Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head office: Tokyo, Japan; President: Makoto Inoue) has been implementing a range of measures to support and encourage high school students affected by ongoing restrictions on school club activities and the cancellation of national sports meets.

■Support for alternative high school competitions in all 47 prefectures

Otsuka Pharmaceutical has signed comprehensive cooperation agreements with all 47 prefectures to support health promotion. The company has also has worked together with organizers to promote the safety of event management as a Special Sponsor of the Inter-High School Championships.
While the 2020 Inter-High event was cancelled and prefectures held alternative competitions in their local areas, Otsuka Pharmaceutical continued to support high school athletes, supplying Pocari Sweat and providing the latest information on heat disorder prevention and management of physical condition during exercise via prefectural branches of the All Japan High School Athletic Federation.

■"Yell for Tomorrow Project" to support high school students

URL：https://sportsbull.jp/inhightv/online-yell/about/(in Japanese）

In response to the cancellation of the 2020 Inter-High Championships, an enormous number of athletes and past volunteer supporters of the event stepped forward to show their support for high school students across the country. Otsuka has demonstrated our support by co-sponsoring the "Inter-High TV" website and the "Yell for Tomorrow Project" in collaboration with the All Japan High School Athletic Federation. We are implementing a suite of initiatives, including "Online Yell Classes," to support high school athletes nationwide.
Student responses have included comments such as "When I saw participants from other schools focusing on their next goals, it motivated me," and "I want to focus on what I'm going to do next so that I don't look back on this time with regret."

All Japan High School Athletic Federation Managing Director Takashi Nara commented, "This year, we haven't been able to provide the special forum of the Inter-High competition. However, thanks to the support of Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Federation branches in each prefecture were able to organize alternative competitions as opportunities for students to be able to share their achievements. Otsuka Pharmaceutical provided products for students competing in alternative events in the same way they have for the Inter-High. They also provided information for conducting events safely. We're also grateful for their collaboration on the "Yell for Tomorrow Project," which is providing activities that are really meaningful to high school students. We look forward to ongoing support for the Inter-High Championships, and for the school athletic club activities that are its foundation."

■2020, Summer, Club Activities 'My Future Starts Now'
Video shows students' total commitment to their personal training regimes

URL：https://www.otsuka.co.jp/cmt/2020_bukatsu/ (in Japanese)

This project is aimed at supporting students who devote themselves to practicing their club activities on a daily basis. Students' lives have been greatly impacted this year by the cancellation of the Inter-High Championships and suspension of classes. We wanted to acknowledge the hopes and dreams of students across the country who continue to practice their club activities, whether as individuals or as teams. The video aims to encourage young people dealing with daily reality through videos and graphics that embody this sentiment.

Students told us they wanted to see episodes that focus not only on their regrets and anxieties, but that address what they can do and how they can manage their own training. As they fluctuate between an "I can't do this any more" sense of crisis and the feeling that "I still want to do it," young people want to be reassured that "what we've been practicing has not been in vain."

Otsuka is also continuing with heat illness prevention measures, working with boards of education and schools under their management in all prefectures, providing useful up-to-date resources for implementing measures to combat heat illness at schools and offering lectures to share knowledge.

Based on the corporate philosophy of 'Otsuka - people creating new products for better health worldwide,' Otsuka Pharmaceutical continues to contribute to the health and well being of people around the world.