Proud to claim Tokushima as its birthplace and aiming to carry on the 400-year tradition of the Awa Odori, Otsuka Pharmaceutical organized the Otsuka Ren* corporate dance team in 1988. Subsequently performing at the Awa Odori Festival every summer, on August 12, the Otsuka Ren is currently composed of employees from Otsuka offices in Tokushima, Osaka, and Tokyo who undergo rigorous training with instructors from famous Awa Odori teams. Those who pass the screening gather in Tokushima to perform their polished dance moves for the festival crowds. This year, a group of 100 employees displayed their coordinated routines at the Awa Odori Festival. The Otsuka Ren continues to seek new challenges, polishing their skills as a team by performing at venues in Japan and overseas and developing new dance formations, all dedicated to perpetuating a traditional style of the Awa Odori.
- Awa-Odori dance teams are known as "ren"