Tina Karol, Renowned Ukrainian Singer, Makes Surprise Visit to Japan to Highlight the Plight of People in Humanitarian Crisis

Tokyo, May 10, 2022 – Award Inc. and Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced that Tina Karol, renowned Ukrainian singer, will make a surprise visit to Japan from May 10 to 16 to highlight the plight of the Ukrainian people, appeal for support for humanitarian efforts and call for an end to the conflict. During her visit, Karol will make a special appearance at Rakuten GirlsAward 2022 SPRING/SUMMER, a popular culture fashion and music event for young women, and plans to meet with leaders in the political and business worlds to share her first-hand experience of the conflict and the current humanitarian situation.

Karol’s Japan visit was sparked by an invitation from Mickey Mikitani, founder and CEO of the Rakuten Group, who first met Karol on a business trip to Ukraine in 2019 when he met President Zelensky. Mikitani announced a personal contribution to the Ukrainian government of 1 billion Japanese yen, equivalent to 8.7 million US dollars, in February 2022.

Karol has represented Ukraine in many different capacities, from Eurovision singer and the cover of Ukrainian Women in Vogue to coach on the hit TV show The Voice Ukraine and singer of the Ukraine armed forces. Prior to the current conflict, she was also recognized for her support of children’s health initiatives in Ukraine through the Tina Karol Foundation.

In the weeks since the conflict began, she has visited with people impacted by the conflict, held special appearances, met with key dignitaries and supported fundraising efforts around the globe. Following on from visits to Poland, Israel, Lithuania and Switzerland, Karol will spend a week in Japan and then continue with a series of concerts in Europe and the United Kingdom aimed at raising awareness of the urgency of the crisis in Ukraine.

Karol’s visit plans during her surprise first-ever visit to Japan currently include the following:

- Meetings with political and business leaders
- Special guest appearance as part of the Rakuten Fashion Ukraine Charity Stage at Rakuten GirlsAward 2022 SPRING/SUMMER, popular culture music and fashion event, on May 14 at Makuhari Messe

As a member of the international community, Rakuten sincerely hopes for a peaceful resolution to this situation as soon as possible. Rakuten will continue with a broad range of initiatives to provide aid to those in need, as part of our corporate mission to empower people and society.

 Tina Karol Profile
Tina Karol is a Ukrainian singer, actress, songwriter and television presenter. Karol is the only Ukrainian singer who has been awarded two of the highest music legend awards "for contribution to the development of the music industry" (YUNA National Award, M1 Music Award.) President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Karol the Order of Princess Olga III degree in 2020. This is the state award of Ukraine for recognizing women for outstanding services to the nation. Karol was also the youngest singer of the country to be awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine by presidential decree in 2017.

Karol's song "Україна - це ти" (“Ukraine is you”) is included in the school curriculum and a textbook on Ukrainian literature. Today, this song has become an unofficial anthem of the country and a symbol of unity, performed at Ukrainian events around the world and by children at school events and graduations.

Other awards and achievements include:

- Star coach on "The Voice. Ukraine" and "The Voice. Kids" between 2012 and 2021. Named winning coach five times.
- TV presenter of projects “Dancing with the Stars” (Ukraine), “Lip Sync battle” (Ukraine)
- Thrice named "The most beautiful woman in Ukraine" according to VIVA! Magazine
- Albums with leading positions on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Deezer in Eastern Europe.
- Over 3 million followers on social media.

 Further details on Karol’s Japan visit will be shared on her website and key social media channels below.

- Official website: http://tinakarol.com/en
- Official Instagram account: https://instagram.com/tina_karol
- Official Facebook account: https://ru-ru.facebook.com/tina.karol
- Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/Tinakarol
- Official Twitter account: https://twitter.com/tina_karol
- Official Tiktok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@tinakarol
- Official Viber Community: https://vb.me/2240d6

 
About Rakuten GirlsAward 2022 SPRING/SUMMER:
As one of Japan's largest fashion and pop culture events, Rakuten GirlsAward is a unique fashion and music experience that brings together multiple fashion brands, musicians, celebrities, fans and communities. The event is planned and produced by Award Inc., and centers on fashion shows, sale of fashion items and accessories, and live music performances. With a history spanning more than a decade, the event has evolved in both offline and online formats, with over 10,000 participants in pre-pandemic years, and continues to be a highlight of the fashion calendar for women in their teens and early twenties.

Rakuten GirlsAward 2022 SPRING/SUMMER includes a full day of events to be held at Makuhari Messe in the Greater Tokyo area on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Karol’s appearance will include a special musical performance as part of the Rakuten Fashion Ukraine Charity Stage, featuring the theme of “No War / Peace”, modeled by 10 models of Ukrainian descent,  and supported by the following popular brands - Charles Chaton, JOINT WORKS, JOURNAL STANDARD, LE TALON, LILY BROWN, Ray Beams, ROPE', SALON adam et rope', SNIDEL, U by SPICK&SPAN, VIS, vis-à-vis - and the sponsorship of the Tokyu Group.

See the Rakuten GirlsAward official website for more details on this year’s lineup of events: https://girls-award.com/

 About Rakuten
Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 1.6 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 28,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

About Rakuten Humanitarian Support Efforts
Rakuten launched the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Emergency Relief Fund through its online donation platform the Rakuten Clutch Special Charity Fund in February 2022. More than 744,000 contributors have donated over 1.18 billion yen (approx. 9 million US dollars) as of May 10. Donations to this fund are intended to support humanitarian aid activities conducted by organizations such as the Ukrainian government, Japan Committee for UNICEF and Japan for the United Nations Refugee Agency. See here for details or to make a donation:
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/donation/ukraine202202_en/ukraine202202_en.html.
Rakuten also launched a t-shirt donation drive to support Ukraine in March, in which contributors making donations of 3,000 yen or more are presented with a Support Ukraine Charity T-Shirt. The drive has collected more than 46.8 million yen (approx. 358,000 US dollars) as of May 10. Donations received are being used for the provision of humanitarian aid through the Ukrainian government (Embassy of Ukraine in Japan), the Japan Committee for UNICEF and the United Nations Refugee Agency.

*Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Emergency Relief Fund: 1,183,146,942 yen as of May 9
  Charity t-shirt donation drive to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine: 48,152,168 yen as of May 9