Panasonic Signs Official Worldwide Paralympic Partnership Agreement

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation today announced it has signed an Official Worldwide Paralympic Partnership agreement with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for six years and two months from 2014 through to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The signing ceremony held in Tokyo, Japan was attended by IPC President Sir Philip Craven and Panasonic Corporation Executive Officer Satoshi Takeyasu in charge of Groupwide Brand Communications Division.

The Paralympic Games is the most prominent sporting event for athletes with impairment in the world and is held after the Olympic Games in the same city and venues. The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960 and has since grown into the world's third biggest sporting event featuring thousands of high performance para-athletes.

Since its foundation, it has been a basic business principle for Panasonic to contribute to society through its business. For 16 years from Nagano 1998 Paralympic Winter Games to Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, Panasonic has been engaged in the supply of audio visual equipment to the Paralympic Games, through which Panasonic has contributed to the peace and prosperity of the world community as well as the outreach and promotion of the sport by athletes with impairment.

In the new agreement, in addition to the existing Audio-Visual Equipment category covering TVs, audio-visual equipment for broadcast/professional use, AV storage media, car navigation and related car multimedia equipment and AV security equipment, Panasonic's sponsorship categories for Worldwide Paralympic Partnership have been expanded to include such disability care products as The Shower and Wearable Powered Suit. For these products, Panasonic has acquired global marketing rights with the Paralympic Movement in conjunction with the Paralympic Games. Panasonic will look to give versatile support to the athletes and the operations of the Paralympic Games in conjunction with its products, services and technical assistance.

"Panasonic renewed its Official Worldwide Olympic Partnership agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February this year. Together with the first Worldwide Paralympic Partnership agreement we signed today with IPC, we are extremely happy to be the Official Worldwide Partner for both the Olympic and the Paralympic Movement," said Panasonic Executive Officer Satoshi Takeyasu at the signing ceremony. "We are proud to announce our commitment to support IPC and the Paralympic Games, and to keep providing accessibility for all with our products and services."

The IPC President Sir Philip Craven welcomed the worldwide partnership of Panasonic and said, "We are absolutely delighted that such a prestigious and globally reputable company as Panasonic has signed to become the IPC's latest Worldwide Paralympic Partner.　In recent years the Paralympic Games has grown into the world's third biggest high performance sporting event in the world. Through this partnership with Panasonic I am confident we can consolidate this position and grow the Paralympic Movement to new levels as we build towards the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games."

Panasonic will pursue its global initiatives with CSR in conjunction with the Paralympic partnership.

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