Classmethod Donates 30 Million Yen to Sapporo City

Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture, which was officially developed from the late 19th century during the Meiji period. The city is famously known for hosting the 1972 Winter Olympics and its annual Sapporo Snow Festival. Its modern grid plan and beer-brewing history, beginning with the Sapporo Brewery in 1876, are central to its identity.

Classmethod is not a physical place or cultural site but rather a Japanese IT consulting and system integration company. Founded in 2007, it specializes in cloud computing services, particularly with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company has grown to become a prominent AWS Premier Consulting Partner, known for its technical expertise and contributions to the cloud technology community in Japan.

Tokyo, originally a small fishing village called Edo, became Japan’s political center in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu established his shogunate there. It was renamed Tokyo (“Eastern Capital”) when the Emperor moved there during the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Today, it is a vast, modern metropolis that seamlessly blends hyper-modern districts like Shibuya with historic temples and the Imperial Palace.

“Furusato Nozei” (Hometown Tax) is not a physical place but a Japanese program that allows taxpayers to redirect a portion of their residence taxes to a municipality of their choice. In return, donors receive a tax credit and often a gift of local specialty products from the recipient region. The system was established in 2008 to help redistribute wealth from urban centers to rural areas and support regional revitalization.