Asics Corporation announced the launch of A Bright Tomorrow through Sport, a support program for young survivors of the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake who have lost their parents in the disaster.

The goal of the program is to promote the sound development of minds and bodies through sports.

The program will target children ages 0 to 18 as of April 1, 2011, who have been orphaned as a result of the natural disaster. Asics will provide those eligible with Asics brand sporting goods, mainly sportswear and shoes, through age 19.    

Professional athletes sponsored by Asics will visit the regions affected and participate in sporting events with the children. They will invite the children to the Asics Sports Museum and the Asics Institute of Sports Science (both located in Kobe) and will help encourage the children by sharing the fun of sports and post-recovery Kobe.

Asics employees with health and exercise qualifications will also visit the affected areas and share their expertise to help improve children and elderly peopleÂ’s health. 

Asics has budgeted a total of JPY100 million annually for these activities. (translates to $1.1 million)

In its statement, the company said, “Asics originated as a manufacturer of sports shoes, born from a desire to contribute to the sound development of youth through sports in the reconstruction period following the Second World War. Similarly, Asics strongly wishes to contribute to the rebuilding of the regions affected by the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake through sports.

Asics remembers the abundance of warm support from the entire nation in the aftermath of the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995. 

From its own experience, Asics knows that continuous support activities are needed following major disasters like the recent Eastern Japan Great Earthquake. In particular, Asics wishes to contribute to the sound development of youth, who are the future of Japan. 

We sincerely offer our prayers for the safety and health of all those in the affected areas and for the speediest possible recovery.

The Asics Group will continue to consider further assistance to the fullest extent possible.”