Daily Life

Fujifilm is promoting the “Photo Renaissance” activity across the world to communicate the pleasure that photography brings through “shooting, preserving, displaying, and gifting” as a part of the promotion and development of the “photo culture” that Fujifilm has pursued since its foundation.

In 2015, the Heart to Heart Communication – PHOTO IS 30,000-person photo exhibition received the Photo Inspiration Prize at the Mécénat Awards 2015 hosted by the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts. The exhibition started as the PHOTO IS 10,000-person photo exhibition in 2006, and has now continued for 10 years, with the number of entries now standing at approx. 30,000 each year. The exhibition is the largest photo exhibition held in Japan, and all photographic works convey the innermost feelings of the entrants. The total number of applicants over the past ten years has now reached 192,234 together with some 3.8 million visitors to the exhibitions. The awarding of the Photo Inspiration Prize was in recognition of Fujifilm’s significant contribution to the development of the culture of photography through such measures as providing a wide audience with the opportunity to enjoy photographs, establishing an exhibition in which everyone can participate and utilizing the company’s own resources—the Fujicolor chain of photo shops across Japan.

* The Mécénat Award is to honor the activities of corporations and corporate foundations in Japan that contribute to enrich culture and society through their support of the arts.

The Photo Renaissance activity also included a business aspect in that we commenced a variety of new services for smart phones. We opened a WONDER PHOTO SHOP in Harajuku, Tokyo in 2014, and it was welcomed by young customers—from those in their teens to those in their 30s—for the product and service range targeted specifically at smart phone users. Over 60% of the store sales is photo print orders from smart phones (less than 30% in standard chain stores), cultivating a new demand for photo printing. In 2015, we expanded the WONDER PHOTO SHOP overseas including Columbia, Shanghai in China, Manila in the Philippines, Barcelona in Spain, Singapore and Australia. More stores are planned for the future. In addition, we plan to start a new wall décor service in Japan, which is already available in Europe and the U.S. in 2016.