Improving groundwater recharge has been a commitment of Kumamoto TEC (Kumamoto Technology Center, Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corporation) since 2003. The plant works with the community, environmental NGOs, farmers, and agricultural cooperatives in this regard. Under these efforts, water drawn from rivers is used to flood fields near the plant, where it penetrates into the soil and ultimately returns to the aquifer. Kumamoto TEC maintains an area of fields capable of supporting groundwater recharge equivalent to the amount of water the plant consumes annually. In fact, since fiscal 2003, the amount of groundwater recharge has surpassed the amount of water consumed by the plant. Kumamoto TEC also purchases rice grown in some of the paddies involved in this groundwater recharge, which is served in the cafeteria. The groundwater recharge program was recognized with the 4th Asahi Corporate Citizen Award, as published in the morning edition of The Asahi Shimbun, September 25, 2007.