Ginza×CSR・CSV Vol.20 Seiko Holdings

Connecting victims and supporters through music

• ─ Now that the Seiko 130 Actions project has finished, do you still carry out aid activities?
• We have carried out music-centered cultural activities before, and were wondering if there was something we could do to deliver the healing power and encouragement that music provides the heart, as a different type of aid from physical supplies.
  Our Group CEO, Mr. Hattori, talked with the composer/arranger and jazz pianist Norio Maeda, and he agreed to hold concerts in Ichinoseki and Miyako in Iwate and other coastal areas of the Tohoku region from August 2011.
  The concerts were launched again in September 2013 with Mr. Hattori as the chairman of the executive committee, as “Concerts to Support East Japan through Wa.” To date, 12 concerts have been held in Tokyo and the three prefectures of Tohoku.
• ─ What does the ‘Wa’ in the title represent?
• The ‘Wa’ (the pronunciation of two Chinese characters that mean ‘circle/link’ and ‘harmony,’ respectively) represents the circle of aid activities, the circle of support receivers and givers joining hands, the link to thoughts and dreams for the future, the harmony among all those working together towards reconstruction, and the harmony of a happy and healthy Japan. Together with the performers and hosts of the concerts, we hope to expand the circle of support from around the country through music.

• ─ What types of concerts do you hold?
• Mostly familiar pop music is played so that the audience can sing along and truly enjoy themselves. Performances have been given by Hiromi Ota, the Circus chorus group, Machiko Watanabe, and other guests that have been popular with a wide range of ages for a long time.
  Concerts are also held in Tokyo so that we can expand the circle of support, but we invite people from disaster stricken areas and those who have been evacuated to the Metropolitan area to these concerts.
• ─ What priorities do you focus on when holding concerts?
• To ensure the concerts are supporting the reconstruction effort, it is important to have local parties play a central role, working together with us to create the concert programs. For these concerts, we have consulted numerous local parties, including Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, city halls, and reconstruction support groups, among others.

Memorial chime from the clock tower

• ─ I understand that you will hold a concert at the Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya Public Hall (Hibiya, Tokyo) on March 11 again this year.
• This year, to widen the bonds of “Wa,” we prepared 2015 headbands and had victims from the stricken areas write their wishes and supporters write their thoughts on the headbands.
  The headbands will be brought to the concert hall, and the hearts of the victims and their supporters will be linked together through them.
  Also, 200 headbands will be displayed in the group company Wako building display window for one day only on March 11. At the same time, the window monitor will broadcast the concert in real time.
  
  At exactly 2:46 p.m. on March 11, the Wako clock tower chimes a mourning bell in memory of those lost in the disaster. We have continued this custom since 2012, and every year, when people hear the chime, many pedestrians stop and look at the clock tower in silence.