The Nippon Kayaku Group, as part of the commemorative projects marking its 80th anniversary and under the motto of providing a helping hand to children with intractable diseases and their families, owns and operates Asunaro House, an extended-stay facility for caregivers in Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture. Asunaro House, which first opened in December 1998, provides caregivers of children fighting intractable diseases, such as childhood cancer, with a safe haven to live while their child undergoes treatment or a bone marrow transplant at nearby specialist medical institutions. In fiscal 2010, Asunaro House was used by 178 families.

Asunaro House is equipped with everything needed for extended stays. Together with safeguarding the privacy of users, the facility also features a shared kitchen, cafeteria and living space so that parents of children battling disease can meet and support one another, as the other goal of the facility is to alleviate the mental stress on caregivers. A playroom is also made available for children.

The Nippon Kayaku Group, through its business activities and social contribution activities, is committed to fulfilling its role toward society as a good corporate citizen.

In May 2011 a brand new gymnasium was completed onsite at the Nippon Kayaku Asa Plant located in Yamaguchi Prefecture. This gymnasium serves a dual purpose as a place for the local community to come together through sports and as an evacuation center in the case of a natural disaster.

The facility was built slightly elevated because of previous flooding seen in the area. The front entryway to the Sakura Dome was designed to be fully compliant with the Yamaguchi Prefecture Urban Planning Ordinance on Welfare and features a sloped walkway easily accessible by wheelchairs and senior citizens. The facility also employs energy-saving ceramic metal halide lamps*1 and a high efficiency transformer.*1

The gymnasium's nickname of the Sakura Dome was selected from among a wide range of suggestions made by Asa Plant employees. This name can be traced back to the Yamazakura name given to the first product manufactured by Nippon Kayaku back in 1917. One of the reasons behind the Sakura Dome name is the many cherry (sakura) trees located onsite at the Asa Plant. The other reason for the name Sakura Dome is because cherry trees also hold a special place in the hearts of Japanese people.

• *1Ceramic metal halide lamp: Ceramic metal halide lamps are next-generation ecofriendly lamps that are far superior in terms of efficiency, color rendering and service life compared to conventional mercury lamps.
• *2High efficiency transformer: A high efficiency transformer is a highly efficient ecofriendly transformer that helps prevent global warming by significantly reducing CO2 emissions compared to conventional transformers.

The Takasaki Plant actively participates and gets involved in traditional events held locally in Iwahanamachi in Takasaki City, including the Childrearing Kannon Festival and Bon Odori Dance Festival. The plant also hosts the Fureai Festival on the second Sunday in May each year, which attracts a large number of spectators from the local community, while the plant's gymnasium is also used for local volleyball as well as ping pong tournaments. As evidenced by this, the Takasaki Plant very much values its connections with the surrounding community.

These connections also resulted in a request from Iwahana Elementary School for Takasaki Plant staff to visit the school on June 25, 2010 to give a presentation. During the presentation, Takasaki Plant Manager Ikuyuki Saito introduced Nippon Kayaku to all of the school's 400 students at a special assembly.

Saito's presentation was given in quiz format on the size of the Takasaki plant, the number of employees and the products it makes. The presentation proved to be very meaningful and full of laughs as some students thought long and hard about their answers, while others provided some rather out of the ordinary answers.

The presentation also served as an excellent opportunity for more people in the local community surrounding the Takasaki Plant to know more about the Nippon Kayaku Group. The Takasaki Plant plans to continue to foster interaction with the local community going forward.

While cases of breast cancer are increasing each year on a worldwide basis, the death rate from the illness is falling in the US and Europe yet rising in Japan. Early and proper diagnosis, as well as treatment, is critical to lowering the death rate.

With a goal to improve the quality of healthcare and to disseminate information on the appropriate use of our products, Nippon Kayaku assists in organizing study groups throughout Japan on diagnostic imaging (mammography and sonography, etc.) and treatment methods for medical staff.

In addition, during each October, which is designated as Pink Ribbon Campaign Month, we hand out various campaign-related items at the Iidabashi and Kudanshita railway stations located near our corporate head office in order to educate the general public on the importance of early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment. In 2010, we displayed a mascot stuffed toy together with posters in the reception area of each of our business locations as well as used Pink Ribbon bumper stickers to raise awareness among our stakeholders.