Co-op Kobe has installed "Communication Support Boards" at the cash registers of all its 150 stores. This board is a tool for communicating with co-op members with hearing disabilities using simple letters and illustrations.

In late March 2019, Co-op Kobe received a comment through a volunteer who supports people with disabilities that a co-op member with hearing impairment was having trouble understanding what the cashier was asking when shopping at the store. The situation was that the member did not know that she could earn points by presenting her membership card at the checkout. The store staff also realized that sometimes verbal communication alone is not enough to communicate well with members.

The store staff, upon consulting with the local government's Association for the Deaf, about how to handle the situation, suggested a "Communication Board" using pictures and diagrams, and the co-op decided to introduce it.

In response to the proposal, the co-op immediately studied the items to be posted on the board and repeated training so that all staff, including part-time workers, could use the board smoothly. In August 2019, the board was introduced at one store on an experimental basis. Since it was a success, the co-op decided to introduce the tool to all Co-op Kobe stores in December 2020.

This activity has been recognized as an initiative to solve the inconvenience for co-op members by conveying correct information to them when it is difficult to do physical communication due to the COVID-19 pandemic.