Amid increasing uncertainty in both internal and external environments, it is clear that human resources are the most important management resource for a company to achieve sustainable growth. Since the founding of the former Mitsui & Co.*, we have consistently nurtured our corporate culture of valuing “people.” This report aims to clearly introduce to a wide range of stakeholders how we have approached and achieved results in recruiting human resources who are capable of embodying Mitsui & Co.’s Mission, Vision, Values (MVV), in developing them from a medium- to long-term perspective, and in continuous organizational development, as well as in identifying areas that need further strengthening and acceleration, along with our basic approach to human resources management. In preparing this report, we tried to introduce specific growth stories of our employees, while presenting our human resource strategies and various HR measures with as much numerical data as possible, in line with the ISO30414 guidelines. Through this report, we hope to demonstrate the virtuous cycle between our commitment to “people” on the global group basis and the sustainable enhancement of corporate value.

I find the phrase “Mitsui is People” is a real compliment for the company, thinking that it reflects our reputation that Mitsui has a corporate culture of putting people above all else. On the flip side, while we trust and value our employees, we also expect each and every employee to think and take actions himself or herself as an autonomous individual. The development of capable individuals is one of our human resources strategies, and this will remain the core concept for the promotion of inclusion as well, while respecting the diversity of organizations throughout the global group.

Steady enhancement of corporate value by fully realizing the potential of and maximizing the value of human resources is one of our top priority management issues. To that end, not only do we focus our efforts on the recruitment, development, and appointment of human resources, but also take various measures for the promotion of human resources development tailored to each employee’s future career vision and for organization development that will lead to improved employee engagement. These initiatives are the source of our competitiveness and a strategic investment necessary for sustainable growth, but measuring their effects requires a multifaceted and complex approach from various angles and different time frames. We will continue to devise various ways to clearly explain in this report how human capital investment has been leading to the enhancement of our corporate value. We regard the results of our employee engagement survey known as the Mitsui Engagement Survey (MES) as one of the important management indicators that correlate with the enhancement of corporate value and performance. The MES is conducted annually for employees at all our domestic and international locations and major group companies, investigating and analyzing such aspects as the level of job satisfaction, pride in one’s work, a sense of growth, and alignment with the strategies and policies of their respective organizations. Focusing on changes in employee engagement and improving it based on multiple indicators leads to reinforcement of organizational strength and frontline capabilities, which in turn results in increased productivity. The results of the MES are reported to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and are used as one of the nonfinancial indicators for evaluating director remuneration (excluding external directors).

In the Medium-term Management Plan 2026, we have set “development of capable individuals,” “inclusion,” and “strategic assignment of personnel” as the three pillars of our human resource strategy. In particular, we will strongly promote strategic assignment of personnel this year. We have introduced a global talent management system named Bloom, which has been fully operational since December
2024. We manage the talent information of each employee worldwide on the system in a centralized manner, including their skills, experience, and career aspiration, and utilize it to dynamically organize and allocate the most suitable personnel globally, regardless of domestic or international locations. The current ratio of regionally hired employees in line manager positions at our overseas locations is 19%. This ratio is expected to increase further through global strategic allocation of personnel. Regionally hired employees have been appointed to Managing Director of Mitsui & Co. India, which is a strategic base in Southwest Asia, and to Managing Director of Mitsui & Co. Deutschland. We believe that the promotion of regionally hired employees to management positions will continue to progress steadily.

Based on discussions at the HR Strategy Meetings (HRSM), which the CEO also attended, various initiatives have been advanced, resulting in steady progress in promoting the success of female employees. The ratio of female managers at our overseas locations exceeds 40%, and the female manager ratio in Japan, which has been an ongoing challenge, also rose to 11% last year. Currently, about 150 female employees have been dispatched from the Head Office to overseas offices. Considering that the ratio of female employees on a non-consolidated basis has increased to 30% and the female recruitment ratio to 40%, we have set an external target of raising the female manager ratio in Japan to 20% by 2030.

Our company operates a wide range of diverse business in various industrial fields, both domestically and internationally, and we have strongly focused on aligning our HR strategy formulation and execution with the growth strategy of our global group. Therefore, in addition to the annual business plan and budget meetings between the CEO and all Chief Operating Officers (COO) of business units of the Head Office, we also hold separate the HRSM. The HRSM is attended by the CEO, CHRO, officers in charge of business units, and COOs of business units, where they discuss a wide range of management themes, including the respective business units’ human resource strategies, succession planning for key positions in the global group, and the promotion of diversity and inclusion. Based on the results of these discussions, we confirm annual organizational targets and action plans.

Supporting the active involvement of and growth of diverse human resources to achieve the sustainable enhancement of corporate value constitutes the core of the company’s HR strategy. The competition to recruit talented human resources is becoming increasingly severe on a global basis each year. In order for Mitsui & Co. to continue realizing the value of “Challenge and Innovation,” it is essential to develop and produce diverse human resources who perceive various social issues as their own issues and boldly take on the challenge of solving them. We will make utmost efforts to more strongly instill the values upheld by our predecessors, expressed in such phrases as “Open-mindedness” and “Challenge and Innovation,” along with our corporate culture that values “people,” throughout our global group.

This meeting serves as a platform for in-depth discussions on key human capital topics, with the aim of supporting the organization’s sustainable growth by integrating business and talent strategies. Centered on succession planning for critical positions within our group, the meeting also involves reviewing and sharing the development status and policies for diverse talent, including female employees and regionally hired employees.

The discussions are attended by the CEO, CHRO, and the General Managers of Human Resources & General Affairs Divisions I and II. They engage in direct dialogue with the Chief Operating Officers of each business units, the General Managers of Corporate Staff Divisions, and CHROs of regional business units. This enables continuous monitoring of the global and diverse successor talent pool, and facilitates strategic matching of the right people to the right positions to maximize organizational performance.

Furthermore, this initiative plays a vital role in ensuring the continuity of organizational management through the formulation of Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) in preparation for unforeseen events.