JCBI (JCB International) has become a special sponsor of the Nippon Foundation Charity Football Match to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Japan ("Charity Match").
The match was held on June 28 between the Myanmar national team and Cerezo Osaka.
Part of the sponsorship funds was to support sports and education for children of Myanmar.
The Nippon Foundation and the Myanmar Football Federation hosted the charity match in Yangon in commemoration of this year's 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Japan.
The match was aimed at deepening relations between the two countries through a popular sport common to both countries.
Through the project, the Nippon Foundation aims to support sports and education for the children of Myanmar in rural areas for three years with donations of sports equipment, dispatch of coaches and hosting of sports meetings as well as providing scholarship funds to schoolchildren.
In July 2013, JCBI and the Myanmar Payment Union (MPU), the national payment network of the country, signed an agreement on JCB card acceptance by MPU member banks.
MPU was established by the Central Bank of Myanmar and has 19 government and private sector member banks.
JCBI and MPU have been making rapid progress on preparing the payment infrastructure, including the launch of JCB card acceptance in December 2013, which has expanded to cover popular destination among visitors to the country.
JCBI and MPU are also discussing card issuance to residents of Myanmar.
Kimihisa Imada, Deputy President of JCBI, commented, "Fulfilling our corporate social responsibility has been an essential corporate mission for JCB, and we are making efforts in a number of ways to do this. Of course this sponsorship is a chance to increase JCB brand recognition in Myanmar, but more than that, we are hoping to make a real contribution to Myanmar society and help maintain the strong and lasting friendly relationship between Japan and Myanmar.
