Japanese Firms Expected to Increase Gifts to Charity : Donations: Executive predicts corporations will loosen their purse strings as businessmen learn to participate in community development.
Southern California charities can expect to see more Japanese corporations loosen their purse strings as the companies realize that their future prosperity may be linked to their ability to give to the communities in which they operate.
“Japanese corporate donations will greatly increase in the future” as more Japanese executives learn to participate in community development, Noriyasu Hattori, president of Makita U.S.A. Inc. of La Mirada, said Thursday at a Costa Mesa luncheon sponsored by the Japan America Society of Southern California.
Many U.S. charities are feeling the squeeze of a national recession, government cuts in social spending and federal laws that reduce the tax advantage of some donations. As a result, organizations such as the American Red Cross and United Way have stepped up their drive to bring in more donations from Japanese corporations.
The Japanese view of charity is different from that in the West. While Japanese corporations commonly set up foundations to support causes such as higher education, helping the needy--which is a primary goal of United Way--is generally seen as a government responsibility. Many philanthropic services performed by U.S. companies--such as feeding the homeless--are provided in Japan by the government.
Stung by criticism that their support for local charities has been anemic at best, Japanese companies with U.S. operations are beginning to respond. Last fall, a team of high-ranking Japanese executives in Orange County formed a Japan Business committee in the local chapter of the United Way to encourage Japanese companies to give more. The committee is headed by Kazuo Sonoguchi, president of Mazda Motor of America Inc. in Irvine.
Still, Japanese corporate contributions, which totaled an estimated $300 million last year, remain a tiny fraction of the estimated $6 billion given by U.S. companies. And about half of the Japanese donations went to universities for research grants.
During the luncheon meeting at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel, Hattori said his company concentrates on donations to help the homeless. Representatives of Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. and Mazda, on the other hand, said that their companies typically donate equipment or products, rather than cash. For example, a company that makes medical equipment might give some of its products to local hospitals.
“If we can raise awareness of our product in the community and still provide something to enhance the community, then we donate,” Jay Amestoy, Mazda’s public affairs vice president, told an audience of about 80 business people.
