Awards

Headquarters cafeteria Mie Tachihara

In 2013, Mr. Tachihara, who works in the cafeteria, received an award for his efforts from the chairman of the Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Disabled, and Job Seekers. This year’s award is to appreciate his efforts and contributions while working as an exemplary professional in spite of his disability. Mr. Tachihara has been in charge of cooking, washing and cleaning work in the cafeteria at the headquarters since 2007. The way he greets all the employees in a loud voice saying "Welcome!" or "Thank you!" while washing the dishes is very impressive. He works very hard to wash the dishes one by one so as not to leave even one grain of rice on any of them. Currently, Mr. Tachihara is solely responsible for cleaning the cafeteria, and his attitude of steadily learning the work while cooperating enthusiastically is an important ability and a good example for other cafeteria workers.

Myoko

Myoko is a teahouse run by a support group for the physically disabled in Adachi Ward called "Yuaikai," as a place for independence training and social participation for people with physical disabilities. In addition to providing bread made at a place where people with physical disabilities work, it also allows the opportunity for disabled people to work happily on all weekdays. SMIC provides buildings free of charge and provides various other kinds of assistance to support the activities of Yuaikai.

The name of the restaurant, "Myoko," signifies a white lotus, and in Buddhism, a person who has a pure heart like a white lotus is called a "Myokonin." It is said that people with physical disabilities have pure hearts, and therefore, the former chairman of SMIC named this teahouse "Myoko."

Oshima cherry trees, large lotus plants, Japanese photinia, crape myrtle and sasanqua are planted around the teahouse so that people working at the teahouse, those visiting it or those occasionally passing by can enjoy the scenery and calm their hearts while admiring the seasonal flowers.