Major Blood Donation Event

A major blood donation campaign was held concurrently with the grand sumo tournament held in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on April 9. As many as ten blood donation buses were present at the event. The first time this campaign was held was in the 18th year of the Heisei Era (2006). Since then, the event has been held each time the Fujisawa Grand Sumo Tournament has been held through the cooperation of the promotor of the tournament, Mr. Shigeo Mogami (Shonan Building and Maintenance Association, Inc.). The number of donors has increased year by year, and it has developed into one of the largest blood donation events in Japan. This year, 666 people donated blood. Mr. Mogami, a frequent supporter of Japanese Red Cross Society activities, expressed his wishes, saying, "I really hope that our activity will spread all over Kanagawa Prefecture and also to the whole country." Mr. Yuji Kuroiwa, Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, and Mr. Tadateru Konoe, President of the Japanese Red Cross Society attended the campaign ceremony and awarded Mr. Mogami a certificate of commendation as a way of showing their appreciation.