FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETokyo, March 29, 2006 --- Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) (TSE: 2914) announced today that the company will provide financial support for youth development activities and projects conducted by domestic independent non-profit organizations. Since 1999, JT has each year invited NPOs to apply for financial assistance from the company. For this eighth round of funding, the application process took place between October 1 and November 15, 2005. Following deliberation by the company's NPO Support Promotion Committee, which is comprised of outside experts, the company decided that out of 128 applicants, 34 organizations would receive a total of nearly JPY 43.5 million to support their programs in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. JT makes it a priority to continuously engage in various social contribution activities. The company believes that youth development is very important in order to build energetic and sustainable communities, as today's youth will lead our society in the future. With this philosophy, JT continues to provide financial support to activities and projects conducted by NPOs, including workshops between the handicapped and youths and close interaction between children and senior citizens. JT looks forward to future NPO successes and will continue to engage in other social contribution activities for many years to come. ###
Japan Tobacco Inc. is the world's third largest international manufacturer of tobacco products. The company manufactures internationally recognized cigarette brands including Camel, Winston, Mild Seven and Salem. Since its privatization in 1985, JT has actively diversified its operations into pharmaceuticals and foods. The company's net sales were JPY 4.664 trillion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005. |
