Material Issue 7Achieve a sustainable society through partnerships

Expanding the Role as a Form of Social Infrastructure

Seven & i Group works in collaboration with local governments to provide public services to support persons experiencing inconvenience in daily life by reductions in local government offices, banking services, and retail stores.

  • SDGs11 SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

Promoting Alliances with Municipalities

Seven & i Group is promoting regional revitalization by concluding comprehensive alliance agreements with local governments in a wide range of fields, including local production for local consumption, senior support, health promotion, and environmental protection. Moreover, we are also moving ahead on concluding “watch over agreements” with local governments to look out for elderly people and so on during regular store operating hours, or through delivery services and collaborating with local governments to respond if irregularities are detected, as well as to train Dementia Supporters, and take other measures. In other developments, we have also concluded “supply-support agreements” to prepare for rapid regional support in the event of disasters, and we are also promoting “agreements for supporting people who cannot return home after a disaster” where we provide tap water, access to restrooms, and local information wherever possible.

Number of comprehensive alliance agreements with local governments (by operating company)


  As of the end of February 28, 2021 As of the end of February 28, 2022 As of the end of February 28, 2023
Seven-Eleven Japan 194

223

230

Ito-Yokado 56 77 78
York-Benimaru 10 11 14
York 4 4 4
Seven & i Food Systems 3 3 3
Total 267 318 329


Retail of Products which Contribute to Regional Revitalization

Seven & i Group makes use of comprehensive alliance agreements to promote various regional revitalization initiatives with respective local governments. For example, Seven-Eleven Japan recognizes the importance of local flavors and food cultures by developing products that use local ingredients. Ito-Yokado, York-Benimaru, and other Group companies are helping to promote the appeal of local areas by retailing regional products and proposals for menus using local products and ingredients. In the fiscal year ended February 28, 2023, at two stores in Yachiyo city, Chiba Prefecture, York participated in the Yachipan Project—an event for producing and selling bread based on ideas from local high school students carried out as part of the initiatives with local governments—and sold two types of bread.

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“Pescatore made with firefly squid from Toyama Bay”

(Seven-Eleven Japan)


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"Chutan Chuppy Recommendation!

A Colorful and Filling Lunch Box"

supervised by Aomori Chuo Junior College (Ito-Yokado)

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Bread conceived and realized by high school students from Yachio City, Chiba Prefecture “Yachipan Project” (York)

Establishment of Polling Stations in Stores

Ito-Yokado and Sogo & Seibu provide facilities within stores to be used free of charge for use as polling booths in cooperation with local governments. Local governments seek to increase the voting rate due to the reduction in number of polling booths and decline in voting rate due to the merger of municipalities, in addition to the enactment of the revised Public Offices Election Act, which lowered the voting age to 18. The booths are used to provide easy access to voters while they are shopping. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2023, this was rolled out at 25 Ito-Yokado stores. It was publicized at stores via poster displays and in-store announcements, as well as printouts on receipts. In addition, considering the spread of COVID-19, we worked to prevent infection liaising with the secretariats of respective election administration commissions to provide thorough disinfection of pencils and voting podiums, as well as ensuring sufficient distances were maintained between lines.

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A polling booth set up in an Ito-Yokado store

Services also Available on Public Holidays and Night-times

In recent years, households in which both spouses work for a living have increased, and an increasing number of people have difficulty completing payments of utility bills at financial institutions and procedures at government offices on weekdays. In 1987, Seven-Eleven Japan thus initiated a service for 24-hour payment of utility bills at store registers irrespective of the business hours of banks. Since then, in addition to utilities bills, we have expanded this service to processing NHK license fees, national pension scheme and all types of tax payments, as well as catering to administrative services and insurance enrollment using multifunctional copiers.

Government Services (Issuance of Various Certificates)

7-Eleven stores, in an agreement with 1,104 municipalities (as of the end of February 2023), offer a service for issuing copies of residence certificates and seal registration certificates using in-store multifunctional copiers. This service is currently being expanded, including support for the issuance of family register certificates for 680 municipalities as well as tax certificates for 792 (Individual Number Cards are required to use the service). In February 2022, Seven-Eleven Japan also launched a service that allows users to initialize and reset the signature password for their Individual Number Card. These services for Individual Number Card holders are easily operable and can be used even late at night and on holidays, simply by waving the Individual Number Card over a scanner. Private information is given high security protection by a sophisticated dedicated network and special printing prevents forgery and manipulation.

Insurance Enrollment and Premium Payment Service

7-Eleven became the first in the industry to offer motorcycle and bicycle insurance enrollment and insurance premium payment services where customers can enroll in insurance 24 hours a day by entering the necessary personal information on the multifunctional copier screen in store and paying their premium at the register. (The service is for motor scooters and motorcycles with an engine displacement of 250 cc or less, which do not require a motor vehicle inspection.) "1 DAY Insurance" providing automotive insurance coverage in one-day increments has been available at all 7-Eleven stores since September 2015, and “1 DAY Leisure Insurance” that provides necessary accident coverage when needed has been available since April 2018. In addition, starting from June 2020, cancer insurance is being sold at all 7-Eleven stores. Furthermore, with the exception of cancer insurance, from September 2021, after applying for insurance online, it is now possible to pay insurance premiums directly at the cash register without going through a multifunctional copier.

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Multifunctional copiers can copy print, issue various types of certificates, and even issue insurance policies

Bicycle Sharing

Seven-Eleven Japan is promoting the use of bicycle parking spaces on store grounds as sites for renting and returning shared bicycles and will be expanding the areas in stages. As of the end of February 2023, Seven-Eleven Japan has installed a total of 4,427 units at 613 stores. This program was launched at Ito-Yokado from June 2018, at Denny’s restaurants from September 2018, and at York from 2020. As of the end of February 2023, the total number of units installed at Ito-Yokado was 178, and the total number of units installed at York was 64.

Bicycle sharing allows for bicycles to be rented from any of multiple stations within a certain region. After use, a bicycle need not be returned to the original location and can be returned to the station closest to the user’s destination. Bicycle sharing is expected to supplement public transportation in areas that lack adequate transportation and can play an important role as infrastructure.

A store with a bicycle sharing site

Initiatives for Material Issue 7