Human Capital
Development and Secure

1. Creating rewarding workplaces
   The Kumiai Chemical Group believes human capital is the most important factor in and indispensable for sustainable corporate growth, and actively builds working environments where employees can work enthusiastically as they enjoy work-life balance. We also foster a culture that offers employees steady validation, a sense of accomplishment, and hope for the future, so that they can achieve self-fulfillment and maximum happiness through their work.
2. Creating safe and healthy working environments
   The Kumiai Chemical Group prevents industrial accidents and diseases as well as promoting the creation of safe and healthy working environments by ensuring that employees are aware of legal requirements related to safety, health, and disaster prevention, reflecting discussions at the Safety and Health Committee, which includes employee representatives.
3. Ensuring fair working conditions
   The Kumiai Chemical Group respects fundamental rights related to labor, including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Through constructive labor-management dialogue in councils with the labor union, we ensure fair working conditions by complying with labor-related laws and regulations, such as rules on minimum wages and working hours, as well as maintaining a well-balanced personnel system and working to further improve the treatment of employees.
4. Fair and equitable human capital management
   The Kumiai Chemical Group trains highly ethical human capital capable of acting in accordance with its Corporate Philosophy and with a high level of expertise and a global perspective, using systems that support fair and equitable human capital management and development.
5. Promotion of diversity
   The Kumiai Chemical Group achieves diversity and inclusion that enables its diverse human capital to make the most of their individual values and abilities.

One of the pillars of the Medium-Term Business Plan is “human capital development / human capital strategy based on the idea of human capital,” which is the foundation of our business strategy. Specifically, we have identified human resources with the skills and mindset shown below as priority human capital to be emphasized in order to promote our future business strategy.

Firstly, to develop an environment that supports every effort, we will clarify the requirements for priority human capital in connection with the Medium-Term Business Plan, and promote recruitment in line with them. We will also improve the company-wide education and training system, enhance training for managers, and develop and implement tools for systematic on-the-job training (OJT). Furthermore, we will clarify our vision of diversity and inclusion, establish a working group (WG) to identify issues and promote measures, and strengthen the promotion of women’s active participation in the workplace. At the same time, we will promote measures to improve work-life balance (WLB) according to the circumstances of each department/division, such as by encouraging employees to take leave.
As an action plan to create mechanisms that provide a sense of accomplishment in accordance with achievement, we will review our personnel treatment system, including the expansion of the specialist system and the realization of diverse work styles. We will also review the evaluation system to further improve fairness and acceptability. Furthermore, we will revise the remuneration system to emphasize job responsibilities and contributions, and review various benefits to improve job satisfaction. At the same time, through the expansion of career development support measures, we will create an environment where diverse human resources can work in a sustainable manner.
By promoting the action plan in a comprehensive manner, we will improve happiness and engagement of all employees, including priority human capital.

Toward the introduction of a new personnel system from FY2026 onward, in FY2025, we conducted a final review of the system design, centering on the elimination of the seniority system. We aimed to create a well-balanced remuneration system that thoroughly matches rewards with employees’ roles and performance, and provides a sense of accomplishment in accordance with achievement.
In addition, to prevent the system from becoming a mere formality and ensure that it is adopted and understood by all employees, the following communication measures were implemented.

• Briefings on the system for all employees: Held twice at each office nationwide. Shared the background and objectives of the system.
• Training for those to be evaluated: Held a total of 25 times. Deepened the understanding of those to be evaluated and fostered a sense of understanding.

With the aim of becoming an organization where diverse human capital continues to create value, we conducted the following training.

• D&I training: Held in a workshop format for all employees. Centering on the theme of “Creating Value from Diversity,” perspectives that can be put to practical use were shared.
• Follow-up training for mid-career recruits: Held at the Head Office and each office. By providing opportunities for interaction with regional offices, we supported the creation of networks among employees with diverse backgrounds and the creation of business synergies.

From FY2026 onward, we will focus on implementing position-specific training in line with the new grade system and developing next-generation leaders. We will continue to restructure the company-wide training system to create an environment in which each and every employee can demonstrate his or her abilities to the maximum extent possible.

With the aim of helping employees comfortably balance their work and private lives and improve their physical and mental health and satisfaction, we have undertaken the following initiatives for “creating a comfortable working environment” and “realizing health promotion.”

We have set up days for all employees to take paid leave at the same time (two days per year), and we aim for employees who are granted 10 or more days of paid leave per year to take three days or more of paid leave within six months of being granted the leave. We disclosed our average paid leave utilization rate on the company intranet as appropriate to encourage employees to take paid leave in a planned manner.

We introduced a new attendance system that allows employees to view their overtime work status on their own attendance screen. Supervisors can also view the overtime work status of their subordinates, and this makes it possible for them to appropriately manage overtime work.

By updating our maternity and childcare leave procedure manual to make it easier to understand the legal and company-specific systems and necessary procedures, it has become possible for eligible employees to take childcare-related leave and childcare leave in a planned manner. In addition, we expanded the period during which male employees can take special leave when their wives give birth, allowing them to take three days of leave within a two-week period before or after the expected date of birth.

Aiming to become a company where everyone can work comfortably and play an active role, we further promoted D&I measures based on issues identified through the efforts of the D&I Working Group in FY2024. Specifically, we conducted diversity training for all officers and employees, provided basic knowledge about diverse people, such as those involved in childcare and nursing care, older workers, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, and foreigners, and implemented e-learning courses for employees to learn about the necessity of harassment prevention, awareness, and support. We also conducted menstruation training and interviewed users of work-life balance support systems, such as postpartum paternity leave, to promote these systems.

Four volunteer employees from the Head Office independently organized a “D&I Snack Party” during their lunch break, creating new opportunities for interaction across departments, positions, and generations. As a result, D&I is being fostered as a familiar part of corporate culture.

In addition, a survey conducted for non-managerial employees on their motivation and attitudes toward promotion to managerial positions revealed that, particularly among female employees, concerns about the balance between workload and childcare were obstacles. Based on the survey results, we held a career roundtable for women with the aim of eliminating psychological barriers and anxieties women may face in their careers, and supporting their autonomous career development.

In FY2026 and beyond, we will focus on “strengthening support for work-life balance,” “presenting role models,” and “providing management experience and support from supervisors” to promote the creation of a workplace where diverse human capital can continuously play active roles.

In the human capital strategy, We have identified human resources with the skills and mindset required to promote our future business strategies as priority human capital and is fostering them.
At the same time, we are providing training for all departments according to the year when an employee joins Kumiai, including training for new employees, training for mid-career employees, and life plan seminars in addition to training for each position such as assessment training and personnel evaluator training. Each department also provides practical training related to work, including language training and sales training. For example, in research and development departments, efforts are also made to foster researchers through joint research that involves their dispatch to other research institutes (such as the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology). As a result of these efforts, employee training expenses totaled 55 million yen in FY2025 and the number of hours of training received per employee totaled 59.6 hours in FY2025.
We will continue initiatives to further strengthen human capital development. For example, we intend to establish a company-wide education and training system by adding OJT and self-development perspectives to the various training programs we currently offer. We will also step up investment in various aspects of human capital. This will include strengthening training for managers, who are the core of organizational management; enhancing training for manager candidates; providing thorough training for personnel evaluators to realize fair evaluation; introducing career training to cultivate an approach to work attuned to the 100-year life era; implementing company-wide training to promote D&I; introducing e-learning for the prevention of harassment; and upgrading operation of OJT.

As a professional group with a wealth of knowledge of agricultural chemicals, we have contributed to the advancement of agriculture for many years. We understand that, going forward, the creation of new value is essential for us to solve global social issues related to agriculture, such as food insecurity due to global population growth and climate change. To this end, while protecting our advanced technological capabilities and depth of knowledge, for the creation of new value, it is essential that we have diverse human capital who possess a wide range of knowledge, experience, and perspectives.
Our D&I policy aims to create a company where diverse human capital wants to work and where everyone can work comfortably and play an active role. To that end, it is necessary to create an environment in which all officers and employees have equal opportunities in all aspects, and in which they can work in the way they want and play an active role. Moreover, we believe that it is important for us to be a leading company in the agricultural industry and to have an influential presence within it.