Kioxia Group sees it as our responsibility as a good corporate citizen to not just leverage our business activities to address social issues, but to coexist in harmony with local communities. We aim to help realize a better society by leveraging our technology, products, services and expertise as well as the abilities of our employees; we engage in dialogue with local communities, governments and other public bodies, NPOs/NGOs, and academic organizations, to address community issues. We focus in particular on energizing local communities in the areas where we conduct business, and on fostering human resources in the fields of science and engineering.

At Kioxia Group, the Administration Division of each of our group companies and operational sites oversees community engagement activities. We partner with local communities where we operate and engage in activities that are rooted in these areas. We also encourage employee participation in social activities.

Kioxia Corporation has introduced a long-term leave system to make it easier for employees take part in community activities. They can use up to 25 days of accumulated leave for such purposes.

Kioxia Group leverages its technological strengths to focus on making a contribution to local communities in the field of science. Kioxia Group sponsors opportunities for young people—the leaders of the future—to develop an interest in science, technology and manufacturing, as we believe it is important to support those aspiring to become outstanding scientists or engineers. In FY2023, we conducted the below community science lectures and workshops in various locations in Japan.

In August 2023, Kioxia Corporation took part in the Yokkaichi Science Seminar for Children at the Yokkaichi City Cultural Center, held with the aim of raising children’s interest in science.

In a seminar titled “Science Experience – Yokkaichi, a City of Monozukuri” (the art, science and craft of making things), the company delivered a presentation titled “The Secrets of Flash Memory” for roughly 120 children. We explained how semiconductor memory works and ran a few quizzes on the subject of human memory. The children answered the questions enthusiastically and they particularly enjoyed the virtual reality simulation of a cleanroom in a manufacturing facility. Many of them seemed genuinely curious, twisting their bodies while wearing virtual reality goggles.

Kioxia Iwate Corporation sponsors the Iwate Programming Education Project for elementary school students, an initiative devised by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

In August 2023, its employees supported the operation of a programming workshop for elementary school students held in Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture. Participating employees expressed their surprise at the children’s abilities and remarked how widely they felt programming skills are now becoming ingrained in children even at a young age. The company will continue to support this initiative, believing that the free-thinking and creativity unique to elementary school students will contribute to the future development of manufacturing and various other fields.

As part of our efforts to promote women’s active participation in the workplace, since 2018 Kioxia Corporation has supported the Summer School for Girls in Junior and Senior High Schools,² one of Japan’s largest events promoting science and engineering careers.

In 2023, we participated in a “Career Consultation” event. Building on the concept of “The World is Filled with Memory,” we gave a presentation explaining how flash memory works and the many ways it is used in our daily lives. Our female engineers also spoke about their own careers.

Approximately 60 female junior and senior high school students asked questions about career development, the criteria for choosing a company, and other topics related to education and careers. The company’s female engineers shared their excitement and the attraction of working on the front lines of semiconductor manufacturing, based on their own experiences, while also offering advice about the students' future careers.

We will continue to actively provide career counseling to junior and senior high school students who are considering to pursue a career in science-related fields.

To increase the number of female engineers and researchers majoring in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), it is crucial to create opportunities for female students to explore these areas and to provide them with information that helps them consider their career paths after higher education.

In the fiscal year 2023, Kioxia Holdings Corporation made donations to support various STEM events for female students and researchers, organized by institutions such as the Institute for Solid State Physics at the University of Tokyo. These include an initiative to encourage middle and high school girls to pursue STEM careers, a networking and career development event for female physics undergraduates and graduate students, and conference programs designed to support female researchers and graduate students in the field of materials science. Approximately 400 participants attended these events, and there was valuable interaction among the attendees.

Kioxia Iwate Corporation has been pursuing educational collaboration with Iwate University since 2019. In 2023, the program was expanded to include Akita University, Yamagata University, and technical colleges and high schools in Iwate Prefecture, where semiconductor-related lectures were given to approximately 540 participants. The company gave lectures covering the history of the semiconductor industry as well as miniaturization technologies for logic devices and three-dimensional memory technologies, both drivers of semiconductor technology.³ The students asked many questions and lively discussions took place.

To foster mutual development between industry and academia, we will continue to create opportunities to showcase the appeal of the semiconductor industry and help develop the next generation of talent.

Kioxia Group hosts classes at graduate schools and other institutions in Japan to help foster the development of young scientists and engineers.

Since FY2019, Kioxia Corporation has had a comprehensive collaboration agreement with the University of Electro-Communications under which engineers are fostered through personnel exchange, and we engage in various joint research activities. This initiative aims to promote semiconductor memory development and semiconductor manufacturing technologies. In FY2023, one of our engineers conducted a lecture titled “Information Media System (Data Mining)” for approximately 100 master’s and PhD students at the University’s Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering.

We also held a lecture titled “Semiconductor Memories Supporting Society – Evolution of Nonvolatile Memories” at Nagoya University, and at Osaka University we offered a course for master's and doctoral students, as well as working professionals, on the development of 3D flash memory and challenges for the future. Additionally, we dispatched lecturers to seminars and lectures hosted by the Semiconductor Committee of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). In FY2023, we held 148 lectures at universities and graduate schools nationwide, which were attended by approximately 2,000 participants. The Kioxia Group in Japan aims to continuously nurture talented engineers through collaboration with educational institutions. In so doing, we aim to develop engineering as an academic discipline, and boost the semiconductor industry.

Since FY2020, Kioxia Corporation has participated in the “AI and Advanced Programming Consortium (AIC)” series of events at Keio University Global Research Institute.

At an event titled “AIC Discussion Forum – Lifestyle in the Age of AI” which was hosted in FY2023, group discussions and panel discussions were held under the theme of how AI has changed our lives and how we will live in a future where AI abilities surpass those of humans. Students from a wide range of academic levels, from undergraduate to doctoral programs, participated in the forum. They discussed topics including the latest technologies such as generative AI, the evolving regulations in various countries, and the kinds of decisions humans will need to make in a society shaped by AI. The forum provided an opportunity for companies and universities to collaborate and explore how AI can be applied to address future challenges.

Kioxia Group conducts community contribution activities in accordance with the needs of the local communities where it operates its business and the challenges they face.

Kioxia Europe has long supported the efforts of the NPO Diakonie to help people in Germany who are living in poverty or facing social hardship.

As part of this collaboration, in December 2023, the company organized a Christmas charity event for underprivileged children in Düsseldorf. Twenty employees hosted a small Christmas party in the company cafeteria and invited 20 children who are in the care of Diakonie homes as a result of disadvantaged family situations, as well as the staff who support the children on a daily basis. Hot chocolate and cookies were served by the employees, Christmas carols were sung together, and at the end of the party, each child was given a gift of their choice.

In 2018 Kioxia America established an employee resource group called LeadHERs whose goal is the education, enrichment and empowerment of women. LeadHERs also supports corporate community engagement events in partnership with Kioxia America's Community Relations team.

In 2023, LeadHERs partnered with WISEPlace, a nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness for unaccompanied women in Orange County, California. The women residing in the shelter are supported through the provision of a safe home, counseling, employment assistance and other initiatives. LeadHERs organized an activity to renovate the area around the shelter. Funds were raised to purchase plants and materials, old landscaping was removed, new plants were installed and planters were painted.

On International Women's Day, LeadHERs raised funds and used them to purchase useful and fun items for gift bags. The gift bags were given to the women in the WISEPlace shelter to help them celebrate together.

In May 2023, SSSTC in Taiwan held a Family Day with a charity event at the Pushin Ranch in Taoyuan City.

The event was co-sponsored by the company, the Children are Us Foundation and PWSA Taiwan; the latter two organizations support children with disabilities and people with incurable diseases. 800 employees of the company and 400 of their family members participated on the day. In addition, the company invited 24 elementary school students living in remote districts and facing educational disadvantages; they performed a beautiful song, which was the highlight of the event. SSSTC's donation to this elementary school is being used to improve the pupils’ educational environment.

Employees purchased food and crafts handmade by these NPOs at welfare facilities, some of which provide support for people with disabilities.

For other community engagement activities of Kioxia Corporation’s Yokkaichi Plant and Kioxia Iwate Corporation.