About Palsystem
Palsystem Consumers' Co-operative Union is a federation consisting of local co-ops and the Palsystem Insurance Consumers' Co-operative Federation, located mainly in the capital region. Based on consumer co-op's spirit of mutual help, Palsystem Consumers' Co-operative Union works with Palsystem Group's member co-ops and subsidiaries to promote essential businesses, including merchandise (mainly food) delivery, mutual-aid and insurance, welfare services, and electric power supply.
Origin of the name
The name Palsystem derives from the English words "pal" (friend or companion) and "system" (institution or organization).
It was chosen to mean "participation of individuals in building a large-scale collaborative operation."
Overview of Palsystem (As of March 31, 2023)
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Date Founded
February 9th, 1990
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Members of Group Co-ops
13
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Group Co-ops' total revenue
253.09 billion yen
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Union's revenue
174.09 billion yen
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Members' Shares
14.87 billion yen
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Workers
400 (excluding part-time workers)
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Area
Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Shizuoka Pref.
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Head office
2-2-6, Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8527, Japan
Phone: +81(3)6233-7200
Fax: +81(3)3232-6540 -
Total members
1.714 million members
Principles of the Palsystem
Create a spiritually rich lifestyle and a society of co-existence.
Spiritually Rich Lifestyle
This refers to a lifestyle whereby people pursue generosity and peace of mind, good quality of life as well as strong interpersonal relationships as important values, never remaining content with mere materialistic wealth.
Society of Co-existence
This refers to a society in which people help their neighbors by pursuing a symbiotic coexistence between nature and human beings, a peaceful coexistence of people that transcends regionalism and any conventions, creating an organic relationship between the present and the future.
Top Message
The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake. This massive earthquake with its epicenter in the southern Kanto region caused the worst damage in Japanese history: as many as 105,000 people were killed or went missing. The quake hit Tokyo particularly hard, causing widespread fires in communities crowded with wooden homes and affecting 60% of houses there. We should also remember that baseless rumors broke out in the midst of damage and confusion, which led to a tragic mass killing.
There was a man who moved to Tokyo and dedicated himself to helping victims of the Great Kanto Earthquake. His name is Toyohiko Kagawa, the Father of the Japanese Cooperative Movement. Kagawa raised a large sum of money, mainly in western Japan, to provide emotional and medical support to victims as well as to provide relief supplies to vulnerable people including women. He also established a credit union for people in need. These activities he developed are comparative to modern disaster relief.
Recently, an increasing number of people are becoming socially vulnerable due to Russian invasion of Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather, as well as economic turmoil associated with these factors. Social instability with an uncertain future has been making many people intolerant of different views and opinions, which is also leading to isolation and division. This social context, in which many isolated people seek something to emotionally rely on, looks similar to the situation following the Great Kanto Earthquake. We therefore expect to see further growth in the role of cooperation, which is based on the spirit of mutual help practiced by Kagawa.
Aiming to address these social needs, the Palsystem Group has developed “Palsystem Group's Vision for 2030” with five key words: eating, producing, supporting each other, changing, and understanding each other. Based on the vision and key words, we strive to help build a sustainable society.
In our activities to support struggling households, we have provided a total of over 450,000 servings of food by, for example, delivering extra food generated in the supply process to Kids' Cafeterias. The scholarship system funded by co-op members' donations is growing steadily, currently helping 18 students. In our environmental activities, we have been replacing folding containers for delivery with those made from recycled plastic, aiming to reduce plastic use by a total of 763 tons.
Many organizations and individuals in various fields show support and appreciation for all of these initiatives, making us realize that expectations for co-operatives are growing further as organizations for mutual help. We are determined to remain rooted in our communities, both as business and movement, aiming to create a spiritually rich lifestyle and a society of co-existence.
The role co-operatives should play has been growing, as a solution to problems and as social infrastructure. We need to further reinforce our efforts to build a recycling-based and sustainable society. We, Palsystem, are committed to helping build a safe and comfortable society for all.
Palsystem Group's Vision for 2030
Building inclusive communities through eating, producing and supporting each other
Individual action will build sustainable communities and lead to world peace
Eating＜Food＞
We will share the importance of eating and promote safe and spiritually rich food throughout our communities.
- We will address various needs in everyday life by developing safe and reliable products to provide food and healthy living throughout the life of each individual, as well as by communicating that information properly.
- The concept of ethical consumption is that people choose products with an understanding of the issues surrounding production and distribution while emphasizing the importance of enjoying tasty food, passing the food culture on to future generations, and food education. We will promote this concept throughout our communities.
- Through collaboration with governments and various other organizations, we will address social issues surrounding food, including its safety and self-sufficiency rate.
Producing＜Agriculture, Sanchoku *＞
We will create communities together and ensure sustainable production and consumption.
- We will create new mechanisms and opportunities to support producers in various forms, in order to further strengthen relationships between co-op members and producers through promotion of their interactions and deeper mutual understanding.
- We will promote the development of attractive agriculture, forestry, fishery, and manufacturing by incorporating co-op members' wishes in our product development. We will create a mechanism that enables producers to feel proud, attracts more potential successors into production and manufacturing fields, and revitalizes local economy and communities.
- We will support the development of Japanese agriculture, forestry, fishery, and manufacturing as well as international Sanchoku* production areas through the establishment of sustainable production, processing, and distribution. We will achieve this by expanding our domestic and international collaboration with organizations and groups that develop innovative production and manufacturing.
Supporting each other＜Welfare, mutual help＞
We will promote comfortable communities for all through mutual support in everyday life.
- We will provide support in everyday life so that people can live their lives in their own ways, by enhancing our products, services, mutual aid, and welfare businesses that accommodate their needs throughout their lives.
- We will actively engage in community welfare by creating and promoting mechanisms and hubs for everyone in our communities to support each other through whatever they can contribute.
- We will build human resource networks in collaboration with governments and various community action groups. Through this effort, we will develop business and activity models of mutual support that can be utilized in solving issues such as poverty and inequalities as well as in disaster relief.
Changing＜Environment＞
We will change individual lifestyles and promote the nurturing environment for diverse forms of life.
- We will reduce plastic and other waste, CO2 emissions, and food loss through product development and improvement, thereby accelerating the shift towards more environmentally friendly consumption.
- We will cooperate with production areas and business partners to expand the environmentally sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fishery as well as to promote the shift towards environmentally friendly manufacturing and distribution facilities, thereby contributing to the better local environment.
- We will give the highest priority to the measures against global warming and urge society to change our values. Meanwhile, we will collaborate with various organizations that promote renewable energy to build a society not dependent on nuclear power generation.
Understanding each other＜Peace＞
We will promote mutual understanding and build an inclusive and peaceful society where everyone is valued.
- By paying attention to the issues surrounding all groups of people and communicating with each other, we will build an inclusive society where people respect diversity and value each other.
- We will create more opportunities to pass the importance of peace on to the next generation by learning the meaning of peace and the Constitution as well as by sharing the experiences of the atomic bombings and the war.
- Aiming to build a society without threats to peace, such as wars and nuclear weapons, or poverty, we will collaborate with other co-operatives and various other organizations within and outside Japan to promote activities and policy recommendations to end hunger, exploitation, discrimination, and violence.
* Sanchoku: Direct producer-market channeling based on traceability, standardization and communication.
