Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui," Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) has selected Will for Japan, a general incorporated association, to be the seventh recipient of a grant from the Mitsui & Co. Co-creation Fund, as outlined below. Will for Japan is working to foster legacy giving in Japan and build a mechanism through which these funds can be used to address social issues.

Legacy giving is an option that enables people to allocate a portion of the assets remaining after covering their retirement living costs toward building a better society and passing that value on to the next generation. Anyone can participate by donating even a modest amount.

Each year, assets totaling approximately 50 trillion yen are inherited in Japan. However, much of this wealth is passed on from the elderly to heirs who are also elderly, or retained until death due to anxiety about retirement living expenses. As a result, these funds are not effectively recirculated for the benefit of society. At the same time, frontline initiatives requiring long-term financial resources, such as those focusing on children and youth, healthcare, environmental issues, education, culture, disaster relief, and local community challenges, often struggle to secure adequate funding. Additionally, because many regional residents have heirs residing in urban centers, inheritance frequently results in an outflow of assets accumulated within communities, depriving them of the funds needed to support social infrastructure and key drivers of community development.

In this environment, the desire to allocate assets to benefit society and future generations is gaining momentum amid the rise in single-person households and changes in family dynamics. While legacy giving offers a framework to fulfill these aspirations, a lack of accessible information prevents many people from seeing its potential for them personally.

Will for Japan sees tremendous social significance in creating a framework through which legacy giving inspired by these goals can be recirculated back into society to empower new drivers of community development. To this end, the organization publishes "En Gift", an informational booklet on legacy giving. It also operates the "1% Baton" online platform, which is designed to streamline and simplify the legacy giving process and promote the idea of allocating 1% of assets to posthumous donations as a commonsense option.

Mitsui will support Will for Japan to build partnerships with local governments, regional financial institutions, companies, and related organizations by tapping into its extensive nationwide network. Through this collaboration, Mitsui aims to expand the number of both organizations registered to receive legacy giving and co-creation partners supporting these activities. Mitsui will also partner with Will for Japan to contribute building a framework through which individuals can realize aspirations cherished during their lifetimes by allocating funds that can be used to address social issues.

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