All of our services, businesses, and CSR efforts here at LINE are all conducted under our corporate mission of "Closing the Distance." By that concept, we mean bringing the people of the world together – closer to information, closer to services and closer to each other – while also building strong relationships.
When the Great East Japan Earthquake (as it is known in Japan) struck on March 11, 2011, many people found their phone calls and emails were not getting through, and were unable to confirm the safety of their families and friends. With those experiences in mind, we threw ourselves into developing a communication app. In June of 2011, we launched the LINE messaging app with the conviction that there was a growing need in Japan and the rest of the world for a communication method that fosters strong relationships with the people that matter most in our lives.
Beyond the LINE messaging app, we have also launched a variety of services and businesses in pursuit of “Closing the Distance.” However, as we move into an age in which many people from all walks of life find themselves constantly connected to the internet, we are confronted with problems that cannot be solved with services and businesses alone: Problems like creating an internet environment that is safe for everyone, solving the problem of bullying, preventing and reducing the impact of disasters, and creating a smooth and effective form of communication for use during natural disasters. We at LINE have set about our CSR activities to resolve these issues, and to approach our activities from the two perspectives of "improving communication" and "working together with local communities."
More specifically, we believe that it is imperative that children learn netiquette and internet literacy. In pursuit of this goal, we started conducting workshops at schools (from elementary to high school) across Japan, directed at children, students, their parents, and their teachers, promoting the proper use of the internet for young people. Since creating a specialized department in 2014, we have conducted some 5,000 workshops, with over 2,500 of those being held in 2017 alone.
In addition to this program, we are also working together with local governments and government agencies. For example, we have entered into partnership agreements with Nagano prefecture and Otsu city regarding bullying prevention measures using LINE. We have also entered into a partnership agreement with Kumamoto city regarding making use of information, in which the parties will discuss and consider using LINE to send messages and collect information concerning regional disasters, regional promotions, and municipal government information.
As the operator of Japan's largest communication platform, we feel that it is naturally our responsibility to make sincere efforts to address the problems facing society and to respond to the expectations society places upon us. In the LINE Group's Code of Conduct, we pledge to support disaster assistance, environmental protection, social welfare, education, the arts, cultural promotion, and other activities, thereby contributing to more healthy and prosperous communities.
In order to continue fulfilling our responsibilities as a member of our global society, as well as meet the expectations and earn the trust of all of our stakeholders, we will continue to take on further initiatives to resolve the issues that face society and create new social value.
March 2018
LINE Corporation
Takeshi Idezawa, Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer