Japan Marrow Donor Program Launches New PR Team with External Experts, Appoints Former NHK Producer Daisaku Kawase as Chief of Planning and Strategy

The Japan Marrow Donor Program, a public interest incorporated foundation, launched a new PR team in April 2026, welcoming external experts to its existing structure. We are pleased to announce that Daisaku Kawase, a former NHK producer who worked on programs such as 'Professional: Shigoto no Ryugi' and is currently active in a wide range of fields including serving as programming chief for the disaster recovery project 'FUKKO DESIGN' and 'SmartNews+', has been appointed as the Chief of Planning and Strategy. A New Structure to Solve the Urgent Shortage of Young Donors and Improve Awareness Severe Issues Surrounding the Marrow Donor Program - While nearly 2,000 patients require transplants from the marrow donor program every year, the number of transplants remains at about half of that. - There is a shortage of young donors. Daisaku Kawase's Track Record and Future Prospects: 'Aiming to Improve Awareness by Involving Youth' Daisaku Kawase, serving as the chief, has excelled as a director and producer at NHK, thinking about and practicing how to organize and deliver information to people. Having produced numerous popular programs such as 'Close-up Gendai', 'Professional: Shigoto no Ryugi', 'Another Stories: Unmei no Bunkiten', 'Asaichi', and 'Ariyoshi no Okane Hakken Totsugeki! Kaneo-kun', he possesses the knowledge of the difficulties in delivering information to people and how to overcome them. He became independent in 2022. He established Days Inc. and is active in a wide range of fields outside of television production, such as serving as programming chief for the disaster recovery project 'FUKKO DESIGN' and 'SmartNews+'. Mr. Kawase began collaborating with our foundation about three years ago and has also supervised PR measures such as the '#TsunageProjectOrange' and '#Orange30000Challenge'. Although the name 'Japan Marrow Donor Program' is recognized by many, the understanding of its actual state and activities has not spread sufficiently. 'I thought I knew about it', 'Is it the thing written on the back of the driver's license?', 'I thought it had nothing to do with me', 'Is it about the spinal cord?', 'I thought it was an organ transplant'.... Due to accurate information not reaching them, many young people have the wrong image, or don't even recognize it, keeping them far from registering as marrow donors. Under the new structure, we will formulate a PR strategy centered on young people and develop measures so that they view it as a 'personal matter' and participate in the marrow donor program's PR and awareness-raising activities. New Initiatives by Youth and Companies Discussed at the 'Connect! Marrow Donor Bank Summit' On March 1, 2026, we held the Marrow Donor Bank Summit, 'A Day When Future Protagonists Gather and Take Action'. This event aimed to create specific action plans for youth and companies to collaborate and increase the number of registered donors, ahead of the full-scale launch of 'swab registration', newly introduced for marrow donor registration. Youth (youth ambassadors) and students who regularly cooperate with donor registration activities, along with endorsing companies and organizations (FamilyMart Co., Ltd. / Tully's Coffee Japan Co., Ltd. / READYFOR, Inc. / SNOW BANK), gathered at the event. Active discussions took place, resulting in many collaboration project ideas. - Conducting donor registration events at FamilyMart stores inside universities and radio ads in all stores - Collaboration between photo exhibition projects and donor registration events at Tully's Coffee - Exploring a picture book production project via crowdfunding - SNOWBANK x Student Organizations planning an event to make it snow at university festivals - Kamakura Women's University x Kamakura FM producing a radio program The above are collaboration ideas (not final decisions) generated during the two-and-a-half-hour conference by students wanting to convey the importance of the marrow donor bank and companies/organizations. We will continue to expand the circle of donor registration activities with various partners in this manner. We are constantly looking for co-creation partners. Introducing the Companies/Organizations that Participated in the Summit FamilyMart Co., Ltd. Utilizing its nationwide store network and ties with local communities, they continuously implement life-saving initiatives, such as donor registration events linked with blood donation. Under a cooperative structure at the store and regional levels, they have worked to create registration opportunities in various locations. The company also employs staff who have experienced transplants as leukemia patients, and they continue to provide support closely aligned with the significance of the marrow donor program from both personal experience and corporate activity perspectives. SNOWBANK Starting from the thoughts of someone who experienced a bone marrow transplant, they operate under the theme 'Social contribution starting from fun'. Through snowboarding, sports, music, and art events, they encourage people who wouldn't normally visit blood donation rooms to donate blood and register as donors.