Japanese firm Hitachi, Ltd. has announced that it will donate 100 million yen to The Hitachi Global Foundation to support researches on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and other infectious diseases, and will also solicit donations from Hitachi executive officers and corporate officers (the executive positions next to Executive Officers) to the Hitachi Global Foundation.

The Hitachi Global Foundation will use the funds to launch "The Hitachi Global Foundation Fund for Research Support of Infectious Diseases (tentative)", which will provide support to researchers of universities and research institutions in Japan and ASEAN. The targeted areas are the development of pioneering and applied medical technologies for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and the researches contributing to building a new social system for pandemic preparedness. The Hitachi Global Foundation will decide on the details of the scheme, and after the necessary procedures and approvals, the fund will be established and will begin accepting applications in fiscal 2021.

The Hitachi Group is taking steps to prevent the spread of the outbreak, placing top priority on the health and safety of its employees and their families worldwide, as well as its stakeholders, customers, and partners. Subsequently, the Hitachi Group is making maximum efforts to ensure an environment in which business can be conducted through remote working, whilst continuing to support our customers and maintain the functions of critical social infrastructure.

Hitachi Group's Supports related to COVID-19
- A total of approximately 5 million yuan worth of donations, including a Supria 16 (5M) computed tomography (CT) machine, as well as donations and medical supplies in China.
- Provision free of charge on face shields (8,000 to 10,000 units per week) to medical institutions in Japan.
- Donation of approximately 110,000 medical masks and approximately 400,000 surgical masks in Japan.
- Donations for medical professionals and others who are working to combat COVID-19 through Hitachi's benefit plan in Japan.
- Provision of 1 million U.S. dollars in loans through Kiva to businesses in need around the globe, affected by the spread of the COVID-19