Sustainability

Human Resources

The Takara Group Human Resources Policy

In the Takara Group, we take the perspective that personnel are crucial business assets and view them as valuable human resources.

Because we believe that a company is an organization comprising all of its individual employees and that the collective power of those human resources is the source of a company’s sustainable growth and development, we also believe that maximizing the potential of individuals and organizations by investing in our human resources is indispensable for further increasing corporate value and achieving Group growth. 

Along with establishing a workplace offering both rewarding work and job satisfaction as well as a corporate culture that nourishes people, we are successfully fostering human resources who can be responsible for the next generation of the Group and take charge of global business growth as well as promoting the active involvement of diverse human resources.

Targets

Initiative themes Specific measures Targets
Fostering human resources Implement measures to foster human resources who will be responsible for the next generation

[ Entire Group ]

Use executive candidate development training and next-generational leadership development training, etc., to foster human resources who can be responsible for the next generation of the Group.

Foster human resources who will achieve global business growth (global human resources)

[ Entire Group ]

Develop human resources capable of taking charge of global business growth by acquiring human resources through continuous career recruitment and job rotation, including the assignment of young employees to the Takara Shuzo International Group and overseas postings.

Foster human resources using Takara Holdings Corporate History Museum, our training facility

[ Entire Group ]

In order to share the Takara Five Values, common values across the group, continue holding the Takara Holdings Corporate History Observational Training Program for all Takara Group employees.

Promoting the active involvement of diverse human resources Promoting the active involvement of female employees

[ Entire Group ]

- Increase the number of women in management positions. In Japan we will continue carrying out initiatives in accordance with our Female Participation Promotion Act action plan*. Three companies—Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International—will appoint at least 50 women to manager and assistant manager positions (which includes through mid-career hiring) from FY2021 to the end of FY2030 (a 128% or above increase from the 39 women in managerial positions as of April 1, 2021).

- Provide job opportunities for people up to 70 years old through post-retirement reemployment. 

- Maintain a percentage of employees with disabilities equal to or more than the statutory required employment rate in Japan. 

- Utilize more mid-career hiring to acquire a more diverse workforce.

*Source: Main targets in the Female Participation Promotion Act action plan from our major companies

[Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, Takara Shuzo International]

- Percentage of women among new-hire recruits in administrative and technology roles:40%+

- Percentage of women managers (by the end of FY2025):10%+

【Takara Bio】

Percentage of women returning to work after maternity leave (1 year):50%(early return to work)

Promote the active involvement of senior human resources
Promote the hiring of people with disabilities
Achieving a comfortable workplace environment and a work-life balance Ensure workplace safety and sanitation

[ Entire Group ]

- Reduce total working hours compared with FY2020 results. (Domestic Group Companies*)

- Increase the percentage of paid leave taken (no. of days taken) compared with FY2020 results. (Domestic Group Companies)

- Maintain a 100% reinstatement rate for employees who take childcare leave. (Domestic Group Companies)

- Facilitate effective use of work-from-home system.

Comply with labor-related laws and regulations
Prevent long working hours
  • * Domestic Group Companies: Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, Takara Shuzo International, Takara Bio, Kawahigashi Shoji, Total Management Business, Takara Butsuryu System, TB, Takara Bussan, Luc Corporation, Tokyo Mutual Trading, Takara Supply Communications (Former Taihei Printing, and Former Takara Yoki)

Related SDGs

  • 04
  • 05
  • 10

Initiatives

Fostering human resources

Implement measures to develop human resources for the next generation

Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International have been conducting management candidate development training for managers mainly in their 40s since FY2018 and workplace leader development training for factory technicians since FY2022, respectively, for the purpose of developing human resources capable of leading the next generation of the Group. The training for management candidates will be implemented from FY2022. Nine employees participated in the management candidate development training program in fiscal 2022, bringing the total number of participants to 40 since fiscal 2018. Meanwhile, 14 employees participated in the workplace leader development training in FY2022. We will continue our efforts to develop human resources who will support the Group in the future.




Foster human resources who will achieve global business growth (global human resources)

With the aim of fostering human resources capable of playing active roles overseas, Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International provide support for employees to visit language learning schools or take English lessons online as we strive to help employees acquire the language skills required for business.  we allow them to take multiple language-related courses through correspondence education programs. 

In FY2022, 3 employees attended language schools and 4 employees took online English lessons, bringing the total number of participants to 76. When employees are posted overseas, in addition to supporting their attendance at language schools before and after their assignment, we also support them by offering programs to learn how to prepare for life overseas and the culture and lifestyle of the country to which they will be posted.

We also allow new hires to take the TOEIC® tests and provide an English language learning program for our prospective employees before they join us, working to foster a corporate culture to actively promote our global business expansion.

Foster human resources using Takara Holdings Corporate History Museum, our training facility

In March 2017, we opened the Takara Holdings Corporate History Museum, a training facility for Group employees inside and outside Japan, in Takenaka-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, which is where the company was established, as one of our 90th anniversary projects. The business territory of the Takara Group, which originated in the sake brewing business in 1842, has now expanded to include the Biomedical Business and the Japanese Food Wholesale Business in overseas markets. In terms of geographical regions, we have also actively extended our business activities in Europe, the U.S., Asia, and Oceania, resulting in diverse human resources. We utilize this facility for our Corporate History Museum Observational Training Program for all Takara Group employees in order to unite the Group as a whole and instill a mindset that is willing to take on challenges within the Group, and instill the Group’s common values, the “TaKaRa Five Values.”. In fiscal year 2022, 580 employees participated in the program, bringing the total number of participants since fiscal year 2017 to 2,978. It will continue to facilitate our efforts to foster a culture for promoting improvement in corporate value as we train the human resources that will support the Group into the future.

Takara Holdings Corporate History Museum

Takara Holdings Corporate History Museum

Promoting the active involvement of diverse human resources

Promoting the active involvement of female employees

All Takara Group are working on promoting the active involvement of female employees in line with our Action Plan based on the Act on the Promotion of Female Participation and Career Advancement in the Workplace (Female Empowerment Act). In particular, Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara International have appointed 22 new female officers or assistant managers as of April 2023 based on their plan to hire at least 50 new female directors by fiscal 2030 as a new medium-term goal (the number of female directors as of April 2021 is 39). Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Bio all disclose their female empowerment initiatives on their websites.As of April 2023, the ratio of female managers stood at 6.7%, and we plan to raise it to 10% or more by the end of fiscal 2025. Information on the efforts of Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Bio is available on their websites.

Promote the active involvement of senior human resources

Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, Takara Shuzo International, and Takara Bio have established a post-retirement reemployment system that allows all employees who wish to continue working after the retirement age of 60 until age 65. Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International have rehired 81% of their employees after retirement over the past three years (FY2020-FY2022), while Takara Bio has rehired 89%. In addition, as an initiative to ensure employment opportunities up to age 70, Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International introduced a system of continuous employment up to age 70 in October 2022, while Takara Bio introduced the same system in April 2023.

Promote the hiring of people with disabilities

When hiring people with disabilities, we ensure that our workplaces are conducive to allowing these individuals to exercise their talents. Approaches to doing so include understanding the individual’s work skills, establishing and developing a range of work tasks suited to the person’s circumstances, and improving the workplace environment. Additionally, people with disabilities participate in professional work alongside able bodied employees as we strive to create an environment in which they will feel a sense of purpose in their job.
As of April 1, 2023, Takara Holdings employed 8 persons with disabilities (6 persons legally employed, 2.78% employment rate), Takara Brewery 32 persons (29 persons legally employed, 2.49% employment rate), and Takara Bio 19 persons (19 persons legally employed, 2.30% employment rate).

Achieving a comfortable workplace environment and a work-life balance

Ensure workplace safety and sanitation

The Takara Group strives to organize its workplace environment for all employees in compliance with laws and regulations concerning safety and health. In the event any disaster occurs in connection with our business, we will minimize the accident and take recurrence prevention measures, while implementing the required procedures such as filing reports and notices.
Furthermore, as part of our mental health support for employees, our Group companies engage an external institution to conduct stress checks every year to help employees recognize any stress they are going through. The employees who have been diagnosed as having an increased level of stress will meet an industrial physician if they wish to do so. Through this and other initiatives, we endeavor to prevent mental health problems among our employees.

Comply with labor-related laws and regulations

The Takara Group strives to maintain a pleasant workplace in compliance with labor-related laws and regulations.We prohibit managers from forcing or forcing employees to work excessive hours or overtime, and ensure that they always pay attention to the physical and mental health of their subordinates. In addition, we prevent the occurrence of child labor by thoroughly checking the age of employees at the time of hiring.

Sound labor-management relations

Takara Holdings has built a sound labor-management relationship with the TaKaRa Labor Union, founded on mutual trust between employees and management. We regularly provide reports on business management and discuss labor conditions at meetings of the Labor-Management Council and various special committees on labor-management relations.

Prevent long working hours

In the Takara Group, supervisors thoroughly manage the status of employees’ overtime working hours. In addition, the person in charge of managing overtime working hours in each workplace and the Personnel Division also confirm the status of overtime working hours in the middle of each month. We also prohibit employees from working more than 60 hours a month in excess of their stipulated work hours, in principle. In addition, we have put in place a set of general rules to ban coming to work before 7 a.m., working overtime after 9 p.m., and working on Sundays. Under the Article 36 Agreement, we limit the maximum extended working hours to 75 hours per month. We also ensure that the total hours of overtime work and work on holidays in excess of 40 hours a week do not exceed 80 hours a month, in an effort to reduce excessive working hours.

Promote diverse working styles

As an effort to support its employees in fulfilling work and family responsibilities, Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International expanded the work-from-home system that was previously available only for employees with parenting and long-term care giving responsibilities to all employees, except those whose duties require them to come to the workplace such as plant floor workers. In addition, while only half-day paid leave was previously available when taking annual paid leave on the days when employees work from home, the system for paid leave was expanded in April 2022 to allow them to take annual paid leave by hour in order to promote diverse working styles.
Takara Bio is reviewing its work arrangements in combination with its efforts to improve productivity. And as an effort to support its employees in fulfilling work and family responsibilities, the company offers shorter work hours until their children complete the fourth grade in primary school (until three years old under law). The company also allows its employees who are working shorter hours to raise children to use the flextime system.

ESG data related to employees and human capital