Bangladesh Emergency Receives US$1 Million Donation from Tadashi Yanai, CEO of Fast Retailing

The UN refugee agency today welcomes a personal donation of US$1 million from Mr. Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President and CEO of Fast Retailing.Co., Ltd., parent company of Japan’s leading apparel brand, UNIQLO. The funds donated by Mr. Yanai will be used for UNHCR to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees newly arrived in Bangladesh.

412,000 refugees are estimated to have arrived in Bangladesh since violence broke out in the northern part of Myanmar’s Rakhine state on 25 August 2017 (As of 18 September). UNHCR is leading the response in Kutupalong and Nayapara camps where UNHCR teams are providing refugees with life-saving assistance, including emergency shelter, food, clothing and core relief items.

Tadashi Yanai and UNIQLO have been supporting displaced people and UNHCR since 2006. As an influential global business leader, he has actively advocated for refugee causes and mobilized support from the business sector as well as made personal donations for UNHCR. Under his strong leadership, and with his firm commitment to the refugee cause, UNIQLO is expanding its support for refugees and UNHCR.

UNIQLO became UNHCR’s first global partner in Asia in 2011. The company’s support has been multi-faceted, including in-kind contribution of clothes donated by UNIQLO customers, employment of refugees in Asia and Europe, support for UNHCR’s advocacy activities, and substantial financial contributions for livelihoods of refugees in Asia and emergencies. UNIQLO has donated clothes for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh annually since 2012, totalling over 47,000 items of clothing. Furthermore, UNIQLO employs Rohingya refugees residing in Japan at UNIQLO stores.

“Mr. Tadashi Yanai’s contribution shows his and UNIQLO’s great commitment to refugees and their hosts.  His generosity is critically important given the need to respond quickly to the unfolding humanitarian emergency in Bangladesh. Mr. Yanai and UNIQLO have set a great example of innovative assistance for refugees that we hope many other corporations will follow,” said Kelly T. Clements, UNHCR’s Deputy High Commissioner. “A crisis of this scale and magnitude cannot be tackled only by states or aid agencies.  Such a crisis requires concerted action by all of us, including the business community.”

Large numbers of Rohingya refugees continue to arrive daily. Many are wading through vast rice fields and jungles to cross the border into south-eastern Bangladesh. Still more are risking their lives, braving the rough seas of the Bay of Bengal by boat. The scale of influx into Bangladesh has reached levels not seen since the 1990’s.

For more information on the emergency or support us to provide the life-saving humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees, please contact our private service partnership staff (Mr. Sawai Seesai), Phone 02 288 2880.