FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO: Shigetaka Komori) has announced the launch of the “Photo Rescue Project”, which extends assistance for efforts to clean photo prints and photo albums damaged with seawater or mud in the recent Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

In many parts of quake-affected regions, volunteers are searching for photo prints and albums washed away in the tsunami, and trying to recover them from seawater and mud damage.
In a bid to assist such efforts, Fujifilm has tapped into photographic knowledge it has accumulated over the years, and posted information to its cooperate Japanese website in late March on how to treat photo prints that have suffered water damage. In order to provide more effective and easy-to-understand information, it has conducted tests reproducing conditions in affected areas with seawater and mud, and updated the online information as fresh knowledge came to light. Staff has been sent to volunteers who actually engage in photo salvage and cleaning, so as to examine the actual conditions of recovered photographs and identify tools and consumables required for the photo cleanup operation.

Now, Fujifilm has launched the “Photo Rescue Project”, which will be carried out by:

• Mainly 30 of members who will contribute in technical assistance in the field by rotation
• More than 100 of employees who will work cooperatively as weekend volunteers.

This project provides the following types of assistance:

1. Technical assistance

Providing information on appropriate ways of cleaning photo prints according to their conditions

• Organize photo cleaning procedures and share the know-how through Internet, print media and TV / radio broadcasting in affected areas (on air from April 23).
• Provide know-how and advice on photo cleaning in affected areas in response to assistance requests from local governments and volunteer groups that are trying to salvage disaster-damaged photographs collected at evacuation centers.

2. Material assistance

Providing tools and consumables required for photo cleaning to volunteer groups, local governments and evacuation centers that engage in photo salvage operations.

These support activities are conducted in partnership with local people, volunteer groups in affected areas, photo shops / photo studios and various photography-related organizations.

As a leading company in the imaging field, Fujifilm has been involved in the photographic business for many years, contributing to the development of the Culture of Photography. With renewed recognition in the value and importance of photography in today's society, the company will engage in the support activities to help save as many photographs and associated memories as possible.

For enquiries on information in this media release:

Media Contact :

FUJIFILM Corporation
Corporate Public Relations Group
TEL: +81-3-6271-2000

Website: Photo Rescue Project (Japanese)