News & Topics

Jan 16, 2012

Vote for cheer wrist band design that brings together Iwata and 10,000 supporters
Kick off IWATA PROJECT 21: “uniting the spirit of 10,000”

Minoru Iwata is a successful professional baseball player who has type 1 diabetes. He actively participates in activities to support children with the same disease. ARKRAY is sympathetic to this cause and has been supporting his activities and transmitting his messages since 2009.

“Never give up on your dream” is a message from Iwata, which has become our project slogan. With this as a motto, “IWATA PROJECT 21” began in May 2011 to unite everyone for the future. Last year, cheer wrist bands worn by Iwata were given away to type 1 diabetic children, their family members and healthcare professionals. There was a lot of positive feedback from not only the patients and their families but also from those who supported this activity. This has become a great source of encouragement for Iwata.

With the great feedback from last year, a new project called “uniting the spirit of 10,000” has kicked off as part of “IWATA PROJECT 21” in 2012. Cheer wrist bands that bring together Iwata and 10,000 supporters will be given out. The design of this cheer wrist band will be selected by a vote. Three designs have been short listed by Iwata, and the one that wins the most votes will become the new cheer wrist band.

ARKRAY will continue working with Iwata to support children with diabetes throughout this year.

3 designs shortlisted by Iwata for the vote

IWATA PROJECT 21 “Uniting the spirit* of 10,000”

This is a project to bring together Iwata and 10,000 supporters with the cheer wrist band. The wrist band is the proof for a strong mind to “never give up your dream.” By wearing it, everyone shows the spirit to strive for a dream.
The design of the cheer wrist band will be selected by a vote.

* ”spirit”
In a documentary DVD titled “Minoru Iwata’s challenges 2011” filmed by ARKRAY last year, Iwata wrote the character “” (“ki”), which means power of spirit, as a message to the children. This was part of his message that having a strong mind in whatever you do is the most important thing in life.

Vote for cheer wrist band design

The voter will choose from the 3 designs shortlisted by Iwata. The design with the most votes will be selected for making the cheer wrist band.

[Vote]
Voting period: January 16, 2012 (Mon) to March 16, 2012 (Fri)
How to vote: You can vote from the following website supporting Iwata (IWATA PROJECT 21):
https://www.arkray.co.jp/iwata21
* You can also enter your questions to Iwata when voting.

[Announcement of the design and distribution of cheer wrist bands]
Announcement of design: April 2012 (tentative) *Details will be announced at a later date.
Distribution of cheer wrist bands: May 2012 to 10,000 people (mainly diabetic patients) (voting for the design does not mean that you will receive a wrist band)