Society

Dialogue with Employees

We encourage close communication between the management and employees so that, by 2030, we will be an organization of diverse employees empowered to create new value that addresses social issues.
To foster such communication and dialogue, we are building an open, speak-up culture in which members with differing values and perspectives feel confident in trying out new ideas.

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In-house Awards Program (The Awards)

In 2023, we launched an in-house awards program called The Awards. The program celebrates not only the end result but the process, contributing to a comradely atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement.
In 2025, the third year of the program, the following two awards were conferred along with the President’s Award to honor contributions that increase KOKUYO’s value.
Six of the winning teams presented their initiatives in an event called Great Job Story, which was also held in the previous year.
In the presentations, the award recipients told their stories in their own words, with dramatic peaks and troughs and some comical touches. The stories conveyed KOKUYO’s distinctive culture across the Group.
The Awards 2025 was a truly global event. It was beamed online to employees in China, India, and ASEAN, enabling employees across borders to share in the celebrations of one another’s successes.

YOKOKU Award

This accolade honors teams and projects that engage in Yokoku experiments.

Most Valuable Person (MVP) Award

This accolade honors employees who create value in multiple ways and who positively impact others.

Townhall Meetings

Townhall meetings are occasions for frank and open conversations between the management and employees.
In 2025, 11 townhall meetings were held in seven locations between division managers and their subordinates. With 2025 being year 1 of the fourth medium-term plan, the meetings focused on how to enhance efforts to achieve the strategic goals set out in the medium-term plan.

Employee Satisfaction Survey (stress check)

We conduct an annual stress check as required under law.
By analyzing the responses, along with overtime data and interview data, we identify issues. With this information, HR liaises with the organizational units in question to facilitate dialogues aimed at prompting self-led solutions.

Pulse Survey

To provide an effective feedback loop, KOKUYO and Kaunet conduct pulse surveys, a type of survey that is conducted frequently (once a month in our case).
Pulse surveys provide immediate data about individual employees and teams. The data can be represented using metrics related to alert response or team improvement and collated with other datasets.
Pulse surveys also give the management immediate feedback about frontline workplaces, enabling the management to take timely action in pursuit of the organization’s long-term vision (such action may include introducing a new workstyle).
In summary, these monthly pulse surveys allow us to continually monitor the condition of teams and the organization. They also contribute to an open, speak-up culture, in which employees of any position feel able to share ideas and feedback on an equal footing.

Working with Union Toward Our Vision

We have a process of dialogue in place to ensure that the company and employee union see eye to eye. Twice a year, senior managers meet with union representatives to exchange opinions and negotiate.
We also hold monthly labor-management meetings in which human resource person and union representatives engage in ongoing discussions with a view to creating the right workplace and work conditions and clarifying the best way forward for the company and its employees.
In this way, management and union representatives work together to foster a positive mindset, make organizational improvements to maintain or boost employee engagement and job satisfaction, and take other actions to create a workplace in which employees feel safe and well in body and mind.