Amid the trend toward nuclear families, there are often fewer people whom parents can easily turn to with questions about raising their children. In light of this, Seven & i Group offers various types of support through its stores.

Ito-Yokado has placed maternity and childcare consultation offices. Here, consultants certified as public health nurses and midwives provide free consultations on health during pregnancy and childcare. Each of these facilities offers restrooms equipped with such conveniences as diaper-changing tables, private spaces for breastfeeding, water heaters for milk formula, and toilets for children. In addition, the consultants also collect information on the types of assistance offered by local governments and provide this information to users.

Akachan Honpo is promoting the “with akachanhonpo” co-creation project, an initiative undertaken with various companies to solve social issues related to pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing. For example, the project established a community site on X (formerly Twitter) that enables anyone to feel free to ask questions to midwives and provides free specialized content prepared under the supervision of midwives about physical and mental well-being. The project continues to provide new value by solving issues related to meals and offering support for creating memories for parents and children. By transcending the boundaries of companies in this way, new products and services are created, providing unprecedented value.

Ito-Yokado holds various events to provide childcare advice and encourage mutual interaction among parents/guardians. The company also actively takes part in events in collaboration with universities, municipalities, and several product manufacturers to maintain and promote the health of mothers, offer techniques for relaxation and rejuvenation, and provide helpful childcare-related information. The overarching theme of the events is “enjoyment at home through public-private-academic partnerships.” Through these events, it is helping to expand community childcare support networks.

Since 2021, Ito-Yokado has also started holding Kids Workplace Experience Tours, where parents and their children can enjoy learning. These tours are events where they can join workplace experience programs at Ito-Yokado and learn about such matters as store development that seeks customer satisfaction and initiatives that are considerate of hygiene management and the environment from the perspective of SDGs.

In the fiscal year ended February 29, 2024, these tours were offered at 125 Ito-Yokado stores, for a total of approximately 2,500 people, including parents/guardians and children.

To support career education at elementary schools, junior and senior high schools, and universities, Seven & i Group cooperates with requests from schools by sending out employees to each school, providing workplace tours, and holding workplace experience programs at its Group stores, where participants have the chance to take part in conducting familiar retail store operations.

Seven-Eleven Japan has a store in Shinagawa Student City, which has been run jointly by Shinagawa-ku and Junior Achievement Japan since 2003. The concept of Shinagawa Student City is to create a virtual town inside an elementary school, with various companies setting up shops and providing experience of working and society. The children working in the 7-Eleven store experience customer service, store shelf organization, and other operations to learn about the systems of society.

Ito-Yokado accepts workplace experience programs for children, students, and pupils from educational institutions. In addition to providing opportunities to observe food processing operations and experience product display in stores, participants can also engage in activities such as sampling and sales promotions. Through these experiences, they can enjoy the process of thinking and expressing their own ideas, and understand the importance of adhering to basic safety and security measures.

Seven & i Group training facility, Ito Training Center, provides store shelf organization and food processing experiences, as well as opportunities to provide service from various customer perspectives, such as helping customers in wheelchairs. Through these experiences, students can feel the value of working and the joy of interacting with customers.

Seven-Eleven Japan holds outreach classes at an elementary school as a part of the Yomiuri Education Network, which seeks to increase interactions between companies and schools. Through the group work, the children come to understand in a fun way the roles that 7-Eleven plays in society. At the same time, they learn about how the products and services of 7-Eleven, which aims to build stores that are convenient and close to people, have changed (CRM strategy* and response to SDGs) in accordance with changes in society (changes in customers’ needs). The class provides a good opportunity for children to think about their society from the everyday perspective of a convenience store. Additionally, through the familiar 7-Eleven stores located across the country, Seven-Eleven Japan conducts unique outreach classes that provide children, who will shape the future, with opportunities to learn about social issues related to the SDGs, think about solutions, and take action. Applications from elementary schools and other institutions nationwide are accepted through its company website.

Since 2005, Seven Bank has cosponsored the publication of Bonolon, Warrior of the Forest, which is a free picture book created with the hope that such qualities in the heart-warming world of Bonolon as kindness and courage will help future generations grow to have enriched minds. The bank also publishes about 3 million picture books annually and distributes them free of charge,* produces large-size picture books, holds storytelling sessions for children, and conducts other programs, promoting communications between parents and children and contributing to the healthy development of children over the 18 years since its launch.

Seven & i Group promotes dietary education activities for children through various experiences in order to prepare them to be people who can convey knowledge about foods and practice sound and healthy dietary habits.

For example, some Denny’s restaurants operated by Seven & i Food Systems regularly hold dietary education classes for children. These classes are opportunities for children to learn about how to use chopsticks, knives, forks, and spoons as well as proper table posture and other basic etiquette. They are also opportunities to learn in an enjoyable way through explanations using ingredient-themed panels and quizzes on seasonal vegetables, and more. While stores have refrained from holding face-to-face classes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 since 2020, it holds dietary education classes via online meeting tools.

In addition, some Ito-Yokado stores regularly carry out dietary education events. At this event, participants learn the importance of well-balanced food through cooking demonstrations and menu suggestions in cooking areas set up in-store, as well as traditional culture such as the Doll Festival through food.

Seven-Eleven Japan conducted D&I training for employees who work at stores as an opportunity to learn the key points of communciating with diverse customers and employees including seniors, persons with disabilities, and foreign residents and employees. Seminars and group sessions deepen participants' understanding. Part of the training included incorporating the Job Supporter for Persons with Mental Developmental Disabilities training held by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which was attended by 255 persons through the end of February 2024. In the future, the company will continue to support interactions by personnel with diverse people, efforts aimed at better communciations, and the creation of a society where all people can live comfortably.