Japanese Boost Efforts to Give to O.C. Charities

Stung by criticism that their support for local charities has been lackluster, a team of Japanese business executives has begun an aggressive campaign to draw contributions from more of the county’s 160 Japanese companies.

Led by Yoshinori Taura, president of Mazda Motor of America Inc. in Irvine and chairman of the Japanese business division of the United Way of Orange County, the team is sending out Japanese-language videotapes that attempt to explain away a cultural stigma that has hindered fund-raising efforts.

While Japanese corporations commonly set up foundations to support causes such as higher education, helping the needy--a primary goal of United Way--is generally seen as a government responsibility, according to Nancy R. London, author of the recently published book entitled “Japanese Corporate Philanthropy.”

“A lot of functions we tend to see as being done by philanthropic organizations are done by the Japanese government,” she said. “Anybody who has fallen off the societal track in Japan is an outcast.”

Japanese companies are familiar with organizations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army and provide some funds for these groups, said Masayuki Kohama, Hitachi Ltd.’s senior representative in Los Angeles. But contributing to organizations like United Way, which directs the money to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, is new to many Japanese executives, he said.

Taura, who follows up the video message with telephone calls and visits to company executives, says the drive could eventually double or perhaps triple the number of Japanese corporate donors.

“This year, my company focused on giving to United Way,” Taura said. “Others may soon follow.”

The Japanese effort comes at a time when charities like United Way are feeling the squeeze of a national recession, government cuts in social spending and federal laws that reduce the tax advantages of some donations.

The strategy seeks to duplicate the success of United Way of Greater Los Angeles, which raised $1.4 million from 104 Japanese corporate members in 1989. Last year, 300 Japanese companies in Los Angeles combined to donate $1.9 million.

“We faced the reality that our old staples for donations from the banking, real estate and aerospace industries are shrinking and affecting our future growth,” said Merritt L. Johnson, United Way of Orange County’s president.

This year, United Way of Orange County raised $21.4 million, which was $1.1 million shy of its $22.5 million goal. Of that total, Japanese firms contributed just 1% of corporate donations, said Lin Fujitsubo, who administers the Japanese division at United Way offices in Irvine. But she expects the share of Japanese donations to rise as more companies become aware of Taura’s program.

The drive to focus on raising more local Japanese contributions comes at a time when Japanese corporate donations are considered one of the fastest-growing segments in U.S. philanthropy. The value of Japanese corporate donations in the nation rose from $30 million in 1986 to about $300 million last year, with half of that amount going to research grants at universities.

Taura said his team is the first group of top Japanese executives in Orange County to take up the cause of a U.S. charitable group such as United Way.

Members include Mikio Omaru, president of Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America Inc. in Santa Ana; Tadashi Ohdate, president of Calsonic International Inc. in Irvine; Hiroshi Ozeki, president of Mazda R&D; North America in Irvine; Akio Kato, managing director of Laguna Niguel-based Birtcher, which is 50% owned by Mitsui & Co. (USA) Inc., and Hisashi Takei, executive vice president of TDK Magnetic Tape Corp. in Irvine.

Most local Japanese companies, such as Canon Business Machines in Costa Mesa and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. in Irvine, donate to specialized educational projects. Other firms actively support fund-raisers sponsored by the Japan Business Assn. of Southern California, which last week raised $600,000 to support public schools in Southern California.

Over the last three years, in contrast, United Way has raised only $528,063 from local Japanese companies.

However, since April, Taura’s team has added 19 companies to the United Way roster of 30 Japanese corporate participants for the coming year. This is still far from the team’s goal of 70 companies, but the progress has drawn praise.

Omaru, of Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics, said the division’s initial goal is not to substantially increase Japanese donations but to educate Japanese executives on the “philosophy of American philanthropy,” as well as to increase Japanese membership in United Way. Once Japanese companies understand how United Way works and its goals, raising money for its causes will be easy, he said.

As part of this educational process, Taura and his team commissioned the production of a 10-minute video that explains the work of United Way and shows the various organizations that it supports in Orange County. The video, paid for by Birtcher/Mitsui, stresses teamwork, a concept dear to many Japanese. It shows images of people such as Taura and other Japanese executives, who explain that contributions to their local community can bring goodwill from local residents and other benefits.

Japanese Philanthropy

Stung by criticism that Japanese companies doing business in the United States are not doing enough to support local communities, a group of Japanese firms have banded together to increase corporate contributions to the United Way of Orange County. The group, headed by Yoshinori Taura of Mazda Motor of America Inc. in Irvine, hopes to educate some of the county’s 160 Japanese companies in the art of giving.

JAPANESE CORPORATE DONATIONS TO UNITED WAY OF ORANGE COUNTY

YEAR JAPANESE COs. AMOUNT TOTAL CORPORATE GIFTS 1989 23 $142,529 $18.6 million 1990 24 $162,570 $20.6 million 1991 30 $222,964 $21.4 million 1992* 70 n.a. $23 million

* goal

Source: United Way of Orange County