Tokyo, Japan December 19th, 2012 –ANA Group, Japan’s largest airline group, today announces that it has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the United States Embassy in Japan and the U.S.-Japan Council to support the TOMODACHI Initiative (http://usjapantomodachi.org). The initiative is a public-private partnership that supports Japan’s recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and invests in the next generation of Japanese and Americans in ways that strengthen cultural and economic ties and deepen the friendship between the United States and Japan over the long-term. The TOMODACHI initiative is led by the United States Government and the U.S.-Japan Council and supported by the Japanese Government.

As part of the agreement, ANA will provide transport services worth approximately $100,000 in support of TOMODACHI-approved programs related to education, research, sports, music, art and support for entrepreneurs. ANA will also offer special group discounts for homestay programs and events to support students and children in the affected areas.

To commemorate ANA’s involvement in this initiative, three aircraft - two Boeing 787-8’s and one Boeing 777-300ER - operating on routes between the US and Japan including Tokyo-Washington D.C. and Tokyo-San Jose, will be painted with the TOMODACHI logo design. ANA will hold an inauguration ceremony at San Jose Airport on January 11, 2013 celebrating the new flights between the San Jose and Narita airports. H.E.Ambassador of the United States of America to Japan and TOMODACHI Leadership Team member, Mr. John V. Roos will participate in the ceremony as part of his outreach tour, (“New Routes for US-Japan Collaboration, Ambassadorial Outreach Tour, Seattle-Denver-San Diego-San Jose, January 6-11, 2013”) celebrating the creation of four new flight routes between the United States and Japan and the strengthening of expanding of cultural and economic ties U.S. and Japan they will bring about.

Ambassador Roos commented: “TOMODACHI is all about fulfilling the dreams of young people in the United States and Japan, and having the TOMODACHI logo painted on these beautiful, new Dreamliner planes is an outstanding symbol of bringing the people of our two countries closer together. On behalf of the American people, let me congratulate ANA on the opening of this new flight route and thank them for their assistance in furthering the ties between the United States and Japan.”

Yoji Ohashi, ANA Group’s Chairman commented: “ANA strongly supports the TOMODACHI Initiative. The Group has taken significant steps to help support reconstruction efforts since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Since 1986, ANA has served as a bridge between the U.S. and Japan, including direct flights connecting the capital cities of both countries. We are committed to nurturing this relationship, particularly amongst the next generation, and are determined to further contribute to strengthening the bond between the people of both countries and our friendship”.

After inauguration of San Jose route, ANA will operate 75 flights on 10 routes connecting Japan and eight US cities.

<<Aircraft>> Two Boeing 787-8’s One Boeing 777-300ER
<<Design>> Picture of a Boeing 787-8

Contact: Ryosei Nomura and Megumi Tezuka, ANA Public Relations
                TEL +82-3-6735-1111

About ANA Group
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the eighth largest airline in the world by revenues (2011) and the largest in Japan by passenger numbers (2011). Founded in 1952, it flies today to 32 international cities and 49 domestic cites in a fleet of 233 aircraft serving a network of 171 routes. ANA has 33,000 employees and operates about 1,000 flights a day. In 2011, it carried 43 million passengers and generated revenues of $17.1 bn. ANA has been a core member of Star Alliance since 1999 and launched a joint-venture with United Airlines on trans-Pacific and Asia routes in April 2011; ANA also launched a joint-venture with Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines on Japan-Europe routes in October 2011. ANA has more than 24 million members belong to its Frequent Flyer Program (ANA Mileage Club). ANA is the launch customer for the world's newest and most advanced passenger aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.