１８言語の外国絵本寄贈　世界の拠点から滋賀県へ―伊藤忠

　伊藤忠商事が世界各国の営業拠点を活用し、日本では入手しにくい外国語の絵本を創業地の滋賀県へ毎年寄贈する取り組みを始めたことが７日、分かった。初回となる今年は、１８言語の計３２６冊を贈呈。県内に住む外国籍の子どもたちなどに母国語の絵本を楽しんでもらいたい考えだ。
　今年８月に各拠点に呼び掛けたところ、米国や中国をはじめブラジルやクウェートなど、２２カ国の２３拠点から絵本が集まった。現地スタッフらが当地の古典的な絵本や最新作を厳選したという。（2021/12/07-14:57）

Major Japanese trader Itochu Corp. has started a project to donate picture books in foreign languages every year to the western Japan prefecture of Shiga, where the company was founded, it was learned Tuesday.
   In 2021, the first year of the project, which utilizes Itochu's business footholds around the world, the company contributed a total of 326 books written in 18 different languages. Itochu aims to enable non-Japanese children in Shiga to read picture books in their first languages.
   After Itochu asked its global bases for cooperation in August, 23 such footholds in 22 countries, including the United States, China, Brazil and Kuwait, responded and collected the books. Local employees at the hubs carefully chose classic and modern picture books, according to the firm.
   The Shiga prefectural government has set up a special section at its library in Otsu, the capital of the prefecture, starting to lend the donated books.
   Over 30,000 people with foreign nationalities live in Shiga. In the prefecture, the number of elementary and junior high school children with foreign roots totals more than 1,500.