FOCUS: Japanese Companies Get Serious about Workplace DEI

Tokyo, June 17 (Jiji Press)–Japanese businesses are stepping up efforts to promote “human capital management,” responding to government calls to regard human resources as capital and maximize their value in order to enhance medium- to long-term corporate value. A key focus is diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, which aims to embrace differences in such areas as gender, nationality and disability, while creating workplace environments in which a wide range of people can thrive. Across the business community, companies are starting to take such initiatives more seriously. Experiencing Disabilities via Games In late January, human resources personnel from about 50 Japanese companies gathered at the Tokyo office of law firm Nishimura & Asahi. There, they took part in a workshop while wearing goggles, masks, mittens, headphones and other items designed to simulate various disabilities. The workshop was part of joint research on DEI training for companies launched by Heralbony Co., a Morioka, Iwate Prefecture-based company engaged in intellectual property businesses involving artworks by people with disabilities, and Natsuki Hosoya, an attorney at Nishimura & Asahi. Participants played a card game developed by Heralbony, taking on roles such as people who are “unable to speak,” “have difficulty seeing” or “cannot use their hands.” The exercise allowed them to gain firsthand experience of the challenges of playing under rules intended for able-bodied people. Afterward, they discussed and revised the rules before playing the game again. Heralbony started DEI training services for corporate clients in 2023 and has since provided them to more than 50 companies and other organizations. Through lectures, workshops, visits to welfare facilities and art creation activities, the program encourages participants to re-examine assumptions that are often taken for granted by the majority. “We feel that we are directly contributing to changes in awareness within organizations and society,” a company representative said. Masanobu Hayashi, who is involved in handling DEI policies at Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc. in Tokyo, was among the workshop participants. “By seeing consideration for people with disabilities as something that concerns me personally, I was able to get a real sense of the actual difficulties involved and how to ask for help,” he said. Hayashi added that Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan “regards the promotion of DEI as one of its management strategies, incorporating it into decision-making and management, with the aim of establishing it as part of our culture so that it is practiced naturally.” Conscious of Business Contribution The participants also included Momoko Ando, who has worked on DEI issues since joining Yamaha Motor Co. in 2023. She currently leads the company’s DE&I promotion group, which was created in January 2025 to advance human capital management. Last year, more than 2,000 employees took part in the company’s training sessions and related programs. “Promoting these efforts with an eye to their contribution to the business will make DEI initiatives more meaningful,” Ando said. As a new initiative this year, Yamaha Motor plans to invite employees from multiple business divisions to each training session. The goal is to develop leaders who can draw on the strengths of diverse talent from the perspective of their respective businesses. Ando expressed hope that the initiative will have a positive impact, saying, “I’d be pleased if these efforts lead to encouraging changes in day-to-day operations.” Hosoya of Nishimura & Asahi pointed to a common challenge in corporate DEI initiatives. Many Japanese companies, she noted, “divide efforts among different departments–for example, the advancement of women, employment of people with disabilities, and responses to LGBTQ+ sexual minorities–with training conducted independently for each.” She urged companies to “build more comprehensive initiatives while recognizing that multiple factors, including gender, sexual orientation, nationality, and the presence or absence of disabilities, interact with each another.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]