< Culture >

A long queue formed in front of da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”

The Asahi Shimbun organizes and sponsors activities with high cultural value in a wide variety of genres, such as exhibitions, music and stage performances, and film festivals. The 2007 spring special exhibition, “The Mind of Leonardo - The Universal Genius at Work,” centered around Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece “Annunciation,” which was displayed in Japan for the first time. The exhibition drew roughly 796,000 visitors. The Asahi Shimbun hosted “The Treasures of the Topkapi Palace and the Magnificent Ottoman Dynasty” exhibition that kicked off in August, introducing the treasures of the Ottoman Dynasty. This was followed by the special exhibition, “Japan’s First Modern Novelist Natsume Soseki: his Life and Works,” which opened in September. Other events such as the “Mummy: The Inside Story, from The British Museum,” the “Artistes étrangers à Paris 1900-2005” - the Pompidou Center collection exhibition, and “The Mural Art of Kotohira-gu Shrine” all proved extremely popular.

In 2008, The Asahi Shimbun will bring in notable exhibitions such as “Yokoyama Taikan 50 Years On” and “Musée du Louvre, Fastes de la cour de France au XVIIIe siécle” featuring artwork from the Louvre Museum which focuses on art from the French Court.

The company also continues to sponsor high quality musical and film events. In June and July 2007, The Asahi Shimbun sponsored the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, the opera house of Palermo’s Japan tour, and hosted annual events such as the Osaka International Festival and the Italian Film Festival.

< Sport >

Many top runners from Japan and overseas took part in the 61th Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship that took place in 2007.

The Asahi Shimbun sponsors many top-level competitive sports events every year. They include the Tokyo International Women’s Marathon and the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship which have served as springboards for many top runners who went on to compete in the Olympic Games and World Championships, Japan’s Rice Bowl American football championship that determines the number one football team in Japan, Japan’s Microsoft Cup rugby tournament, and the Tour of Japan, an international top-level cycle road race. In the summer of 2007, The Asahi Shimbun invited the soccer club teams Manchester United from England and FC Barcelona from Spain and hosted international friendship matches with top teams from Japan’s J. League. Japanese soccer fans were hugely entertained by first-class performances by the world’s top athletes.

Additionally, we sponsor various sport events across the nation for citizens and to encourage lifelong participation in sports, including walking events and a “Mama-san” women’s volleyball tournament. We sponsor soccer and basketball tournaments for young boys and girls, as well as golf tournaments for students, as a way to promote a wider range of competitive sports across generations and in all regions.

< Business Development >

The Business Development Department is responsible for promoting a wide range of businesses that have social significance. Twelve housing exhibition centers, located in the outskirts of major cities nationwide, provide useful information for those who wish to buy their own homes.

The Tokyo government building is illuminated in pink as part of the Pink Ribbon campaign.

Various events take place at the housing exhibition centers.

The department is also active in promoting Pink Ribbon breast cancer awareness to facilitate early detection, diagnosis and treatment. It also promotes the Blue Clover Campaign, an awareness program for prostate cancer. The department organizes medical seminars for medical care professionals to convey the latest treatment and pharmaceutical information, as well as hosting health seminars for the general public. The “Medical Asahi” journal, which is also for those in the medical field, marked its 35th anniversary on April, 2007.

Asahi sports clubs have been established in nine locations in the prefectures of Miyagi, Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Miyazaki to promote health among its members. International editions of The Asahi Shimbun that are published overseas allow overseas readers to peruse simultaneously the same pages as readers in Japan. The newspaper is popular among Japanese expatriates and Japan researchers, and is regarded as “The Asahi Shimbun of the World.”

Visitors to this Asahi Sports Club enjoy the aqua baby program for parent and child.