As the first anniversary of the March 11 approaches, Uniqlo and its parent company, Fast Retailing, plan to donate clothes and money to the Tohoku area. Uniqlo has had staff working as volunteers in the devastated area and says there are still great needs. It will also open temporary Uniqlo stores in the Tohoku area.
The company has launched the Uniqlo Restoration Support Project which will invest 300 million yen in five nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) — EN, ADRA Japan, IVY (International Volunteer center Yamagata), PlaNet Finance Japan and Tohoku Kyoeki Toshi Kikin.
In other measures, Uniqlo is going to send 5~10 groups to help with job creation and so on for the next three years. Each group will be funded with 20 million yen, which will come from sales at all Uniqlo stores. Furthermore, all Uniqlo stores will carry out fund-raising activities for the next three months.
Temporary stores
Uniqlo said that while it was donating clothes, it got the message that many people in Tohoku wanted the company to open Uniqlo stores. The stores provide daily necessities, the joy of wearing clothes and job opportunities.
Here is a list of temporary stores in Tohoku.
Uniqlo Kesennuma Store
Open Date: March 9
Open Term: About a year
Hours of business: 11:00~20:00
Uniqlo Sea Plaza Kamaishi Store (2F)
Open Date: March 9
Open Term: About a year
Hours: 9:00~18:00 (Tuesdays are holidays)
Uniqlo Haramachi Store
Open Date: From March 9
Hours: 11:00~20:00 (Weekdays), 10:00~20:00 (Weekends)