Five Osaka Office staff and one family member raced in Osaka Great Santa Run 2023 on November 26 at Osaka Castle Park. This charity event features participants running or walking in Santa Claus costumes, enjoying a break from ordinary life. A portion of the participation fees is used to purchase Christmas presents for sick children staying in the hospital. Although the event’s country of origin is unknown, it takes place in more than one hundred locations across the UK annually, and the Osaka Great Santa Run is modeled after the one in Edinburgh, Scotland.

While the weather forecast called for midwinter-like cold, that was fortunately off the mark. The weather on the day was ideal for a race and an outing, making it a perfect day for a stroll. About 3,800 participants dressed up as Santa Claus were accompanied by their dogs and children, going at their own pace to the finish line along the four-kilometer route through Osaka Castle Park while taking in the beautiful scenery of the ginkgo tree-lined avenue and Osaka Castle itself. After crossing the finish line, participants wrote a message to be given together with Christmas presents to children battling illnesses at fourteen medical institutions in Osaka, Kyoto and other cities. The JFE Shoji Group plans to continue promoting this event as well as other social contribution activities.