As the domestic and international environments surrounding us change drastically, the importance of human resources for the sustainable growth of corporations, along with the term “human capital,” is gaining attention. Since the founding of the former Mitsui & Co.,* we have consistently maintained our corporate culture of valuing people. How does Mitsui approach the recruitment and development of human resources who can manifest Mitsui & Co.’s Mission, Vision, Values (MVV), and the never-ending development of human resources and the organization? What results are being achieved? What kinds of challenges do we see? Which issues need accelerated efforts? We hope to answer these questions through explanation of our basic human resources management approaches to stakeholders. In preparing this report, we tried to explain our human resources strategy and individual measures, as well as their purposes and effects based on data as much as possible, while introducing stories of individual employees and their growth concretely. We hope this report will help to show the positive cycle between our commitment to people and the resulting enhancement of our 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, the fact that the company trusts and values its employees means that each and every employee is expected to think for him or herself as an autonomous individual and take actions. The development of capable individuals is one of our human resources strategies, and this will remain the core concept for the promotion of the inclusion as well, while respecting the diversity of organizations throughout the global group.

Steady enhancement of corporate value by fully realizing the potential and maximizing the value of human resources is our top priority management issue. To that end, we not only focus our efforts on the recruitment, development and appointment of human resources, but also promote human resources development tailored to each employee’s future career vision and take various measures for organization development that will lead to improvement of engagement. Human resources development and organization development initiatives are the source of our competitiveness and we consider them to be a strategic investment necessary for our sustainable growth. However, their effectiveness has to be measured in a multifaceted manner, from various angles and based on different timelines. We view the results of our employee engagement survey called the Mitsui Engagement Survey (MES), as an important management indicator that shows the correlation between such efforts and sustainable enhancement of corporate value. We started surveying our employees in Japan through the launch of the MES in 2018, and we have now widened its scope, to include employees all overseas offices and major subsidiaries in Japan. surveys and analyzes the employees’ level of job satisfaction, motivation in their professional life, sense of personal growth, and empathy towards the strategies and policies of their organizations. To ensure the objectivity and transparency of the survey, we hire an external research firm, and have customized the surveying method, after considering the company’s characteristics. Visualizing changes in employee engagement has helped us to improve the productivity of daily operations at the business front lines, and identify our organizational issues. The results of the MES are reported to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, and they are also used as one of the evaluation elements in the remuneration system for directors (excluding external directors).

Further deepening of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) across the global group is a major theme set forth in the Medium-term Management Plan 2026. We embrace “Open-mindedness” and “Challenge and Innovation” as important phrases that represent the company’s fundamental values. A free, open, and energetic workplace should provide an environment in which people with diverse backgrounds and abilities respect each other and can demonstrate their abilities. With that in mind, we will reinforce our initiatives, in particular, geared toward enhancing inclusion while adopting perspective of equity, etc. The current challenges in terms of D&I are the promotion of women’s participation at offices in Japan, and the thorough implementation of matching the right people to the right positions approach at our overseas locations, regardless of where they were hired. We are determined to vigorously promote D&I in every aspect of our activities across the global group.

At Mitsui many female employees are playing active roles across the global group, and the percentage of female managers is 18.8% on a consolidated basis, and the percentage of female managers at overseas trading affiliates and offices is 37%. Since we have achieved this year’s target of female managers making up 10% on a non-consolidated basis, in June this year basis, we set a new goal of achieving 20% by fiscal year ending March 2031. Although the ratio of female employees who joined the company as new graduates in Japan has exceeded 40%, and pool of female manager candidates is growing steadily, we recognize the need for continued efforts to fine-tune our HR systems and drive changes in employee mindsets to achieve this goal as early as possible. In a new personnel system introduced in July this year, the traditional job classifications of Business Staff and Administrative Staff, the latter of which was mostly comprised of females, were abolished, and they have been integrated. The new personnel system facilitates transfers and appointments that flexibly accommodate employees' diversifying career plans, including the availability for job relocation and their different life stages. I believe this also will contribute to raising of the percentage of female managers in Japan.

The ratio of line managers among regionally hired employees at Mitsui & Co. overseas locations is currently 18%, but with the full scale implementation of Bloom, our global talent management system, starting at the end of this year, we will accelerate our efforts to put the right person to the right positions globally regardless of the place of employment or the division where they were recruited or their business unit. For example, the Managing Director of Mitsui & Co. India, a key base for our company, is an Indian national who was hired locally, and he was appointed to his current position after accumulating wide-ranging experience according to his career plan at the Tokyo Head Office business unit and locations in Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE. The size of the regionally hired employees pool is growing steadily, and we will proactively advance the promotion of these people to management positions through such wide-ranging career development.

Continuously enhancing corporate value by giving boost to the growth and active involvement of diverse employees across the global group is the fundamental concept in the company’s HR strategy. The global race to secure capable individuals is growing more competitive year by year. In order for the company to continue realizing its value of “Challenge and Innovation” going forward, it is necessary to consistently develop truly professional talents who see various social issues as their own, and boldly take on the challenge of solving them. The values that were firmly upheld by our predecessors are expressed in such phrases as “Open-mindedness” and “Challenge and Innovation.” My mission is to further promote the dissemination of these values, along with our corporate culture of putting people above all else, more vigorously across the global group.