Respect for Employees: Co-Creation of Diverse Talent and Reforming Work Styles
Co-creation of Diverse Talent
Promoting DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)
For Toyo Seikan Group to increase its corporate competitiveness and achieve sustainable development, it is necessary for everyone to maximize their own capabilities and contribute to the growth of the Group as well as their own personal growth.To that end, we are promoting the creation of a workplace where everyone can thrive in their own way, respect each other's differences, and contribute to the Group, regardless of gender, age, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, ideology, creed, disability, sexual orientation, etc.
Toyo Seikan Group has set "responding to diversity" as one of the two pillars of its "Long-Term Management Vision 2050: The Future, Wrapped for All," and is working to establish a human resources platform that will lead to the creation of new value through the activities of the Human Rights/DE&I Promotion Subcommittee.
Further expansion of women's participation in the workforce
Toyo Seikan Group has created and is implementing a General Employer Action Plan based on the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace and the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation.
Starting in fiscal 2021, we will be taking the following steps to create a comfortable working environment for all employees, allowing them to fully utilize their abilities.
The HR department will share information with each company and provide detailed support for each career stage, such as when joining the company or taking childcare leave. We will also create a system that will improve the communication skills of managers and raise awareness of career development among female employees themselves.
Continuing from the previous plan, we will work to increase the ratio of female employees by promoting the introduction of equipment that will reduce the workload on the manufacturing floor and improving and enhancing our systems to accommodate diverse working styles.
Initiatives to Employ Foreign Employees
Toyo Seikan Group hires personnel suited to the policies and business of each site, regardless of nationality.
In order to create an environment where foreign national employees can work comfortably, we hold interviews with employees at offices with a large number of foreign nationals to learn about their needs and provide information in multiple languages.
Promoting the active participation of seniors
Retirement age extension implemented
Toyo Seikan Group had set the retirement age at 60 until fiscal 2024, but seven group companies * have revised their retirement system to raise the retirement age from 60 to 65 from April 2025. Toward realizing our "Long-Term Management Vision 2050: The Future, Wrapped for All," we aim to be an organization where all employees can thrive by increasing engagement through expanding support for diverse work styles and career development for employees.- Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Toyo Seikan, Toyo Kohan, Tokan Kogyo, Nippon Closures, Mebius Packaging, TOYO GLASS
Implementing career development support measures
Toyo Seikan Group Holdings and Toyo Kohan implemented a trial self-career dock for managers in their 50s from September to October 2024. This is an initiative to support employees' proactive career development, including support for reskilling, by providing career consulting interviews and career training at career milestones such as age and promotion. Based on the results of this trial implementation, they will proceed with preparations for full-scale implementation in the future.Toyo Seikan Group is committed to human capital management that increases employee engagement and improves productivity per employee (EBITDA) by implementing initiatives based on Toyo Seikan Group Personnel Policy. This career development support measure falls under the "development of self-reliant human resources" initiative based on the Group's human resources policy.
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Initiatives regarding sexual minorities (LGBTQ)
Toyo Seikan Group 's creed is "We value dignity and strive to be fair and upright in all our actions every day," and Toyo Seikan Group Code of Conduct states that "we respect human rights," "we embrace diversity," and "we prohibit discrimination and harassment." We aim to create a workplace where the human rights and individuality of all people working in the Group are respected.
Specifically, Toyo Seikan Group Code of Conduct which has been established as a code of conduct that all executives and employees working in the Group must practice and comply with, clearly states, "We will not discriminate on the grounds of nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, ideology, creed, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation, and we are committed to developing and promoting diverse human resources," and is shared with employees. Furthermore, each company's work rules also prohibit "any behavior that causes mental distress or disadvantage to other workers or harms the working environment through speech or actions related to sexual orientation or gender identity," and we are working to prevent discriminatory treatment in terms of both actions and rules.
We have also set up internal and external consultation hotlines where employees can anonymously seek advice on any type of harassment, including sexual harassment, power harassment, and maternity harassment.
Employment of people with disabilities
Toyo Seikan Group is working to create a working environment where all employees, regardless of whether they have a disability, can work comfortably. For example, Toyo Seikan Group headquarters building is equipped with facilities such as barrier-free access and multi-purpose toilets on each floor, and a voice-to-text app is being introduced for the hearing impaired.
With regard to employment, some offices and factories accept and hire trainees from local special needs schools, and some companies are working on farm-type employment of people with disabilities to revitalize the local area. Furthermore, efforts to create an environment where people can continue working are spreading, by utilizing trial employment systems and strengthening team building. We will continue to work so that our group companies can achieve the legal employment rate, and create an environment where diverse human resources can thrive.
As of June 1, 2024, employment rate for people with disabilities: 2.4%
- Target: Toyo Seikan Group Holdings / Toyo Seikan / Toyo Kohan / Tokan Kogyo / Nippon Closures / Mebius Packaging / TOYO GLASS
Work style reform
Toyo Seikan Group is promoting work style reform to create a comfortable working environment where each employee can fully utilize their abilities.We have introduced systems to support diverse working styles, such as various leave and vacation systems, short-time work systems, and staggered work systems, to support employees who are raising children, caring for elderly relatives, or undergoing medical treatment, and we actively support balancing work with family and medical treatment.
Main support systems for promoting work style reform
*These are the main support systems implemented by Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Toyo Seikan, Toyo Kohan, Tokan Kogyo, Nippon Closures, Mebius Packaging, TOYO GLASS, Toyo Aerosol Industry, and TOMATEC. The content and applicable conditions vary depending on the company.Childcare-related systems
- Childcare leave system
- Age at which child care leave can be taken
- Shortened working hours system for childcare
- Starting or finishing work earlier or later for childcare reasons
Nursing care system
- Nursing care leave system
- Nursing care leave system
- Shortened working hours system for nursing care
- Starting or finishing work hours earlier or later for caregiving purposes
Various leave systems
- Half-day paid leave system
- Hourly paid leave system
- Expired paid leave accumulation system
- Spouse relocation leave
- Volunteer leave system
Systems that support diverse work styles
- Flextime system
- Telework system
Initiatives to rectify long working hours
Toyo Seikan Group aims to realize well-being, where each employee can work in a healthy, lively, and productive manner, by establishing rules regarding appropriate working hours, rest periods, overtime work, holidays, etc. in its work regulations based on the labor-related laws of each country and labor-management agreements (labor agreements).
As a specific example in Japan, in addition to establishing an attendance management system, we are promoting various initiatives to correct long working hours, such as improving management accuracy, establishing and promoting flextime and telework systems aimed at diverse working styles, setting up days on which employees are encouraged to take annual paid leave, and establishing no-overtime days.
Promoting men to take childcare leave
Toyo Seikan Group encourages men to take childcare leave. We are working to create an environment where it is easy to use systems that support balancing work and childcare, so that men can also actively participate in housework and childcare, by introducing specific examples of how these systems can be used.
Additionally, we will continue to create an environment and culture where employees of both genders can choose diverse work styles while raising children, by publishing testimonials and interviews with both male and female employees who have taken childcare leave in our internal newsletter.
"White Logistics" Promotion Campaign *1
In February 2022, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings endorsed the purpose of the "White Logistics" promotion movement advocated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and submitted a declaration of voluntary action to achieve a sustainable logistics environment.
Thirteen Toyo Seikan Group companies *2 have considered the content and made the declaration, and the Group's manufacturing, logistics and logistics partner companies are working together to make it a reality.
Toyo Mebius' Kumagaya Logistics Center, which began operations in April 2023, is building the foundation for the leveling, efficiency, and sharing of logistics. The high-density warehouse building uses Sumitomo Heavy Industries Material Handling Systems Co., Ltd.'s automated warehouse "Magic Rack," and the deep storage (multiple-arrangement storage) method has improved storage efficiency. The center is focusing on automation and labor-saving measures, such as reducing forklift work within the storage area by automating loading and unloading and sorting, in order to reduce the burden on employees and improve safety on the premises.
Furthermore, by building a logistics network that utilizes warehouses near delivery destinations, we can shift from small-lot, high-frequency transport to large-lot transport with high loading rates, which will lead to more efficient trunk-route transport and reduce the workload of drivers, and we aim to create an environment that allows women and the elderly to work more effectively.
- In response to the serious driver shortage, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are calling on companies to participate in this movement, which aims to (1) improve the productivity of truck transportation and streamline logistics, and (2) create a working environment that is easy for women and drivers over 60 to work in.
- Subject: Toyo Seikan Group Holdings / Toyo Seikan / Toyo Kohan / Tokan Kogyo / Nippon Closures / Mebius Packaging / TOYO GLASS / Toyo Aerosol Industry / TOMATEC / Nippon Tokan Package / Toyo Mebius / Tokan Logitec / Shimomatsu Unyu
Initiatives by Operating Companies
Initiatives for fiscal 2024
Disseminating information about unconscious bias
As part of its Kagayaki Project, a project to promote women's participation in the workplace, Toyo Seikan regularly publishes a magazine called Shine to its employees. In fiscal 2024, the magazine featured unconscious bias (unconscious assumptions and preconceptions) in an effort to create a workplace where women can thrive. Examples of potential workplace issues are presented in an easy-to-understand comic format.
Diversity Promotion Committee launched
Toyo Kohan has established a Diversity Promotion Committee with the aim of building a network among female employees and improving job satisfaction and a comfortable working environment. The first meeting was held on July 29, 2024, with 15 female employees in attendance. We will continue to expand our efforts, while formulating various ideas, to create a more comfortable and rewarding workplace.
Prayer room introduced
Japan Bottled Water takes into consideration the diversity of faiths and has set up separate prayer rooms for men and women that can be used by anyone regardless of religion or sect. Stolle Machinery UK Ltd. also places importance on religious inclusion and cultural respect, and has introduced prayer rooms with the aim of creating a workplace where all individuals are respected.
Creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities through an initiative to collect waste paper and manufacture recycled paper
Toyo Kohan Kudamatsu Plant began collecting used office paper and other waste paper from within Toyo Kohan Group in April 2024 to produce recycled paper using Epson's Paper Lab recycling machine, with the aim of creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities and reducing environmental impact. The work involves paper collection, sorting, and production, with people with disabilities primarily performing the sorting task, which places less strain on the environment. Because recycled paper is made from waste paper, it conserves wood resources, and because very little water is used during production, it contributes to the conservation of water resources. Furthermore, by running a paper recycling cycle within the company, the plant also reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated during production and transportation. The recycled paper is reused for printing internal documents and for employee business cards, memo pads, and other novelties.
Corporate contract with company-led nursery school (TOMONi Nursery School)
Toyo Kohan signed a company-run nursery school agreement with TOMONi Nursery School in Komatsubara, Shunan City in July 2024, with the aim of supporting employees in balancing work and family life. Employees will be given priority in enrolling if there are vacancies.
Initiatives to promote work style reform
At Mebius Packaging, we aim to be "a company that respects the individuality and ambition of its employees and where employees feel motivated to work," as stated in our management vision. In fiscal 2024, we undertook the following initiatives.
- Regarding the content learned in the management training conducted in fiscal 2023, we picked out "items that managers should be particularly aware of" and sent them to all managers on the first day of each month. We also encouraged managers within the workplace to mutually check whether they were continuing to put these into practice throughout the year.
- We created and implemented action plans tailored to the circumstances of each workplace to promote the creation of an atmosphere that encourages employees to take paid leave and work flexibly, such as by setting up no-meeting days and days when employees are encouraged to take paid leave.