severe problem in Africa. Moreover, while demand is increasing for photography, video production, and printing, most of this business is done by foreign companies because local skill levels often do not reach international standards. In response to this situation, Canon Central and North Africa has been promoting its Miraisha Programme, a social investment initiative in Africa. Miraisha is a portmanteau of the Japanese word mirai, meaning future, and the Swahili word maisha, meaning life. Through the program, Canon aims to improve the technical skills of local young people and increase employment opportunities for local young people in Africa’s growing photography, video production, and print industries.
Workshops in photography, film-making, and professional printing have been conducted in 13 countries throughout Africa. In 2024, we conducted training in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
Through partnerships with local organizations, educational institutions, event organizers, and with the assistance of Canon Ambassadors, and Trainers, the Miraisha Programme has so far provided training to more than 7,000 workshop participants. In 2024, 600 people participated, bringing the total to 7,600 participants trained. Canon has also created a training program to develop local photographers and videographers as Canon-accredited trainers for the Miraisha Programme. By 2024, a total of 21 Canon Certified Miraisha trainers were working throughout Africa, three of whom were recruited as Canon Group employees.
Canon Young People Programme Harnesses the Power of Positive Visual Storytelling
Canon Europe is working with local NGOs across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to reach out to local communities through the Canon Young People Programme (CYPP). Targeting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, this initiative aims to create a better, more sustainable future by introducing participants to the power of creative visual storytelling and critical thinking in line with the SDGs, and providing them with opportunities to learn about creative expression using photography and video.
In 2024, CYPP workshops were held across EMEA in 32 countries, supporting over 1,725 young people to have their voices heard and their stories told through 527 days of creative storytelling workshops. These included workshops in a bomb shelter in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, and in a wildlife reserve in Botswana, Southern Africa.
Inclusivity Initiatives Using Elevated Printing Technology
Canon Europe is currently hosting the World Unseen campaign in different regions of Europe, allowing visually impaired people to experience photography through Canon’s imaging and printing technology.
Works by renowned photographers, including Sebastião Salgado, are printed using Canon’s UV-curable large-format flatbed printers, which utilize ink thickness to create a raised effect, allowing people to experience them through touch. In 2024, 27 exhibitions were held in the EMEA region. The campaign was also showcased at drupa 2024 in Germany, the world’s largest international trade fair for the printing and media industry, where visitors had the chance to experience some sample photographs created with elevated printing. There are plans for the exhibition to be held in various other countries in 2025.
Feedback from one of the World Unseen exhibition partners
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is very proud to partner with Canon. This exhibition is a wonderful initiative for inclusion. The exhibited works taught us that everyone has different perspectives, and these diverse worldviews affect our emotions in various ways.
Photography has a lot of influence, and I was really moved by the creative courage to use elevated printing. This is not just an art exhibition; it demonstrates the power of photography beyond the images taken.
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Royal National Institute of Blind People
The Research and Education Program “Eyes on Yellowstone” Made Possible by support from Canon U.S.A. Helps to Communicate the Importance of Environmental Conservation
Canon U.S.A. donates products and funds to Yellowstone Forever, the official nonprofit partner of a globally renowned Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.A. to support initiatives such as surveillance activities targeting endangered wildlife species.
Eyes on Yellowstone allows Yellowstone’s scientists and managers to break new ground in conservation, endangered species protection, and the application of cutting-edge science and technology to park wildlife and ecosystem management. The data collected from these projects have educated and inspired millions of people around the world. Eyes on Yellowstone helps enrich the visitor experience—real and virtual—and encourages the public to become more involved in national parks and, more broadly, environmental protection.
In 2024, Canon U.S.A’s donated 4K Outdoor PTZ Camera captured the Wapiti Lake Wolf Pack from the live-stream of Old Faithful geyser.
The 4E’s Project in India
Canon India carries out the 4E’s Project in partnership with the NGO Humana People to People India.
The project provides various forms of assistance in the four fields of eye care, education, environment, and empowerment to impoverished villages near to the Canon India offices.
Especially in the field of eye-care, Canon strives to provide improved medical assistance to the people with vision impairment by utilizing its technology from the Medical Group that Canon plans to further strengthen and expand its operation as part of the priority business strategy. In India, despite the fact that 80% of cataracts, a major cause of visual impairment, are believed to be preventable or treatable, the issue is lack of access to appropriate diagnostic or therapeutic care due to insufficiently developed healthcare infrastructure.
Canon India opens vision centers in selected villages to provide eye examinations using equipment made by Canon. A total of 4,448 people visited these centers in 2024, with 852 receiving free eyeglasses, and 356 patients being referred for treatment in hospital. There were 26,450 beneficiaries in the entire 4E’s Project.
Support for Education in Asia
Canon supports the education of children across Asia who will become leaders of the next generation.
Respecting the right of every child to receive an education, we have set up 11 Canon Hope Elementary Schools in China to provide a better educational environment through improved access to education.
In Vietnam, since 2007 we have been pursuing the Canon Friendship School Chain Project, which involves constructing school buildings, providing desks and chairs, and donating school supplies to improve the learning environment for children. We opened our 54th school in 2024 in an impoverished area in the mountainous region of northeastern Vietnam.
In Thailand as well, Canon staff are engaged in ongoing volunteer activities to support children in impoverished areas in receiving a high-quality education in conducive environments. Employees visit schools to repair facilities, take photographs for student IDs, and donate Canon products and daily necessities.
A Charity Goods Fair was organized at Canon Inc. to allow employees to donate cameras and lenses to be sold at an in-house bazaar. The company matched the proceeds generated by the sales, and donated the funds to organizations supporting education and medical services in Asian countries, including Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
Collaborating with Other Companies and Leveraging Each Other’s Strengths to Support Education
Since 2014, the Canon Marketing Japan Group has been working with Pentel Co., Ltd. on the Memories of School Building Project, which supports the creation of final memories of school buildings that are to be demolished due to rebuilding, closure, or amalgamation. Children draw on the entire school building and the scenes they capture with digital cameras are made into large posters and donated. By leveraging the strengths of both companies, the project supports children’s memory-making and contributes to the raising of awareness in the arts and regional revitalization.
In 2023, 242 people participated in photography workshops organized at various locations in the region.
Disaster Relief Activities
The Canon Group donated a total of ¥40 million through the Japanese Red Cross Society to support recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024 and the torrential rain disaster in the same area in September of the same year. In addition, employee fundraising was carried out for each disaster, and the funds collected were donated to Japan Platform. Also, Canon Marketing Japan’s Tohoku Reconstruction Promotion Office in Sendai continued to hold photography workshops in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Preserving Ancient Japanese Cultural Assets for the Future Through the Tsuzuri Project
Canon and Kyoto Culture Association (NPO) have been running the Cultural Heritage Inheritance Project, commonly known as the Tsuzuri Project, since 2007.
Many of Japanese precious ancient cultural assets have limited viewing opportunities, often because they have been moved overseas or are preserved in storage as designated national treasures. The Tsuzuri Project combines Canon’s imaging technology with traditional craftsmanship from Kyoto to create high-resolution facsimiles that are as faithful to the original as possible. The facsimiles are utilized in a range of ways, including in public exhibitions held by the donating institution and for educational purposes.
In 2024, a high-resolution facsimile of folding screen masterpiece “Maple Leaves on a Stream (front), Mountain Views (reverse)” by Ikeda Koson, a work that never leaves the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, was donated to the city of Agano in Niigata Prefecture, which is believed to be the artist’s hometown. In addition, a high-resolution facsimile of “Waves at Matsushima” by Ogata Korin, housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was donated to Kyoto City University of Arts. Moreover, a special exhibition, “Must-See National Treasures and Masterpieces: A Miraculous Collection Realized by High-resolution Facsimiles” featuring 15 high-resolution facsimiles produced in the Tsuzuri Project, was held at the Okayama City Museum, attracting about 10,000 visitors. The exhibition provided visitors an opportunity to appreciate Japan’s cultural heritage due to the unique viewing method made possible with high resolution facsimiles. With no glass cases installed, visitors could get up close to works by renowned artists such as Tawaraya Sotatsu, Ogata Korin, Katsushika Hokusai, and Ito Jakuchu, and also experience the world of these works through projection mapping.
Message from the Director of University Art Museum, Kyoto City University of Arts
In October 2023, our university campus relocated close to Kyoto Station, the gateway to Kyoto. At this important time, as we start to set our sights on becoming a vibrant hub of art as a new “creative site,” we are deeply grateful for the Tsuzuri Project’s donation of the high-resolution facsimile of “Waves at Matsushima” by Ogata Korin.
This high-resolution facsimile is of a masterpiece housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where Ogata Korin’s unique style is really apparent. It is highly regarded for its dynamic depiction of wave crests, among other features, and is known as a renowned work that is rarely seen in Japan. With the donation of this elaborately crafted and high-quality finished facsimile, which features fine brushwork and hand-applied gold leaf, not only students studying art but also visitors to our university can always closely view and appreciate the charm of this replica. This is profoundly significant and valuable for the future. I certainly hope this initiative will continue in the future.
Kyoto City University of Arts
Director, University Art Museum
Contributing to Society Through Rugby
Canon Inc. manages the Yokohama Canon Eagles, part of Japan’s Rugby League One, with the aim of creating and sharing thrilling experiences with sports fans and local residents through the sport of rugby.
As a social contribution activity targeting elementary, junior high, and high school students nationwide, the team holds career education classes and tag rugby workshops run by current Eagles players and staff. The goal is to contribute to the healthy development of children through rugby by letting them experience the importance of team play and the joy of physical activity.
In 2024, the team held career education classes and tag rugby workshops at 27 elementary schools, with a total of 2,612 students participating. The team also hosted the “Eagles Cup 2024” mini-rugby tournament for rugby schools from the region at their training ground at Canon Sports Park in Tokyo.
Supporting Research Activities that Contribute to the Sustainable Development of Humankind Through the Canon Foundation
The Canon Foundation was established in 2008 with the aim of contributing to the development of science and technology. Operating completely independently of Canon’s business activities, it provides assistance in a wide range of science and technology research fields. The foundation’s aim has been to create new value for society by adopting an approach of supporting research that addresses cutting-edge fields of science and technology. Based on this concept, the foundation supports two research programs, focusing on the themes of “Science and Technology that Achieve a Good Future” and “Science and Technology that Create New Industries.”
Over the past 16 years, the Canon Foundation has disbursed a total of 235 research grants totaling ¥4.3 billion. The foundation enjoys recognition from universities and public research institutions across Japan as a distinctive research grant foundation which provides an average project grant of around ¥18 million—a relatively high amount mainly for fledgling research projects and young researchers just starting out.
In the former, the foundation provides grants for innovative scientific and technological research aimed at solving social issues expected to arise in the future. In 2024, a total of three projects were selected, including “Enhancing the rice nutrient recycling capacity for sustainable food production without reliance on large fertilizer inputs.”
In the latter program, the foundation provides grants for innovative and original scientific and technological research that leads to the creation of new industries not yet known to the world. In 2024, a total of 11 projects were selected. For example, “Restoration and emergence of brain functions by neural fiber transplantation” and “A novel radiocarbon detection technology using ultra-sensitive laser spectroscopy.”
In 2024, we also held an online seminar for the general public, featuring four researchers who had previously received research grants. They delivered presentations on cutting-edge research that aims to protect the future of food, touching on topics such as the future of Japanese agriculture. Participants ranged from teenagers to those in their 60s, and considering the many questions and comments received on the day, they most likely experienced firsthand the usefulness and intrigue of science.
Canon Institute for Global Studies Aims to Help Address Problems Faced by Humankind
The Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) is a non-profit private-sector think tank established in 2008 as a general incorporated foundation.
In this era of globalization, CIGS analyzes the status quo and offers strategic recommendations from the perspective of how Japan should position itself in the world. Its specific areas of research are centered around three pillars: macroeconomics, energy and environment, and foreign affairs and security.
In the area of macroeconomics, CIGS conducts research on how to achieve healthy economic growth from a broad perspective. Also, as Asia, particularly China, becomes a key player in the global economy, the institute looks at what economic analysis methods exist and what policy-making mechanisms are most desirable.
In the area of energy and environment, CIGS conducts research based on a dynamic approach to see how issues in these fields—which might be constraining economic growth—can be transformed into drivers of growth.
In the area of foreign affairs and security, the institute researches how Japan should consider its role, addressing both urgent issues and long-term strategies.
Other than this, CIGS delves into policy discussions on a wide range of issues and current and future situations, including healthcare schemes, agriculture and forestry, fiscal and social security, and the Chinese economy. Through these activities, CIGS is building a global knowledge network to ensure that various emerging ideas are effectively passed on to the next generation.
The Canon Institute for Global Studies
Other Major Sociocultural Support Activities
Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief
Donations
We donated ¥40 million through the Japanese Red Cross Society to support the areas rocked by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024 and then the torrential rain that occurred in the same areas in September of the same year. In addition, support was provided to those affected by the earthquake in Taiwan in April, the typhoon in Asia in September, and the hurricane in the U.S. in October.
Cooperation with UN Support Programs
Canon helped sponsor the Refugee Film Festival, organized by Japan for UNHCR*1, with the cooperation of the UNHCR Representation in Japan. We also participate in activities to support the Japan Association for the World Food Programme*2.
- *1 The national partner of UNHCR in Japan
- *2 The national partner of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Japan
Local Communities
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk
2024 marks Canon U.S.A.’s 26th anniversary as a flagship sponsor of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. The funds raised and donated by Canon U.S.A. go to the American Cancer Society to support breast cancer research, education, and patient services.
Food Donations
We carry out food drives and food bank activities to donate food to organizations in need at our Shimomaruko headquarters and at other Group locations in Japan and overseas.
Education and Science
Junior Photographers
This project organizes nature-themed photography classes for children with the aims of raising environmental awareness and fostering richer artistic sensitivity. In 2024, photography workshops were held at 21 locations, attended by 753 participants. An exhibition was also held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the project.
Internship Program for Students
Group companies conducted various internships, including programs aimed at supporting the career development of students. Canon Inc. offered a total of 2,043 internships to students on administrative, technical or specialist tracks in 2024.
Art, Culture, and Sports
Oita International Wheelchair Marathon
As an official partner, Canon Inc. supports the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon, which started as the world’s first international marathon exclusively for wheelchair users. Many Canon Group employees have volunteered to help run this event.
