After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster of March 2011, we immediately established a new department within the company titled “Project to Create Children’s Tomorrow.” Simultaneously, we instituted a program of activities known as “POKÉMON with YOU.” The program’s first initiative was to deliver items to bring cheer to the many children in Tohoku compelled to live in evacuation shelters: items including battery-free toys such as TCG and stuffed toys, daily necessities, and stationery goods. Today, our activities to brighten the lives of children in disaster-impacted areas aren’t limited to the Tohoku region. Our “POKÉMON with YOU Wagons” travel, together with Pokémon, all around Japan, and our “POKÉMON with YOU Fund-raising Campaign” solicits donations that are directed to organizations that support children in need. We pledge to continue activities like these in the future, to bring smiles to children’s faces and peace of mind to their everyday lives.

Specially designated “Ambassadorial Pokémon” have been created to publicize the special attractions of Japan’s different regions. The aim is to induce Pokémon fans, both within Japan and around the world, to visit those regions and enjoy its charms for themselves. We invite inquiries from local governments at the prefectural level as to how they can join with Pokémon to successfully, and enjoyably, promote their regions.

“Pokémon Shirts” is a website that offers a full selection of made-to-order shirts of remarkable variety: from dress shirts for business wear, to casual shirts and polo shirts for everyday use, to relaxation shirts perfect for holiday settings. Buyers can design the exact shirt they want, selecting their preferred color, pattern, lining, collar, pocket, etc. Pokémon shirts also appear in Pokémon GO as articles of clothing that can be changed by the player. So why not consider ordering your own matching shirt and playing Pokémon GO in true style!

Pokémon Illustration Lab is a service we started to foster use of Pokémon illustrated materials in educating or caring for young children. More than 100 different materials can be downloaded, free of charge, from our official website: Pokémon illustrations usable as room decorations in public service or medical facilities, for crafting or coloring, posters, etc. The items can be used in many ways, including teaching children good manners and nurturing their creative minds.

Pokémon Kids TV is Pokémon’s official YouTube channel. Its contents consist mainly of Pokémon songs, children’s songs from around the world, and videos that teach English or promote intellectual growth. We started this service with the hope that Pokémon would be the very first characters that children encounter. In the videos, many different Pokémon characters appear to accompaniment by familiar nursery rhymes such as “London Bridge is Falling Down” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Watching “The Alphabet Song,” children can learn the names of different Pokémon. We will continue to build up a wide choice of content for children to enjoy and learn from.

“MiraPro 2020” is an initiative created to expand and improve education in computer programming within Japan’s primary schools. Instruction proposals are being forwarded by the business sector working in collaboration with three Japanese ministries: the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Pokémon Company is actively participating in this initiative. Our origins trace back to 1996 when we introduced the Pokémon video game, which became immensely popular around the world. But how is a game like that created? A core role in game creation is programming – but just what does a programmer actually do? We explain all this in a video presentation that includes interviews of people who actually work as game creators. We hope that by introducing children to computer programming, they might consider it as their profession in the future.