Pumps produced by EBARA played an important role in responding to the Great Kanto Earthquake which occurred in 1923. At that time, Tokyo had only one water supply location, the Yodobashi Water Purification Plant. Water was delivered from Hamura, upstream of the Tama River, to Yodobashi. However, two years before the Great Kanto Earthquake, another major earthquake occurred which caused collapses in several locations and cut off the water supply to Tokyo. Issey felt a great sense of danger because the water supply that protected the lives of Tokyo’s residents, numbered about 2 million then, depended on only a single waterway. He realized that if the supply of water were to be cut off by an earthquake, fires would occur. After fires, there would be outbreaks of disease and public safety would deteriorate even further.

Issey explained the necessity of backup equipment to the mayor and other related parties, and offered to donate pumps as well. Hence, decisions were made to install reserve pumps in Tokyo. In 1921, eight pumps were installed with a plan to use them to deliver water through the channels of the former Kanda Water Purification Plant to Tsunohazu in Shinjuku. When the Great Kanto Earthquake struck two years later, Hamura’s waterway collapsed and the city’s water supply was completely shut down. Issey dispatched several engineers to operate the reserve pumps that had been installed two years earlier and they began pumping water. As a result, water supplies were started on the following afternoon, successfully preventing the spread of fires and disease. This quick response was widely reported both in Japan and overseas, and the Japanese water industry was highly praised.

In such ways, EBARA has contributed to the maintenance and improvement of society and the global environment since its initial establishment, by providing elements of essential social infrastructure throughout the world to support industries and lifestyles. In 2020, EBARA formulated the “E-Vision 2030“ long-term vision looking 10 years ahead to the year 2030. E-Vision 2030 designates five material issues that EBARA will solve. One of them is “contribute to the creation of a sustainable society,” its origins date back to the time of our founding. The essence continues to live on in our company even today.