Japan’s FamilyMart has announced a new social contribution initiative using its smartphone payment app, ‘FamiPay.’ In this groundbreaking program, running for a limited time from Monday, December 1, 2025, payments made through the app will lead to donations to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
This program leverages the unique convenience of Japanese convenience stores, offering an easy way for customers to participate in international humanitarian aid through their daily shopping.
Support People Around the World with Your Everyday Shopping
Through this program, titled ‘Do Good with FamiPay,’ FamilyMart aims to raise awareness of the humanitarian crises facing the international community.
During the campaign period, when customers use ‘FamiPay’ for purchases at FamilyMart stores across Japan, a portion of the sales will be automatically donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society. These funds will be directed to the ‘NHK Overseas Aid Campaign’ to support people suffering from conflict, natural disasters, and illness worldwide.
Our small daily choices can help people in distant countries. This represents a new way for community-based convenience stores to fulfill a social role by utilizing digital technology.
A Two-Phase Donation Campaign for Continuous Support
This initiative is divided into two periods with different objectives.
Phase 1: Donations to the ‘NHK Overseas Aid Campaign’
[Campaign Period] Monday, December 1, 2025 – Thursday, December 25, 2025
Donations during this period will be used to support the ‘NHK Overseas Aid Campaign,’ an annual fundraiser conducted by the Japanese Red Cross Society in collaboration with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and others. The funds will aid people facing humanitarian crises worldwide, such as residents of conflict zones, disaster victims, and those battling illness. It also offers a chance to think about the world during the Christmas season.
Phase 2: Donations to the Japanese Red Cross Society’s ‘Activity Fund’
[Campaign Period] Friday, December 26, 2025 – Saturday, January 31, 2026
In the second phase starting from the end of the year, the focus of the donations will shift to domestic activities in Japan. The funds collected during this period will be used as general activity funds for the Japanese Red Cross Society. Specifically, they will support important activities that protect our daily safety, such as relief for victims of natural disasters within Japan, promoting disaster preparedness knowledge, and training volunteers who support these efforts.
Expanding the Circle of Cooperation Through Blood Drives
In addition to the donation program, FamilyMart is also strengthening its collaboration with the Japanese Red Cross Society through blood drives. On the first day of the campaign, a blood donation bus will be present in the parking lot of the ‘FamilyMart Sun’s Mitaka Kitano’ store in Mitaka, Tokyo.
[Date & Time] Monday, December 1, 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM / 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
[Location] FamilyMart Sun’s Mitaka Kitano Store Parking Lot
Those who donate blood will receive a gift of socks or a handkerchief. The sight of a convenience store parking lot turning into a blood drive venue is sometimes seen in Japan, highlighting the role of convenience stores as hubs for the local community.
The Ongoing Relationship Between Convenience Stores and the Red Cross
This is not the first time FamilyMart and the Japanese Red Cross Society have collaborated. Since 2022, they have engaged in a wide range of partnerships, such as providing parking lots at some stores as blood drive venues, particularly in the Tohoku region.
The fact that convenience stores are not just retailers but also platforms for social contribution is one of the interesting aspects of Japanese convenience store culture.
What is the ‘NHK Overseas Aid Campaign’?
The ‘NHK Overseas Aid Campaign’ is a long-standing fundraising campaign jointly conducted every December by the Japanese Red Cross Society, the public broadcaster NHK, and the NHK Welfare and Culture Agency. This year marks its 43rd anniversary, and the campaign is widely known among the Japanese public, considered a feature of the year-end season.
The collected donations are used for humanitarian aid activities around the world. For more details, please visit the official website.
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