August 27, 2014
  • Rakuten, Inc.

Rakuten to Bring Mobile Library to
the Rebirth of Tohoku – WA Event in Paris

- Gathering messages of support from France for the children of Fukushima -

Tokyo, August 27, 2014 – Rakuten, Inc. today announced that it will bring the Rakuten Mobile Library to the Rebirth of Tohoku – WA event to be held at the Champs de Mars in Paris, France, from August 30 – 31 with the aim of supporting the recovery of the regions affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The Rakuten Mobile Library is a project established in December 2012 to promote education for the children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and to provide support for the recovery of the region. As part of the activities with the Mobile Library, bookmarks with messages of support made by Rakuten employees were given to approximately 500 children of Fukushima who visited the Mobile Library. This activity was received well by the people of Fukushima, so a decision has been made to carry out a similar activity at the Rebirth of Tohoku – WA event. Visitors to the Rakuten Mobile Library booth at the event will have the opportunity to create messages of support for the children of Fukushima and take photos with their messages which will be displayed at the Mobile Library in Fukushima from September.

The Rebirth of Tohoku – WA event is an event organized by Fukushima University and is the culminating event of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Tohoku School project, a recovery and educational support project carried out with the collaboration of the OECD and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT). Approximately 150,000 people are expected to attend the event. The event is aimed to educate visitors on the current situation in the Tohoku region and to gather messages of support, which is why Rakuten has decided to participate in the event.

At the Rakuten Mobile Library booth, in order to develop an interest in Japanese culture in the young visitors to the booth, 300 French-language books, including manga and picture books related to Japan, and 8 Kobo Arc 7HD tablets with 10 Japanese manga titles popular in France will be on display for the visitors to the booth to enjoy. In addition, the activities of the Rakuten Mobile Library in Fukushima will also be introduced.

Regarding Rakuten’s participation in the event, Mie Kurosaka, Executive Officer and General Manager of CSR at Rakuten, commented, “Rakuten has been leading the relief efforts for the Tohoku region, and we are pleased to still be working with the communities there three years after the disaster. Attending the Rebirth of Tohoku - WA event is a great opportunity to show the work that has been done in the region so far and to give a chance to Parisians to send messages of support to the children of Fukushima.”

About the Rakuten Mobile Library
Since its start in December 2012, the Rakuten Mobile Library has been a success in Fukushima Prefecture, with both children and adults using the library, and has since been expanded as a joint project with Gifu Prefecture in May 2014 and Shimane Prefecture in July 2014. The books from the prefectural libraries of each prefecture available in the Mobile Library have been selected based on the special characteristics of each region, and in addition to paper books, the Mobile Library is also equipped with Kobo Arc 7HD tablets. As of July 2014, a total of over 8,000 people have used the Rakuten Mobile Library.
For more information: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/sustainability/activities/education/mobile-library/.

About the OECD
The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. The OECD works with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change and measures productivity and global flows of trade and investment. The OECD analyses and compares data to predict future trends and sets international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.
For more information: http://www.oecd.org/about/.

About the OECD Tohoku School
The OECD Tohoku School is an educational project to foster a workforce that can lead the local recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. It is hosted by Fukushima University in cooperation with MEXT and the OECD. This two-and-a-half year project involves about 100 students from junior and senior high schools in three heavily-damaged prefectures, Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate. The project will culminate with the Rebirth of Tohoku – WA event, held in Paris, the headquarters of the OECD, where the activities of the project will be introduced. 

About the Rakuten Mobile Library Booth at the Rebirth of Tohoku – WA Event

Date and Time: 30 August – 31 August 11:00 – 19:00
Place: Champs de Mars, Paris, France
Address: 2 Allée Adrienne Lecouvreur, 75007 Paris
Details of the Booth:
・Display of the Mobile Library equipped with books and tablets
・Introduction of the activities of the Rakuten Mobile Library in Fukushima
・Visitors will be able to write messages of support for the children of Fukushima and take photos with the message board

*Please note that the information contained in press releases is current as of the date of release.

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