04.Events/Planning

In 2022, we launched SPLi, a community that supports continuous career development by providing an environment and plan where employees can demonstrate leadership while leveraging their uniqueness and diverse individuality.

We invited the Fermented Life Promotion Association to hear about the careers of Fermented Life Advisors. After that, I deepened my understanding of ``fermented foods,'' and I think my awareness of everyday food changed. After the exchange, outside director Mariko Bando gave a lecture on ``Human Capital and Women's Careers,'' which gave us a new understanding of issues such as the changes in promoting women's advancement and Japan's level compared to other countries around the world, as well as the future. It was a time that gave me hope and determination for the future. This time, a total of over 70 people participated both at the venue and online. SPLi second year has begun with even more momentum.

A health seminar was jointly held by SPLi, a community promoting women's empowerment, and the Health Promotion Office. As ``Health Issues for Working Women that Men Should Also Know about'', we encourage not only women but also men to learn about the health issues of their partners, to deepen their understanding of their female colleagues and subordinates, and to help prevent and detect breast cancer early. 52 people participated in the event with the content they wanted to share. At the "Sleep Toughness Seminar" held at the Kanto Plant in 2022, 80% of the 100 participants were satisfied with the content of the program and would like to continue holding it. Education and training expenses for employees in fiscal 2022, including health seminars, were 63,000 yen per employee.

The factory's first Family Day was held at the Shiga factory under the theme of "Let's increase the number of Itoki fans!" Approximately 300 family members and friends participated. In a visitor survey, more than 80% of visitors said, ``The whole family enjoyed the event because it exceeded my expectations,'' ``I talked more about ITOKI in conversations with my family,'' and ``My stock went up when my family saw my workplace.'' We received a response saying, ``My image of Itoki has improved.'' In August, we also held events at XORK (84 groups, 272 people) and Osaka SR (29 groups, 95 people), and many people participated.

A workshop on "building blocks" was held on July 26, 2023. After learning about forestry, the children cut pieces of domestic thinned wood at a workshop for people with disabilities and polished them with sandpaper until smooth, making them safe and secure building blocks. The building blocks we created were donated to kindergartens, nursery schools, etc. in special wooden boxes with an Itoki branding stamp. Although it was part of a social contribution activity, there were many team-building elements, and everyone enjoyed participating. At Itoki, if you do volunteer work on weekdays, you can take special paid leave called ``volunteer leave.''

We aim to create a work environment where everyone can work in their own way, and we provide support for balancing work and childcare. From 2022, we have endorsed the 100% Childcare Leave Declaration for Men, and from July 1, 2023, we have begun paying childcare leave reinstatement support funds to employees who return to work after taking childcare leave, based on the number of days taken. . We also hold in-house events such as interviews with men on childcare leave and briefing sessions on childcare leave, and are promoting internal awareness initiatives. Meanwhile, regarding nursing care, we held a work-life balance seminar in July that was open to family members. We make efforts to ensure that employees are properly informed about in-house systems and the use of public nursing care insurance services, etc., so that employees do not become ill due to nursing care fatigue or have to quit their jobs.

ITOKI aims for diversity and inclusion, where each person, including people with disabilities, can lively, utilize their characteristics, and demonstrate their potential. As part of our D&I promotion, we sold baked goods carefully made by people with disabilities at XORK. At the same time as the sales, we introduced slides about employment support for people with disabilities, which served as an opportunity to deepen understanding and interest in disabilities.