Expanding 'School Sofy' to 495 Schools: Making Sanitary Napkins Available in Schools Across Okinawa Prefecture

Unicharm Corporation (President & CEO: Takahisa Takahara; hereinafter "Unicharm"), in collaboration with the NPO Red Box Japan (Representative Director: Kanna Oguma; hereinafter "Red Box Japan"), has launched the "BRIGHT FUTURE OKINAWA" project. As part of the "Dokodemo Sofy" (Anywhere Sofy) project, which promotes the creation of environments where sanitary napkins are available whenever needed, this initiative will introduce "School Sofy," a sanitary napkin dispenser for schools, to nearly every school in Okinawa Prefecture. To commemorate this project, we are pleased to announce that a charity event was held on March 28, 2026, at Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom to ship "School Sofy" units to 495 schools across the prefecture.

[Image: "BRIGHT FUTURE OKINAWA" event day. From left: FC Ryukyu Sakura ale player Ema Okamoto, FC Ryukyu Sakura President Ariki, Red Box Japan Representative Director Oguma, and FC Ryukyu Sakura ale player Ryune Ogata.]

Background of the "BRIGHT FUTURE OKINAWA" Project "BRIGHT FUTURE OKINAWA" is a project aimed at creating a society where children in Okinawa can learn with peace of mind and grow toward the future.

In recent years, movements have spread globally to guarantee access to menstrual products from the perspectives of education and health, and systems to support menstruation as a society are being developed. By providing menstrual products to schools, we aim to promote the empowerment of female students. Furthermore, we are working to implement "menstruation," which has previously been treated as a "personal issue," as a "system supported by the entire local community." This initiative is being developed as an effort to build new social infrastructure to support children and to realize an international model city for women's empowerment.

This project is supported by FC Ryukyu, which aims to create a society that supports children's futures under the philosophy of "From Okinawa, let's make the world UMUSAN (Okinawan dialect: interesting) together!", and FC Ryukyu Sakura, which works to solve social issues in Okinawa under the banner of "A women's team that creates the future of Okinawa." Moving forward, we aim to build a "cutting-edge model city for women's empowerment" where schools and the community work in tandem, such as by sequentially introducing "Dokodemo Sofy" sanitary napkin dispensers in the restrooms of FC Ryukyu and FC Ryukyu Sakura home game venues starting in April.

Charity Event Overview: Community and Sports Unite to Ship "Future Infrastructure" Date: Saturday, March 28, 2026, 12:00–15:00 Venue: Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom, Aeon Hall A Organizer: NPO Red Box Japan Cooperation: FC Ryukyu Sakura, FC Ryukyu Sakura ale, Unicharm Content: Following the project press conference, a ceremony was held to commemorate the shipment of "School Sofy" dispensers and sanitary products to 495 schools in Okinawa Prefecture. Through activities in which attendees could participate, we promoted the initiative of supporting children through the entire local community.

● Community-participatory packing of dispensers and sanitary products: Players from the women's soccer teams "FC Ryukyu Sakura" and "FC Ryukyu Sakura ale" worked alongside attendees.

● Sharing thoughts: Messages were written and stickers were applied to the shipping boxes, sharing the sentiment of supporting children as an entire community.

● Athlete outreach: By having the players participate themselves, we promoted the awareness of viewing menstruation as part of physical conditioning and showcased how sports can contribute to solving social issues.

Comment from Mari Ariki, President and CEO of FC Ryukyu Sakura As a "women's team that creates the future of Okinawa" working to solve social issues in the prefecture, FC Ryukyu Sakura supports the efforts promoted by Unicharm and Red Box Japan to create an environment where anyone can access sanitary products when needed and to disseminate correct knowledge about menstruation.

When thinking about the future of Okinawa, we believe that creating an environment where children, especially girls, can learn and go about their daily lives with peace of mind is essential for expanding the potential of the region.

As a women's soccer club, we want to be an entity that delivers value to society beyond the boundaries of sports. Through our participation in this initiative, we will share a new standard from Okinawa and contribute to the realization of a society where everyone can challenge themselves in their own way.

[Image: Joint packing work by attendees and FC Ryukyu Sakura ale.]

Comment from Kanna Oguma, Representative Director of Red Box Japan I am very happy that we were able to deliver sanitary products to 495 schools in Okinawa Prefecture through this "BRIGHT FUTURE OKINAWA" project. In this project, companies, sports teams, schools, and the local community were able to cooperate across gender and age lines to demonstrate the potential of new social infrastructure that realizes diversity.

Furthermore, by creating an environment where women can participate in society with peace of mind throughout the region, we believe we are laying the foundation for solving social issues such as regional revitalization and the declining birthrate and aging population. It is important to expand the system of supporting each other in various daily settings, rather than keeping menstruation as a personal issue. We will continue to expand this initiative from Okinawa to the rest of the country, and promote the realization of one of the world's leading model cities for women's empowerment where women can learn, work, and live with peace of mind.

Future Outlook ~Building a "Cutting-edge Model City for Women's Empowerment"~ Starting with the provision of "School Sofy" (sanitary napkins and dispensers) to schools in Okinawa Prefecture, this project is an initiative to transform menstruation from a "personal issue" to "social infrastructure."

Moving forward, we will build a sustainable support model that links education, business, and sports, and aim to expand it nationwide and overseas as an initiative originating from Okinawa. We will contribute to the realization of a society where everyone can challenge themselves in their own way.

What is "Dokodemo Sofy"? "Dokodemo Sofy" is an initiative to provide two types of sanitary napkin dispensers free of charge*—"School Sofy" for schools and "Office Sofy" for companies—to create an environment where hygienic napkins are available whenever needed. The napkins used for replenishment are purchased by the schools or companies where the units are installed.

Through this initiative, we aim to realize a "society where menstrual products are available anywhere" and a "society where people can spend their time 'freely and as themselves'."

* The free provision applies to the two types of dispensers; the napkins for replenishment are paid. This service is subject to change or cancellation without notice.

Related Websites ・Unicharm "Dokodemo Sofy" Official Website https://www.sofy.jp/ja/campaign/dokodemosofy.html ・Red Box Japan Official Website https://redboxjapan.org/ ・FC Ryukyu Sakura Official Website https://sakura.fcryukyu.com/