Social
Responsibilities to Customers
Policies and Basic Approach
Mitsui & Co. has identified "Secure sustainable supply of essential products" as one aspect of our materialities. We handle a wide range of products such as resources, materials, foods, pharmaceuticals, and products that are vital for the development of society. We have established our Consumer Product Handling Policy and Consumer Product Handling Regulations. Not only do we seek the manufacture, importation and sale of high-performance and/or low-cost products; we also carefully consider the consumer's position, prioritizing the handling of safe products that consumers can use with peace of mind.
We recognize that some of the foods, pharmaceuticals, and other products that we handle carry the risk of harming our customers' lives. For this reason, we have established our own management standards. We make sure that the safety standards set by each country for foods, pharmaceuticals, and other products we handle are maintained, as ensuring customer safety is essential.
Policy on Responsible Advertising and Marketing
We are committed to carry out fair and responsible marketing and advertising, in full awareness of our social responsibilities, and in accordance with our Mission, Vision, Values, the Mitsui & Co. Group Conduct Guidelines –With Integrity, and the Business Conduct Guidelines for Employees and Officers. In addition, we always strive to listen to our stakeholders, to accept their views with humility, and to reflect them in an appropriate way in our business activities.
Advertising
As for advertising and promotions, in consideration of the views of our various stakeholders, we make our best efforts to ensure accuracy and modesty without causing misunderstanding or discomfort, not to mention observing laws and regulations on relevant matters such as the Copyright Act and Trademark Act. When carrying out advertising and promotions, we implement proper risk management under our ringi (circular executive approval) deliberation system on advertising and marketing, which covers compliance risks, internal control risks, and reputation risks.
Marketing
In marketing, we comply with the relevant laws and in-house regulations and in-house training, and we carry out responsible marketing activities using content and expressions that do not infringe on the trust or sense of honor of others and do not cause misunderstandings or discomfort.
In utilizing social media as a marketing tool, we have established Rules on Corporate Use of Social Media. These rules prohibit the posting of content that violates copyrights, portrait rights, and other laws and regulations such as those regarding the disclosure of financial information, slanderous comments based on race, religion, gender, social status, religion, nationality, age, or physical or mental disability, and content that is deemed misleading to consumers under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums or Misleading Representations. We have also established an account operation manual that recommends multiple mutual employee checks on accounts, and regular checks by a third party to ensure that the content of our communications does not lack consideration for the fact that many people are viewing it, and that it does not constitute inappropriate behavior. We also work to ensure employee awareness of how to handle issues such as account hijacking or identity theft.
Food and Food Product Business Issues, Response Measures and Basic Approach
By ensuring the stable supply of food and food products, we contribute to enabling diverse, convenient, nutritious, affordable, and fulfilling dietary lifestyles. In the distribution business, we are expanding not only in the supply and distribution of raw materials for processed foods but also in the retail and merchandising sectors in Japan and overseas. We are working to make our quality assurance system more visible and set up a quality assurance governance system for the group include our consolidated subsidiaries, to serve as a basis for various initiatives. In the Nutrition & Agriculture business, we aim to help people lead richer and more fulfilling lives by enhancing health and well-being through food.
| Key issues | Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Ensuring food safety | Ensuring the safety of processed and imported foods |
| Ensuring consumer trust | Providing accurate information about food safety, nutritional components, and food allergies, to protect consumer health Providing information on preventing alcohol consumption by minors and pregnant women |
Access to Nutritious Foods
By 2050, the global population is projected to reach 10 billion. Ensuring that people have access to the nutrition they need to lead healthy lives, as well as to sufficient, high-quality food, is one of the major challenges facing the world. At Mitsui & Co., we contribute to the sustainable supply of food by building an optimal supply chains across the entire value chain, including procurement, production, and logistics. Through the stable supply of food, nutrition improvement initiatives, and the provision of foods and services with high added nutritional value, we will help create a society in which people can lead richer and more fulfilling lives.
Aiming to Provide Higher Value Healthcare Services
We recognize that it is important to create a better tomorrow where people live happy, healthy, enriched lives. Medical expenditure is increasing globally, while emerging countries see population growth, developed countries experience aging populations, and changes in disease patterns—such as an increase in chronic disease patients—accompany economic development. With the increase in the number of people in middle-income-level groups and the advent of COVID-19, health awareness is increasing. There are growing calls for burgeoning medical expenditure to be brought under control and for digital technology to be used to a greater extent. With improvements in access to and the quality and efficiency of healthcare in countries across the world, we expect the introduction more telemedicine services, healthcare changing through the use of digital technology such as healthcare data and AI, and a greater focus on outcomes for optimizing medical expenditure and the expansion of services in the wellness field including non-illness and prevention. In accordance with such global trends, we will lead and accelerate the paradigm shift in healthcare from a treatment-based and hospital-centered approach to a prevention-based and individual-centered approach, and expand high-quality and efficient "Value Based Healthcare*".
* In value-based healthcare, each stakeholder aims to achieve the best outcomes and optimize costs to provide high-value medical care to patients
Goals and Targets
- Improve access to nutrition through the stable supply of food.
- Increase the ratio of certified materials we acquire and carrying out employee training programs to ensure the sustainable supply of safe and secure products.
Sustainability Governance and Oversight
Sustainability Committee
Please refer to the links below for more information on Mitsui's Sustainability Management Framework and the activities of the Sustainability Committee.
Sustainability Risk Management
For projects in which we invest that are considered to be highly relevant to our responsibility to our customers (food, pharmaceuticals, etc.), we carry out sustainability risk assessments, formulate improvement plans when necessary, and conduct risk management.
Quality Control Management System and Training Programs
Quality Control Management Systems to Ensure Food Safety and Security
In recent years, dietary habits have become increasingly diverse due not only to home cooking but also to the growing use of processed and prepared foods. In addition, the processes involved in sourcing, manufacturing, and distributing food now extend across domestic and international markets, making supply chains increasingly complex. In this environment, ensuring the quality and safety of food products has become more important than ever to provide consumers with safe and reliable food.In our Food Business Unit, we have set up a centralized contact point for information sharing and crisis management in the event of an emergency. In 2002, the Business Unit set up the Food Safety Management Committee with the objectives of (1) studying food safety-related laws and regulations and how related industries have responded; and (2) formulating codes of conduct. The Committee is chaired by the General Manager of our Food Business Unit's Human Resources & General Affairs Department and has one Food Safety Management Committee member in each department of the Food Business Unit. In principle, Committee meetings are held monthly. Committee members share information about amendments to laws and any violations that have occurred. The Committee analyzes the causes of violations and considers measures to prevent them from recurring. External experts are invited to attend Committee meetings and give advice relating to food safety. The Food Business Unit has also set up a food safety database to enhance levels of self-management, and all imported foods are managed. The database is reviewed annually.
In the fiscal year ending March 2026, there were 9 cases of pesticide residue violations during monitoring inspections, to which we are working with related parties to respond appropriately. There were no cases of serious violations of the Food Sanitation Act.
In our Retail Business Unit, to further enhance our system to ensure food safety and security by preserving the quality of goods and services sold or provided on a group basis, we have had each division appoint a quality assurance manager and set up a quality assurance governance system on a consolidated basis, seeking to strengthen cooperation within the Mitsui Group.
Group Companies that possess Product Safety Management Standards
| HACCP | Feed One, Kaset Phol Sugar, Minh Phu |
|---|---|
| ISO22000 | Feed One, Kaset Phol Sugar, Minh Phu, ADEKA FOODS (CHANGSHU) |
| FSSC22000 | Mitsui Norin, GOYO Foods Industry Co., Ltd., PRI Foods, Feed One, KADOYA SESAME MILLS, ADEKA FOODS (CHANGSHU), The Kaset Phol Sugar, TOKYO DAIRY, Bussan Food Materials Co., Ltd. |
Education and Training Programs to Ensure Food Safety and Security
Mitsui conducts risk management for food safety and security, promoting compliance with laws and regulations and encouraging proper labeling through its monthly Food Safety Seminar for employees of Mitsui and our affiliated companies. The seminar was launched in October 2002 and has been held a total of 264 times as of March 2026. The table below summarizes the content of the seminars that were held during the fiscal year ended March 2026, and the number of attendees to each. A cumulative total of 695 employees from our company and our affiliated companies attended the seminars over this period.
Food Safety Seminar (FY March 2026)
Please scroll horizontally to look at table below.
| Month held | Theme | Number of Attendees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | April | "Review of Food Labeling Violations in Japan from January to December 2024: Examining Persistent Labeling Violations Through Case Studies" | 40 |
| May | "Review of Food Labeling Violations in Japan from January to December 2024 2: Examining Persistent Labeling Violations Through Case Studies" | 45 | |
| June | "Review of Food Labeling Violations in Japan from January to December 2024 3: Examining Persistent Labeling Violations Through Case Studies" | 46 | |
| July | "Food Complaints, Legal Liability, and Response Measures: 2025 Update" | 55 | |
| September | "Food Complaints, Legal Liability, and Response Measures 2: 2025 Update" | 51 | |
| October | "Food Complaints, Legal Liability, and Response Measures 3: 2025 Update" | 53 | |
| November | "Understanding the Antimonopoly Act for Food Business Operators (Part 1): 2025 Edition" | 192 | |
| December | "Food Complaints, Legal Liability, and Response Measures Including Antimonopoly Act Compliance for Food Business Operators: 2025 Edition" | 75 | |
| 2026 | February | "Responses to Questions Received in October and December 2025: Analytical Techniques and Food Labeling" | 55 |
| March | "Domestic Trends in Food Labeling Violations in 2025: Examining Persistent Labeling Violations" | 56 | |
Quality Control Systems to Ensure the Safety and Security of Pharmaceutical Products
We are an exporter, importer (including on behalf of others) and domestic distributor of pharmaceutical products. As such, we have prepared procedure manuals for pharmaceutical product handling—from receipt of order to delivery to the customer—safely, reliably, and promptly. In addition, we have established business guidelines and business procedure manuals within licensed businesses, to ensure the proper management of pharmaceutical products. We carry out regular self-inspections and monitoring evaluations to ensure that business operations are carried out according to the procedure manuals, and we comply thoroughly with a range of commercial laws at our company-owned facilities and elsewhere.
Education and Training Programs to Ensure the Safety and Security of Pharmaceutical Products
At Mitsui, we have appointed a person to lead education and training. We regularly give in-house training on important topics to staff involved in work relating to pharmaceutical products. These include the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Law (Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices) and related laws, the operation of Good Supplying Practice (GSP), information about pharmaceutical products handled, business guidelines and business procedures established by the Company, emergency situations that can arise in accidents and other necessary matters.
Collaborating with Stakeholders
We are promoting and expanding our efforts to address our responsibilities to customers through participation in initiatives. Participation in each initiative is decided after confirming that it is consistent with our basic policy and initiatives for our responsibilities to customers.
Initiatives
Certifications
Acquisition of Environment-Related Certification in Company-Owned Forests "Mitsui's Forests", Forest Resources Business, etc.
Handling Certified Materials (FSC®, PEFC, SGECF Certification, etc.)
Please scroll horizontally to look at table below.
| Acquired Certifications | Coverage (Country/Region) | Certificate Holder/Outline & Scale (Handling Volume) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSC® FSC® certification is based on international standards established by the Forest Stewardship Council®, a non-profit committee-type organization that administers an international forest certification system. |
Forest Management (FM) certification | Company- Owned Forests "Mitsui's Forests" (Japan) | Mitsui & Co. (License Code FSC®-C057355)/Obtained certification for the Mitsui's Forests throughout Japan |
| CoC certification | Mitsui Bussan Forest (Subsidiary, License Code FSC®-C031328)/approximately 40,000 m3/year (sells timber and other products produced mostly from Mitsui's Forests) | ||
| Forest Resources Business (Australia, etc.) | Living & Environmental Business Div., Performance Materials Business Unit, Mitsui & Co. (License Code FSC®-C104107)/acquired for pulp,woodchips, wood pellets, solid wood(sawn, chipped, peeled), products from planing mill, and veneer. | ||
| Mitsui & Co. Wood Resources Oceania Pty. (Subsidiary, License Code FSC®-C107463)/acquired for woodchips. | |||
| Trans Pacific Fibre SpA (Subsidiary, License Code FSC®-C124327)/acquired for woodchips and roundwood(logs). | |||
| Procurement and sales of pulp, paper, paperboard, and paper products (globally) | Mitsui Bussan Packaging Co. (Subsidiary, License Code FSC®-C009939)/certification obtained for pulp, paper, paperboard, paper packaging materials | ||
| Biomass Fuel | Fuel Solution (Biomass) Dept., Energy Trading & Marketing Div., Integrated Energy Solutions Business Unit, Mitsui & Co. (License Code FSC®-C140620/acquired for wood pellets(accredited materials) | ||
| PEFC Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes |
CoC certification | Forest Resources Business (Australia) | Living & Environmental Business Div., Performance Materials Business Unit, Mitsui & Co. Trademark License No.:PEFC/31-31-1618)/acquired for pulp, woodchips, wood pellets, solid wood(sawn, chipped, peeled), products from planing mill, and veneer. |
| Procurement and sales of pulp and paper products (Japan) | Mitsui Bussan Packaging Co., Ltd. (MBK subsidiary, Trademark License No.: PEFC/31-31-1558) / Obtained certification for pulp and beverage containers. | ||
| Biomass Fuel Trading | Fuel Solution (Biomass) Dept., Energy Trading & Marketing Div., Integrated Energy Solutions Business Unit, Mitsui & Co.(Certification Code: SGSJP-PEFC-COC-2026)/acquired PEFC certification (License Code: PEFC/31-31-1641) for wood pellets trading (accredited materials). | ||
| SGEC SGEC certification system was introduced by the Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council, a general incorporated foundation, by adapting the global sustainable forest management philosophy (known as the "Montreal Process") to the situation in Japan. SGEC and PEFC have agreed to the mutual recognition of respective forest accreditation systems since 2016. |
Forest Management (FM) certification | Company- Owned Forests "Mitsui's Forests" (Japan) | Mitsui & Co. / Obtained certification for the Mitsui's Forests throughout Japan (License Code:SGEC/31-21-1101) |
| CoC certification | Mitsui Bussan Forest/approximately 40,000 m3/year (sells timber and other products produce from mostly Mitsui's Forests)(License Code:SGEC/31-32-1106) | ||
Certifications Status in the Food Business
Please scroll horizontally to look at table below.
| Acquired Certifications | Coverage (Country) | Certificate Holder/Outline & Scale (Handling Volume) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic Japanese Agricultural Standard (Organic JAS) | A certification system for agricultural products produced in accordance with the Japanese Agricultural Standards while minimizing environmental impact as much as possible. | Japan | Feed One Co. (affiliated company)/manufactures and sells organic JAS-certified feed |
| Japan | Mitsui Norin Co./sells organic JAS-certified products Bussan Food Materials Co.,Ltd./ Organic JAS-certified importer; imports and sells organic ingredients |
||
| ASC | Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification is an international certification program administered by the ASC. It certifies that aquaculture products are responsibly farmed in accordance with comprehensive standards covering the minimization of environmental impacts, the protection of workers' and local communities' rights, animal welfare, and the use of sustainable feed. | Japan | Mitsui & Co. Seafoods (consolidated subsidiary)/imports and sells products in accordance with buyers' requests
|
| Chile | Chilean salmon farming, processing and sales company, Multi X (Mitsui investee company)/operates six certified aquaculture sites. | ||
| Ecuador | Shrimp farming, processing, and sales company Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila (equity-method affiliate) | ||
| Vietnam | Shrimp farming, processing, and sales company Minh Phu (equity-method affiliate) | ||
| MSC | An international certification program administered by the Marine Stewardship Council that certifies seafood products sourced from fisheries managed sustainably and with due consideration for the marine environment. | Japan | Mitsui & Co. Seafoods (consolidated subsidiary)/imports and sells products in accordance with buyers' requests |
| BAP | An international certification program for sustainably farmed seafood administered by the U.S.-based non-profit organization Global Seafood Alliance (GSA). Based on four pillars, food safety, environmental responsibility, social responsibility, and animal health and welfare, the program rigorously audits and certifies traceability throughout the entire supply chain, from hatcheries and feed mills to farms and processing facilities. | Japan | Mitsui & Co. Seafoods (consolidated subsidiary; as an Endorser)/imports and sells products in accordance with buyers' requests |
| Ecuador | Shrimp farming, processing, and sales company Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila (equity-method affiliate) | ||
| Vietnam | Shrimp farming, processing, and sales company Minh Phu (equity-method affiliate) | ||
| Chile | Chilean salmon farming, processing and sales company, Multi X (equity-method affiliate) | ||
| RSPO
Please check the status of our progress at: |
A certification system established by The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which sets legal, economic, environmental, and social requirements for sustainable palm oil production based on 8 principles and 43 criteria. | Malaysia | Mitsui and Wangsa Mujur Sdn (overseas non-consolidated affiliated company)/Mitsui and Wangsa Mujur operate in accordance with RSPO policies. Mitsui aims to achieve 100% procurement of sustainably sourced palm oil, including RSPO-certified palm oil, by 2030. In particular, we promote procurement based on the NDPE principles (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation). In FY Mar/2026, RSPO-certified palm oil accounted for 19.1% of palm oil handled. |
| Rainforest Alliance Certified
Find out more at ra.org. |
A certification system for farms, ranches, forests and tourism businesses that meet standards for biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods, and respect for wokers' rights | Brazil | Mitsui & Co. Coffee Trading (Brazil) (consolidated subsidiary in Brazil)/supplies certified ingredients to customers |
| Japan | Coffee Dept., Food & Beverage Materials Div., Food Business Unit/supplies certified ingredients to business partners; Confectionery & Dairy Products Dept./supplies certified ingredients to confectionery manufacturers; Mitsui Norin (consolidated subsidiary)/sells tea and beverage products | ||
| SQF Certification | A certification standards for food safety and quality management covering the entire food chain. | Japan | Prifoods Co. (consolidated subsidiary)/supplies major supermarkets with products produced at 25 farms, the Hosoya Plant and Hosoya Process Center, Date Plant, and Mihara plant Starzen Co., Ltd. (affiliate)/57 farms, plants, and business sites nationwide |
| BONSUCRO | A global initiative aimed at reducing the social and environmental impacts of sugarcane production. There are two types of BONSUCRO Certification: the Production Standard obtained by producers and the Chain of Custody Standard obtained by distributors. | Japan | Raw Sugar Dept., Sugar & Fermented Products Div., Food Business Unit / has obtained BONSUCRO Chain of Custody Standard and will consider handling certified products based on buyer requests. |
Initiatives as Part of Business Activities
Striving for Better Nutrition — Initiative to Promote the "Tekito Seikatsu®" (Balanced Sugar Lifestyle)
In Japan, while calorie and carbohydrate intake has been declining, the increase in lifestyle-related diseases and unbalanced eating habits has become a social concern. This is thought to be partly attributable to the growing availability of highly refined processed foods that are soft and easy to eat, which may increase the speed of digestion and absorption. DM Mitsui Sugar, an affiliated company of Mitsui & Co., has established the concept of "Balanced Sugar Lifestyle®," which encourages appropriate carbohydrate intake in daily life. The company promotes this concept through activities such as accumulating evidence-based knowledge on the negative effects of excessive or insufficient sugar intake, developing an internal database on accurate knowledge about sugar, participating in opinion-exchange meetings and lectures with external experts on nutrition intake and diabetes treatment, and holding internal study sessions. It is also working to raise public awareness of "Balanced Sugar Lifestyle®" through food education classes at elementary schools near its business sites and lectures on "Sugar and Health" for older adults.
Striving for Better Access to Healthcare through IHH Healthcare
As the largest shareholder, our company participates in IHH Healthcare Berhad ("IHH"), which owns approximately 190 healthcare facilities, including approximately 90 hospitals across 10 countries worldwide. IHH provides comprehensive healthcare services, including acute care, as well as outpatient services, diagnostics, rehabilitation, and telemedicine. Going forward, through collaboration with IHH, we will contribute to the development of a sustainable healthcare delivery system in Asia and to improving access to healthcare.
Striving for Better Access to Healthcare—Filling in the Supply-Demand Gaps through Drug Manufacturing, Sales and Distribution
We have been engaging in the manufacturing, sales, and distribution of high-quality pharmaceuticals needed by consumers in countries across the world, through investee companies such as R-Pharm and Shenzhen Main Luck Pharmaceuticals. Through such business, we are seeking to improve access to healthcare and fill in the gaps between supply and demand in the medical field in countries/regions where medical systems are underdeveloped.
Our Approach to Responsible Marketing
Responding to Consumer Needs with Video-Based Marketing by Tastemade
Customer preferences and consumption patterns are diversifying. Responding to these changing times, Mitsui uses U.S. company Tastemade and its Japanese arm Tastemade Japan, which is our affiliate company, to disseminate information via new means desired by its customers, rather than simply distributing the same information to the masses in a uniform manner.
Tastemade is a lifestyle media company. It streams video content about topics including food, travel, and beauty to a monthly global audience of over 150 million people. It has built support among younger people, who are said to be turned off by advertisements, by creating videos with storylines and entertainment that make people want to try new things, while incorporating sponsors' products seamlessly into the content.
By leveraging the strengths of Tastemade's system which collects and analyzes its huge volume of viewership data, we are able to identify potential consumer needs that have not been apparent until now, based on viewers' interests and reactions. By working with Tastemade, we hope to make consumers' lifestyles richer and more enjoyable, creating products and services that truly match their needs.
Provision of Cutting-Edge Data Marketing Functions For Better Product Selection
Our subsidiary MBK Digital helps companies to build and install Data Management Platforms (DMP) that can manage large volumes of data accumulated in day-to-day business operations and provides support for how to analyze and utilize this data. MBK Digital has a brilliant track record as a leader in providing data marketing consulting and support services for many clients, including top B2C brands by planning and executing DMP strategy in online media buying and other execution channels.
Mitsui has been providing cutting-edge data marketing solutions with partners in the United States to Japanese companies. In recent years we have been focusing on marketing services that contribute to the sophisticated data usage in the cloud environment. Through our investment in MBK Digital, we aim to build a structure capable of providing the best solutions to meet client demands and deliver more advanced and comprehensive marketing support services.
Amidst the growing global trend of stricter regulation of the use of consumer data, MBK Digital is currently working on advanced solutions in the United States (Zefr, which improves performance of video advertising without the use of personal data; cross-device business Tapad,; and US-Quartile, provider of an Amazon advertisement auto-optimization tool). In addition, MBK Digital also handles services for Socialdatabase, a Dutch social media (X) data-related company. We have also started to offer a Consent Management Platform in response to the strengthening of personal information protection laws. We will continue to strive for sophistication in our data marketing support capabilities and answer diversifying consumer needs while considering global trends.



