NPO Good Earth Japan (GEJ), which receives full backing from the Hitachi Construction Machinery Group, participated in Global Festa Japan 2017 at Odaiba on September 30th and October 1st. This international cooperation event, which is Japan’s largest, was held at the Odaiba Center Promenade in Tokyo.

Global Festa is held annually, around this time of year. It is sponsored by the Global Festa Executive Committee with joint sponsorship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC). The festa’s objective is to promote participation in international cooperation by better familiarizing visitors with international cooperation and enabling visitors to gain a deeper understanding and recognition of current international cooperation, including ODAs, why they are a necessity, and cooperation between governments and NGOs and communities.

The GEJ booth detailed the situation with buried landmines in Cambodia and showed how these landmines are being cleared out. There were pictures and panels to illustrate the GEJ’s main activities to visitors—restoring the region after the landmines are removed and helping local residents to rebuild their lives. The staff used a model landmine, pictures, and panels to give visitors a better sense of activities. On both days, the booth received many visitors interested in international cooperation. Visitors listened intently to explanations of the GEJ’s undertakings and its goal to help local residents get back on their feet as soon as possible.

At this year’s event, 266 organizations hosted booths. The event drew in roughly 120,000 people during its two days.

The Hitachi Construction Machinery Group pledges to continue its support of the GEJ and its activities going forward.