ADBOAT PROJECT

On the 11th of March. The tsunami that hit the Tohoku coastal area took people’s families, homes and jobs away in a blink of an eye.
The area affected by the disaster consists mostly of small port towns.
On top of the inconceivable loss of life that occurred in this tragedy, 90% of sea vessels were carried away and destroyed as well.

Vast amounts of debris covering the towns. A slow government response. Contribute to hindering peoples recovery.
It has been said that the road to recovery will take 10, 20years or more.
The return to a normal life for the residents of these small towns will be difficult due to a decline in population and the lackof employment.
People will find it nearly impossible to stabilize their lives without revival of the fishing industry, especially in the port towns of the Iwate coastal area where people are dependent on fishing.
Some fishermen have even become depressed after the loss of not only their homes and family members but their livelihoods as well.

On the other hand, donations have been collected from all over Japan and the world.
Among other things, charity events held by manufacturers from around the world as well as the sale of special t-shirts have helped to raise funds for the relief effort.
And most of the money collected is used to assist in humanitarian aid.
However, as you know, people in the disaster stricken areas haven’t actually gotten the money yet.
Where is the good will from all over Japan and the world to go?
Although speed is of the essence to assist those in need, is it going to reach them in time? Shouldn’t we focus on those who need immediate help?

This is precisely why we started this project so that we can support fishery and fishermen to revitalize small port towns.

Let’s allocate support funding of operating costs to fishermen and make a visible difference.
There are things we can do in our business activities that cannot be duplicated by the national government and civic groups.

The advertising expenses from the companies, manufacturers and brands will be used to place advertisements on the boats.
The company logos will be painted on the boats much like sponsors of F1 racecars.
Because space is limited, companies donating more money will receive a larger advertising area.
All donated monies can be considered as advertisement expenses in your financial records making it possible to declare who the money was spent on. Also, we’ll create an official AD BOAT site as a way to provide real-time corporate communications between sponsors and recipients so that you can see the positive effects of your efforts on the fishing industry and the recovery of the town.

This is an opportunity for your company, to not only provide direct support, but also to develop corporate branding and increase your presence in the News.
We are convinced that even a small portion of your profits, spent on this project, will produce a positive visible effect on your corporate image.
Also it is a good choice to help companies already collecting support funding.

How we started this project

Sugawara Shoe Store Ltd., one of the members of this project, has been delivering shoes received from customers and other people and giving them out in disaster areas.
During those activities, Mr. Sugawara met Mr. Sasaki, one of his old customers, and heard about the fishermen’s situations so he started this project with a strong desire to help them.

Why individuals, not groups?

The reason why this project supports individuals and not groups is that we want to give help directly and quickly to specific targets.

They are living life without a foreseeable future and what little hope they have crumbles and disappears as the days go by.
There is no future if we have to depend on the government for support. To make the initial step towards recovery, speedy support is needed.

The government will support 70% of the cost of getting new boats under the condition of applying in the name of fishery cooperatives, but this does not cover cost of equipment.
However, rest of the cost has to be paid by the fishermen and the insurance money they received from the loss caused by the disaster is just barely enough to pay it off.
Even if they get a boat with so much effort, it will be under the cooperatives name.
Many of the fishermen have been questioning the structure of fishery in the Sanriku coastal area even before the disaster.
But the situation is such that the current government policies look more like a step backwards instead of a step forward.

It is only with greater, more widespread support that we will be able to gradually recover.
To accelerate the speed of recovery, we have to spotlight our need for direct support.

Of course, one way to help is to just make a donation.
There is no hope for any long-term support if the companies just donate hard earned money without knowing what we are going to use it for and how it will help us.
This project is set up to allow you to directly visualize the support activities of company participation.