OREANDA-NEWS. August 29, 2016. As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, Kyocera Corporation (President: Goro Yamaguchi) hosted the 1st Cultural Exchange Tour for Vietnamese Children to visit Japan in the hope that they will grow up to become international citizens who will contribute to a more harmonious global society. During the tour, children from Hanoi, Hung Yen and Hai Phong experienced everyday life and customs in Japan from August 2 to 8.

The program aims to provide impressionable children with firsthand experience of different cultures so that they can in turn act as a bridge for Vietnam-Japan relations, and to lead prosperous and fruitful lives as leaders in various fields in the future.

The tour included visits to Kyoto and Osaka with a variety of programs to experience culture and life in Japan. During their stay in Kyoto, the children experienced Japanese traditional culture by visiting historical sites such as Kiyomizu-dera Temple and participating in a Japanese “wagashi” confectionary making workshop. In addition, they visited a middle school where they interacted with Japanese students of the same age. In Osaka, the children visited popular spots such as Universal Studios Japan.

Background and Purpose of the Program

The program was organized based on the experiences of Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corporation, as he was deeply moved by cultural interaction during his first visit to the United States for a business trip. In 1976, Kyocera began inviting Japanese children on foreign tours, reflecting Inamori’s hope that providing children with opportunities to interact directly with foreign cultures will help them to develop broad perspectives and dreams. Since 1978, Kyocera has conducted the tour for children from foreign countries to visit Japan with 978 children having participated to date.

Vietnam is the third country from which children have taken part in the tour, following the United States and China. These are countries where Kyocera has large-scale manufacturing bases. As Vietnam stands out among emerging nations for the continued high economic growth rates, and has increasingly gained importance also for Kyocera, we decided to invite Vietnamese children to Japan starting this year as part of our social contribution to Vietnam.