Daimler commemorates third anniversary of natural disaster in Japan
Source:transportweekly 2014-3-12 10:33:00
Three years ago today, the Japanese coast suffered the heaviest earthquake in the country's history. The earthquake reaped immense damage in the northeastern region of T¨hoku. On the occasion of the anniversary, Daimler is commemo-rating the victims. Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Dr. Dieter Zetsche: "This natural disaster has meanwhile disappeared from the headlines, but by no means from the lives of the people in Japan. There is still a great deal of reconstruction work to be done".
Daimler maintains a workforce of around 13,000 employees at its subsidiaries Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), Mercedes-Benz Japan and Daimler Financial Services. Dr. Albert Kirchmann, Daimler Group representative in Japan and CEO of MFTBC: "We are a globally operating group which is firmly rooted in Japan. We have a responsibility to continue our support for the reconstruction effort in the crisis region".
The reconstruction in the affected areas, which continues to the present day, is receiving support from Daimler. Thus, for example, scholarships are granted and innovative business ideas are promoted in the region as part of the "Daimler-Nippon Foundation Innovative Leaders Fund," a program that will run until March of next year. In addition, the company will present the Higashi and Kamaishi minicipalities with a smart fortwo electric vehicle, each, by the end of this year.
In the aftermath of the earthquake three years ago, Daimler AG employees donated more than half a million euros to the Red Cross. In addition, Daimler provided the Japanese aid organization "Nippon Foundation" with two million euros of immediate assistance and 50 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Unimog and Zetros vehicles and FUSO Canter light-duty trucks with a total value of four million euros. Overall, Daimler has provided the crisis region in Japan with more than six million euros of assistance.