Return Fortune to regional communities By Hideo Sagara, Zenkyoren AOA Seminar Colombo, Sri Lanka. August 2014

1. Return Fortuneto regional communities
Hideo Sagara
Zenkyoren
August 2014
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2. Village =Unification of farm houses =Regional autonomy
✔Co-operative use and management of irrigation canals and farm roads
✔Co-operative work of rice planting and harvesting
✔Annual festivals of praying for a big crop and of thanksgiving of harvest
✔Ceremonial occasions (Wedding, Funeral, Recognition)
✔Financial reciprocal help
Mutual Aid in the farm village in Japan
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“The village”, which was a set of farm houses, was organized and developed as a management body to enable intensive agriculture in its area, and at the same time, it became a regional autonomy.
Mountain district 73% Flat land district 25%
Area for cultivation per populationJapan 4areUSA 140are
In the farm village of Japan, regional autonomy has developed for a long time, and the mutual aid by the autonomy has been practiced.
Most of farm work cannot be completed only by a family labor

3. “Oshin, a girl in a poor farm”a Japanese soap opera
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Why are families making rice, so poor?
Why can families making rice, not eat rice?
Why are families not making rice, full up with rice?
Although Oshin’sfamily cultivated rice, her family was so poor. Oshinwas bound to a wholesaler but the family that Oshinbegan service, was so rich, even they did not produce rice. They made profit by selling off rice from the left to the right.
Promotion of industry
The top priority policy after the Meiji Restoration (1867)

4. Kyosai (共済) is a mutual aid with insurance
The customers whom mutual and commercial insurers intended for was the social upper class.
After the Meiji Restoration (1867)
Funds collected by the farm villages
should be returned to the farm villages!!
1948
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However, the funds collected by the postal life insurance from the farm villages were used into the cities and not into the farm villages.
Start of “Kyosai” (共済)by the agricultural cooperatives
Start of the state-run postal life insurance to diffuse insurance to farmers and workers
共(kyo) means `share it together’
済(sai) means `relieve poverty’
Only cooperatives can use the brand of “Kyosai”(共済)
Farmers were exploited by the capitalists called “the laird”, the trading capital like wholesale rice dealers and suffered extreme poverty. How about ”Insurance”…?
Ref. Memorial magazine ‘Records of Zenkyoren for the 50thanniversary of foundation’

5. Toyohiko Kagawa
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Farm village reconstructions start from acquisitions of long-term funds by the agricultural cooperativesas mutual aid organizations.
Rebuilding of Japan begins with cooperative life insurance.
Toyohiko Kagawa
Father of cooperative movements in Japan

6. ICA Co-operative principle and our objectives
Co-operative identity, values and principle
A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
Definition
Co-operatives are based on the value of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.
Values
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✔We do our operation with the idea of mutual aid that is the origin of cooperatives. We always provide relief and satisfaction in response to trust and the expectation of members and policyholders.
✔We support members and policyholders by providing the total indemnification of life, fire and motor with the best coverage, price and services.
✔We support the community by providing the various range of social welfares in order to make it wealthy and peaceful.
Zenkyoren objectives
Ref. ICA co-operative identity, values and principle

7. Contribution to the community
Return the funds to their origins
We are open existence for a community and help personal self-act.
We positively work on an increase of the health of local inhabitants, open the cooperative facilities to the public, promote the cultural and educational activities of the local inhabitants, support the ecology movements.
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✔We support the community by providing the various range of social welfaresin order to make it wealthy and peaceful.
Zenkyoren objectives
Contribution to the community

8. Long-term funds and welfare activities
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Long-term funds
Welfare activities
1956Medical examination patrol
1966Foundation of corporate juridical person of welfare
1973Donation of ambulance and emergency medical facilities
Opening a rehabilitation centre
1992Business authorization of nursing care activities
1995Subsidy to build a nursing care facilities, to purchase an apparatus for a nursing care
2003Temporary housing to lend to natural disaster victims
2004Musical to enlighten road safety for the preschooler Distribution of a seat preventing a leak from a roof
2006Support of upbringing of the service dog
2008Safe diagnosis of the careful driving for the elderly
2009Bicycling safety class for junior/high school student
2010Caravan to enlighten road safety for the preschooler and primary schoolchild
￥Billion
Increasing long term funds allow us to expand our activities to the various types of social welfare.
All activities are still continuing.

9. Main activities of social welfare
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Social welfare activities
Road safety education
Health care
Road safety education
Driving safe diagnosis
Donation for facilities of road safety
Medical examination
Subsidy for nursing care facilities and equipment
Support for victims
Operation of rehabilitation centre
Support of upbringing of service dogs
Subsidy for ambulances
and PR activities of doctor helicopter
Temporary housing to lend
Distribution of sheets

10. Return funds to the community
Road safety educationMusical
To decrease traffic accidents
Musical for preschooler
Over 200,000 attendance since 2004
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Road safety education Demonstration at school
Road safety education Caravan Play
Caravan play for preschooler
Over 450,000 attendance since 2010
Simulated experience education by the demonstration of stunt man for junior high and high school students
Over 220,000 attendance since 2009

11. Return funds to the community
Driving safe diagnosis for the elderly
To decrease traffic accidents
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Driving simulation
Over 1,700 events since 2008
Donation of road safety facilities
Drivers can easily recognize children
Mirror at the crossroads
Drivers and pedestrian can easily recognize each other at the crossroads
Over 23,000 mirror donated since 1996

12. Return funds to the community
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To be healthy for the future
Subsidy to take medical examinations
Subsidized over 31 million testee since 1975
Subsidy to purchase ambulances
Subsidized 212 ambulances since 2009Support public relations for doctor helicopter

13. Return funds to the community
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To live in peace for the futureSubsidy to build nursing care apartment housesSubsidy to purchase nursing care equipment
Subsidized 242 institutions since 1995
Subsidized 267 institutions since 1995

14. Return funds to the community
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To come back his/her normal life after traffic accidentOperation of rehabilitation facilities
Over 13,000 patients since 1973
Rehabilitation centre in Shizuoka
Hospitalization : 116 beds
Training facility for disabled : 80 patients
Rehabilitation : 120 patients
Staff : 307
Over 19,000 patients since 1973
Hospitalization : 110 beds
Training facility for disabled : 134 patients
Rehabilitation : 100 patients
Staff : 347
Rehabilitation centre in Oita

15. Return funds to the community
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To come back his/her normal life after traffic accident
Support of upbringing of service dog
Over 15,000 people needs a service dog.
No. of service dog is 72 (as of July 2014)
Service dog - A dog trained to care for people who are in ill or disabled
Service dogs support the life of people who are in ill or disabled in various scenes of everyday
life, such as handing a receiver when telephone rings, bringing a drink bottle from refrigerator,
taking off clothes and socks, pulling a wheelchair on a step or a slope, pushing buttons of lifts
and etc.
Copyright : Japanese Service Dog Resource Academy
Japan Service Dog Association

16. Return funds to the community
Distribution of roof sheets (free of charge)
Support of the life rebuilding for the victims
More than 1,900 houses to lend since 2003
100 to 200 houses to lend annually
More than 170,000 sheets to give since 2004
More than 90,000 sheets to give in case of the great East Japan EQ
Free temporary housing for eight months, in case that a policyholder was not able to live in its house by natural disaster or a fire
Free roof sheets for covering damaged roof by natural disasters (210 sq ft)
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Subsidy of interests on borrowed money
Subsidy (up to 10 years) of interests on loans for recovery from natural disasters.
Temporary housing to lend (free of charge)

17. Members and Users Feedbacks
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Kids could get
ideas how they
across the zebra
crossings safely
with a lot of fun.
I can expand the area where I want
to go, and I find myself with much
more health both physically and
mentally.
I have never seen such
serious students who stared
the demonstrations from the
first to the end.
I would like to
recommend
much more
people to go to
this show to save
the children.

18. Inherit the wish of Toyohiko Kagawa
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Zenkyorenwill deepen roots in communities through the contribution activities and will support the life of local inhabitants.

19. Note
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