Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Corporate
August 15, 2017

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Participates in Summer Events in Tokushima Exciting Summer in WAJIKI, Tokushima Awa Odori, Oronamin C Drink Presents Awa Odori Sound Festival

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office Tokyo, Japan; President: Tatsuo Higuchi) participated in a trio of summer events, including the traditional Awa Odori dance festival, in the Otsuka group's birthplace of Tokushima Prefecture. Organized with the cooperation of local organizations and corporations, events that brightened the Tokushima summer included the Exciting Summer in WAJIKI outdoor rock concert, the famed Tokushima Awa Odori Festival and the Oronamin C Drink Awa Odori Sound Festival.
Otsuka group will continue to work together with local communities to contribute to the development of regional economies and the health of local residents.

Tokushima Awa Odori

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"

Exciting Summer in WAJIKI 2017

Sponsored in conjunction with local organizations, Exciting Summer in WAJIKI, is a free-admission outdoor concert held every summer at the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Tokushima Wajiki Factory. First held in 1990, the year after completion of the factory, 2017 marked the 28th annual outdoor concert featuring promising young artists. Initially organized by young members of the Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations as a way to slow the exodus of young people and energize the community, the annual outdoor concert has become an established summer event. This year, Exciting Summer in WAJIKI 2017 was attended by approximately 5,000 music fans.
On the day of the concert, tours of the Calorie Mate production facility are offered as a way to familiarize visitors with Wajiki Factory and its products.

Oronamin C Drink presents Awa Odori Sound Festival 2017

The Awa Odori Sound Festival was launched in 1990, and is also marking its 28th anniversary in 2017. This free concert event is held at the Eagle Gate Plaza in Tokushima Central Park annually on August 11, on the eve of the Awa Odori Festival. Each year, features different genres of music to appeal to an audience of music lovers across all age groups. The festival attracted 1,300 attendees this year.