Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International are implementing a range of initiatives to develop the next generation of talent within the Group. These include executive development programs for management candidates, primarily targeting managers in their 40s, leadership training for workplace leaders at production sites, and management enhancement programs for site managers and pre-management employees.
In addition, we are developing a talent portfolio aligned with our business portfolio strategy. By clarifying the types of talent required to support our business activities and visualizing our talent resources, we leverage these insights to strengthen recruitment, talent development, and the strategic placement of employees in positions where they can maximize their capabilities.

〇Human Resource Development and Training System

The Takara Group is moving forward with initiatives in every group company in line with an action plan that is based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace to further promote the advancement of female employees’ careers. Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International will continue to promote initiatives that support women's career advancement and enable employees to thrive while balancing life events and career development. These initiatives include career design training for young and mid-career employees, including women, career roundtable discussions for female employees, and participation in external development programs and seminars. The companies plan to newly appoint at least 50 women to manager and assistant manager positions by fiscal year 2030 as a mid- to long-term target. As of April 2026, a total of 48 women have been appointed. The proportion of women in managerial positions was 11.2% as of April 2026, exceeding the companies’ target of achieving at least 13% by the end of fiscal year 2030.

At Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, Takara Shuzo International, and Takara Bio, we have created an environment where all employees who wish to continue working after the mandatory retirement age of 60 can do so until the age of 65 through our post-retirement re-employment system. The percentage of employees rehired after retirement is 78% for Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International combined over the past three years (FY2023-FY2025), and 85% for Takara Bio. As part of measures to ensure employment opportunities until the age of 70, Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International introduced a system of continued employment until the age of 70 in October 2022, and Takara Bio introduced a system in April 2023.

When hiring people with disabilities, we ensure that our workplaces are conducive to allowing these individuals to exercise their talents. Approaches to doing so include understanding the individual’s work skills, establishing and developing a range of work tasks suited to the person’s circumstances, and improving the workplace environment. Additionally, people with disabilities participate in professional work alongside able bodied employees as we strive to create an environment in which they will feel a sense of purpose in their job. As of April 1, 2026, Takara Holdings employed 13 persons with disabilities (10 persons legally employed, 3.19% employment rate), Takara Shuzo 36 persons (29 persons legally employed, 3.05% employment rate), and Takara Bio 23 persons (19 persons legally employed, 2.90% employment rate).

The Takara Group strives to maintain and improve a safe and hygienic work environment, aiming for zero workplace accidents while complying with all relevant safety and health regulations. At our manufacturing facilities, we conduct assessments of equipment and work procedures to identify potential hazards and implement necessary measures to prevent occupational accidents. We also undertake various initiatives to ensure a safe and secure working environment, including regular workplace inspections by occupational health physicians and employee training programs on workplace safety.
In addition, to prevent occupational accidents among older employees, we conduct risk assessments that take into account age-related characteristics, improve workplace environments, and enhance occupational health and safety education. In the event of a work-related accident, we provide appropriate support to the affected employee, identify the root cause, and implement necessary corrective measures, such as equipment improvements and safety training, to prevent recurrence. Information on occupational accidents is also shared through monthly Occupational Safety and Health Promotion Committee meetings to ensure that lessons learned are effectively communicated and applied across the organization.

As part of our commitment to maintaining and improving employee health, we conduct legally mandated health checkups and annual stress checks. Employees identified as having high stress levels and who request support are offered consultations with an occupational physician. If work-related measures are deemed necessary, we implement them accordingly to help prevent mental health issues before they arise.

In addition, we analyze stress check results at the organizational level to monitor workplace stress conditions and take steps to improve the work environment where needed. Moving forward, we will continue working closely with occupational physicians and the Takara Group Health Insurance Association to reduce health risks and promote employee well-being.

The Takara Group operates globally and is committed to maintaining a comfortable and safe working environment while complying with local labor laws and regulations in each country and region where we conduct business. We strictly prohibit excessive working hours, forced overtime, and any form of compulsory labor, in accordance with labor standards laws, and require managers to pay close attention to the physical and mental well-being of their team members. Furthermore, all recruitment activities in each country are conducted in compliance with local laws. To prevent child labor and forced labor, we ensure thorough age verification during the hiring process and strictly adhere to statutory minimum wage requirements.

From the perspective of preventing health problems caused by long working hours, we have a system in place that prohibits overtime work in excess of 60 hours per month and work on Sundays as a general rule, and ensures that managers thoroughly manage overtime hours, as well as a system in which the person in charge of management at each workplace and the human resources department also check progress in the middle of the month . Under the Article 36 Agreement, we limit the maximum extended working hours to 75 hours per month. We also ensure that the total hours of overtime work and work on holidays in excess of 40 hours a week do not exceed 80 hours a month, in an effort to reduce excessive working hours.

For employees posted overseas, we require them to undergo a medical examination before they leave for their new post and again when they return, and in principle we also arrange for them to have an annual medical examination after they have arrived at their new post. In addition, if they need to receive vaccinations for tetanus, rabies, etc. when they are posted to an Asian country, we will pay for them.
We also covers the cost of vaccinations when they are required based on the laws, regulations, customs, or other circumstances of the employee’s assignment location.

Takara Holdings has built a sound labor-management relationship with the TaKaRa Labor Union, founded on mutual trust between employees and management. We regularly provide reports on business management and discuss labor conditions at meetings of the Labor-Management Council and various special committees on labor-management relations.

As part of our efforts to support work-life balance, we have introduced a remote work system that is available to all employees whose duties do not require them to work on-site. We have also established leave, absence, and flexible working arrangements for employees who are raising children or providing family care. In addition, consultation services are available, and individual meetings are conducted with employees to support the balance between work and childcare.
Furthermore, we support employees with health conditions so that they can continue receiving treatment while working with peace of mind. In collaboration with occupational health physicians and other healthcare professionals, we strive to create a supportive work environment and provide accommodations tailored to individual circumstances and needs, thereby promoting a workplace where all employees can work comfortably and thrive.

Each of the Takara Group companies is making efforts in line with an action plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children. Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International are working to maintain and improve the uptake of childcare leave by setting targets of achieving a childcare leave utilization rate of at least 85% among male employees and ensuring that at least 40% of male employees who take childcare leave take leave for one month or longer.
Takara Bio is also promoting initiatives aimed at creating a workplace environment that makes it easier for employees to take childcare leave and increasing the childcare leave utilization rate. In FY2025, the childcare leave utilization rate among male employees was 86.4% at Takara Holdings, Takara Shuzo, and Takara Shuzo International, and 78.9% at Takara Bio.

To realize Takara Group’s Vision, we need each and every employee to understand and sympathize with the goals and vision of the organization and to encourage them to voluntarily demonstrate their capabilities while bringing their diverse strengths together, and thereby maximize our ability to get things done as an organization. Recognizing that we cannot improve productivity or generate innovation without fostering a sense of satisfaction among our employees such as by improving their engagement, we have been conducting an employee engagement survey since fiscal year 2022, and the survey was conducted for the third in fiscal year 2026. In conducting the survey, in order to more accurately grasp the situation of the Company, we designed our own survey with the cooperation of external experts, using five indicators: “Company,” “Workplace,” “Supervisor,” “Job,” and “Systems.” We share the issues identified in the analysis of the survey with all our employees, including executives, and work to further improve employee engagement through initiatives under the company-wide project to reform our corporate culture and by strengthening career development support programs.