Asahikasei Homes winning its 14th victory
【May 20th】
Asahikasei Homes won its 14th victory, winning 2 years in a row. The final match of the 26th RBA Baseball Tournament Wednesday Block only took place in the following fiscal year on May 20th at Tokyo Dome, due to scheduling circumstances. Asahikasei Homes won defeating Mitsui Fudosan Realty by 3-0. Mitsui Fudosan Realty had Chairman Hidehisa Takei, Hirohiko Yamashiro, the CEO, and approximately 600 huge supporters filling the dome with Rehouse Red, however, they could not win over their accurate baseball play.
The Another RBA: The Winner of the 5th D Cup goes to Sumitomo Real Estate Sales, defeating Tokyu Livable.
【May 1st】
The 5th Club-D Cup, also known as “the another RBA”, had Sumitomo Real Estate Sales as the winner. The final match between Tokyu Livable and Sumitomo Real Estate Sales took place at Tokyo Dome on May 1st, where Sumitomo Real Estate Sales won for the first time winning a close game of 3-2.
On the day, the audience stand was filled with the “Livable Blue”. Last year, Tokyu Livable lost against Mitsui Fudosan Realty’s “Rehouse Red”. This year, having the opportunity to take on the revenge, the company mass produced a T-shirt with the corporate color blue; filling the stand with 400-500 supporters. Sumitomo Real Estate Sales on the other hand, perhaps “prioritizing work” was feeling away from home in terms of supporters. They only had few tens of supports but the game ran completely at their pace. Tokyu Livable ended the game in 2nd place, 2 years in a row.
Toshikazu Tanaka, the CEO of Sumitomo Real Estate Sales, and Yoshihiro Nakajima, the Chairman of Tokyu Livable also came to support the game; enlivening the game.
Ken Corporation beats Taisei Housy, winning its 12th block victory, 4 years in a row
【May 1st】
Ken Corporation won its 12th block victory, winning 4 years in a row. The final match of the 26th RBA Baseball Tournament Sunday Block only took place in the following fiscal year on May 1st at Tokyo Dome, due to scheduling circumstances. Ken Corporation won its 12th victory defeating Taisei Housy by 3-1.
Pitcher, Ogasawara completes the game, celebrating pre-birth of his second child,
with Mr. Yazawa who had a winning hit
Shinjuku i-Land, Shinjuku
【March 3rd】
“RBA Plaza”opened in Shinjuku i-Land to serve as a base for more people to get to know the variety of RBA International activities.
One of the tasks we gave ourselves at the opening of the Plaza was to let many Japanese know about Serbia and hence, expand their circle of friendship. To do this we named the Plaza “Serbia House”. RBAI has strengthened its tie with Serbia in the past; we have organized charity concerts for the children of Kosovo; sent a donation to an affected school in Serbia after the big scale flooding that happened in 2014; furthermore, we also support Serbian artists.
The Ambassador, Nenad Glišić and Chairman Kume with the flag of Serbia at the back
On the day of the opening, the Ambassador, Nenad Glišić, was invited. The ambassador poured Serbian coffee himself and taught the RBA Plaza staff how to make it. He promised he will give his full support, saying “Please let us know anything that you may need. We will write an article on RBA Plaza and have it on the embassy homepage. We can also put RBA Plaza link there”.
"You see, you only put this much water. After the water boils, you put glinded coffee, mix them and that's it. It's easy!"
RBA Plaza offers services such as gel nail and massage, etc, and all the money collected from these services will be donated to the children of Serbia via the embassy. Serbian coffee will be served to customers.
RBA Plaza: Shinjuku i-Land Atrium 1F, 6-4-1 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
TEL: 03-6279-0919
Opening Hours: Mon~Fri 11:00~20:00
RBA Plaza changes its appearance and interior quite often
Kume's Library newly opened (June)
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An article on the Ambassador visiting RBA Plaza on the Embassy of The Republic of Serbia HP
Obrenovac, Republic of Serbia
【22nd January】
On 22nd January 2015, RBA International made a donation to Grammar School in Obrenovac (Gimnazija u Obrenovcu), Republic of Serbia.
RBA International as part of its activities have held a charity concert for the children in Kosovo back in 2001 when it was still the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The ethnic antagonisms and the impoverishment of economy which continued from the 1990s had put many children in harsh environments. Grieving over this reality, Mr. Kume felt the urge to do something about it, which became the trigger in having the relationship with Serbia initially. After that, we were given the “Serbia Ambassador’s Cup” for RBA Baseball Tournament in 2009, and RBAI have supported Serbian artists.
Last year May, Serbia experienced a big scale flooding. When RBA International offered to be of any help, the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia have put us through to Grammar School in Obrenovac who was in need.
Obrenovac is a mid-sized town, situated 30 km south-west from central Belgrade with a population of approximately 25,000. Grammar School in Obrenovac was founded in 1922, with 16 classes and 450 students today. The school has been well recognized for its academic excellence over the past years.
The donation will be used to improve Grammar School in Obrenovac environment. The school considers students’ safety one of the most important aspects in their work. From this reason, they wished for a modern surveillance system to be introduced in the school and RBAI was able to help achieve that.
The Principle Mr. Protić expressed in the Thank You letter, “Personally, I wish to emphasize that support of your esteemed organization, at the times of hardship and recovery, was of essential importance. We deeply value your contribution and look forward to further strengthening of our friendly relations.”
It took us some time to be able to send our support to Serbia, as the country has strict regulations on overseas donations. However, whichever country it may be, when people need help, you offer to help. RBA International will continue to do what are natural for humans to do, naturally.
Saitama PKCT High School x RBA International
【January 20th, February 2nd-6th, 17th】
This year is the 9th year Daisan Kikaku, Inc. held internship with Saitama PKCT high school. 3 students were accepted from 2nd February to 6th. This internship program continues because both parties aim towards the same direction.
On the first day, they have ventured out on a “Finding Self” trip to observe all kinds of people – men and women of all ages and nationalities, from the rich and the poor – to find where they stand among them. From the 2nd day to the 4th day, they have experienced sales, administration work and the makings of ads in an office. On the final day, they went to the printing factory in Kawaguchi, Saitama to have the field study of platemaking – printing – processing steps.
Prior to the internship on the 20th January, the CEO of Daisan Kikaku, Inc., Nobuhiro Kume spoke about “What is Limitation?” for about an hour to the 2nd year students of Saitama PKCT high school. This was the theme Sho Takemasa, the school principle gave to Mr. Kume on the day. This has been their unique tradition to decide the theme of the lesson on the spot.
Mr. Kume spoke about the importance of basic rules in being a member of society with plenty of humor for students: “Greet before anybody. Always respond with a “yes”. Place your shoes properly after taking them off. Just by executing these 3 things, your life will change.”
At the follow-up lesson, which took place on the 17th February, Mr. Kume encouraged 270 students; “You must not have half-hearted aims. You only live once, so have a big aim. Ask yourself how can I be happy? How can I be strong? And challenge your limits”.
A student S wrote on his report after the internship, “I was impressed to hear “students are only half a man so it is only natural that they cause troubles to others. But once you are a member of society, you are a full-fledged person. Causing troubles, that is not being a full-fledged member of society.”
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Saitama PKCT high school was founded in 1986 as a comprehensive high school of specialized courses to nurture specialists. There are 6 courses available in industrial, commerce, and home fields with a total of 280 seats a year.
The school’s mission is “to nurture industrial persons who can contribute to the society”. Having hands-on job experience is considered a crucial opportunity for students to learn the way of professional living and its tough reality. The school expects this internship program to bring a positive influence educationally.
On the other hand, Mr. Kume who has once ran a cram school himself stresses, “It is extremely vital to strictly receive societal education from a young age”. He continues to be supportive towards internship programs.