We use LinkedIn for recruitment marketing to globally increase awareness of the Mitsui Chemicals Group and to recruit more diverse talent. We continuously publish news releases on the Mitsui Chemicals Group and profiles of our employees and products. As of June 2026, we have gained over 44,000 followers. We plan to reinforce our global recruitment by coordinated action through the entire Group.
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Human Resources Management
Human Resource Portfolio Transformation
Recruitment
Basic Policy on Recruitment
Our basic policy is to ensure fairness in recruitment without discrimination based on race, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, or other factors. We believe that acquiring talent that offers diversity in values, backgrounds, and skills will lead to new innovation and sustainable growth of the Group within the society.
Initiatives and Results
Concrete Measures to Ensure Fairness in Recruitment Activities
For greater fairness and equity in recruitment and to promote diversity, we have implemented the following actions starting in 2021.
- Students engaged in job hunting can choose not to answer gender questions in line with diversity requirements.
- They are no longer required to submit photo IDs, except for certain job types, to strengthen our efforts to recruit talented and motivated people regardless of gender or appearance.
- They are not required to conform with recruitment-oriented dress code at interviews to eliminate gender-based discrimination based on clothing.
In addition, training is provided to employees in charge of selection to ensure fairness.
Strengthening Mid-career Recruitment by Utilizing Various Approach Channels
We are driving the execution of important initiatives for VISION 2030, such as business portfolio transformation, overseas expansion, and acceleration of M&A, at a faster pace than ever before. Under such circumstances, the Mitsui Chemicals Group is actively recruiting personnel with experience and expertise in relevant areas from outside the company, in addition to training and utilizing its employees. Focusing on talent that helps to expand and deepen our areas of business, we have hired 475 career-track employees from fiscal 2022 to 2025, with 70% coming from outside the chemical industry. We are also considering introducing various recruitment methods, rather than being bound by conventional ones. We have implemented referral hiring, where hiring was done through referrals by our employees, and 32 employees were hired under this system between fiscal 2022 and 2025. Some of them are employees who have worked with us in the past, so-called “alumni” from the framework of our company, and have returned to work for us again. We will continue our efforts to acquire the talent essential for our growth through various approaches.
Training Programs for New Graduate Recruitment in Career Development
Mitsui Chemicals conducts a career education program for university freshmen and sophomores with the aim of fostering a career outlook and helping them understand jobs. Specifically, we invite students to our offices for hands-on workshops to think about business strategies, and offer various programs that give students the opportunity to interact with our employees and learn why working is rewarding and about the various future options available to them. These programs are well-received by the participating students, as they focus on helping the students better understand elements that help them make career choices, such as thinking methods necessary for business activities and keys to effective career planning, as well as providing them with insight into real business situations and the employees who are working there. We also believe that by helping students better understand our company through these initiatives, we will be able to match students with our company more accurately and attract excellent human resources in the future.
Number of Participants in Career Education Programs
Unit: Persons
| FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 33 | 26 | 30 | 37 |
Recruitment Marketing with LinkedIn
Talent and Organization Development
Training Programs for Developing Management Talent
In alignment with Mitsui Chemicals Group’s Long-Term Business Plan, our human resources strategy emphasizes securing a diverse range of managers and expanding the management talent pool as key initiatives. Therefore, we actively implement programs that enable participants to acquire a managerial perspective and appropriate management skills. 73 employees across the Mitsui Chemicals Group, representing diverse attributes, participate in these various training programs (including strategic thinking leadership training). Moving forward, we will continue to produce future executives through training suited to changes in the business environment and enhance our successor coverage rate, which we monitor as a KPI, to firmly maintain and expand our talent structure, leading VISION 2030.
Executive Coaching
This coaching program based on strategic dialogue is targeted at people who make management decisions, and is designed to create positive change in management activities over a span of roughly 10 months (12 hours of coaching per person). Before starting the program, specific tools are used to make participants more aware and visualize the impact that they are unconsciously having on the organization, how managers and members feel about their current conditions, and the ideals that they aspire to. The theme for the program is decided based on the organizational issues and leadership issues that have been identified. A professional coach accompanies the participants in executing a hands-on strategy. In addition, six months after the end of the coaching program, we provide opportunities to visualize the changes and apply the learnings for future management.
Global Leadership Program for Future Executives
To train future executives who are expected to be active in the Group on a global scale, the program aims to acquire management literacy and develop a global network. Traditionally, it has been conducted in collaboration with Mannheim Business School, one of Germany's business schools, and Hitotsubashi University Business School, focusing on enhancing strategic thinking and global leadership. To date, a total of 120 employees from the Mitsui Chemicals Group have participated in this ten-month program, gaining skills and forming networks for the future.
However, with the acceleration of VUCA, the required leadership style has evolved, leading to a revamp of this training program starting in fiscal 2024. The Group is recruiting next-generation future executives from across our global offices and, in collaboration with Korn Ferry, a consulting firm specializing in global organizational support and leadership development, is implementing an eight-month program that includes action learning. This unique program aims to develop leaders who can demonstrate enterprise leadership across a broader range, equipping them with the skills and mindset needed to excel in an increasingly turbulent world.
Two modules will be conducted in-person overseas, where participants will engage in experiential leadership programs and networking, while also beginning action learning. After virtual coaching sessions, the final module of the program will be held at the Company's headquarters, where participants will present their action learning themes to top management.
Global Manager Seminar
This program provides local leaders of the Group and its global companies with the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the Group's strategy and culture, and to acquire leadership skills. Candidates for general manager appointment from various global offices come together to acquire leadership skills through repeated experiences and reflections, while also deepening their networking. The program was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic but was refreshed and relaunched in fiscal 2023, with 19 participants (16 men, 3 women). We are planning to hold the next seminar in Japan in November 2026.
| Name of Training Program | FY2025 results | Cumulative Total |
|---|---|---|
| Global Leadership Program (For future executives of Mitsui Chemicals Group) | 20 (Conducted every two years) | 120 (From FY2012) |
Stratified Training
At Mitsui Chemicals, we conduct stratified training based on the skills and job awareness required for leadership at each level. Minimizing knowledge-cramming-style training, we expect our employees themselves to repeat cycles of experience and introspection, while acting proactively to meet their higher-level job requirements, and will support them in changing their behavior in ways that will produce results.
Training System (Japan)
Leadership Development Program
In order for talented human resources to demonstrate their abilities, regardless of time constraints caused by life events, such as childcare and nursing care, or differences in nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion, line managers need to improve their management skills. Mitsui Chemicals focuses on developing leadership skills to lead the organization toward an even better direction by incorporating coaching methods into training programs for each level of line manager training and by encouraging core leaders in each division to take specific and innovative actions in their daily business activities. The normalization of online training programs has enabled the participation of employees with time constraints due to parenting, nursing, and other life events, regardless of where their business sites are located, thereby realizing a training system that accommodates diversity.
Strategic Thinking Leadership Program
As a result of reviewing the requirements by position for the start of VISION 2030, we have introduced the new "Strategic Thinking Leadership" training in fiscal 2022. This is because directors must have the ability to lead change and have a managerial perspective to manage the Company and its businesses as a whole beyond the organization. In addition, starting in 2024, we introduced a program incorporating ROIC and capital cost perspectives to encourage a shift in behavior toward developing and implementing strategies, identifying challenges, and executing measures from the standpoint of enhancing corporate value. To achieve VISION 2030, we will develop leaders who will draw a strategic story from new perspectives and promote and execute the strategy.
Number of Leadership Development Training Participants
| Name of Training Program | FY2025 Results | Cumulative Total |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Thinking Leadership Training | 39 (Males: 36, Females: 3) | 147 (From FY2022) |
| Leadership Development Training | 81 (Males: 77, Females: 4) | 999 |
Key Achievements of Stratified Training (Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. registered employees in fiscal 2025)
| New Employee Training (Online and on site program) | |
|---|---|
| Details | In 2025, we held an on site entrance ceremony at our headquarters, followed by a social event aimed at team building among new employees, with executives in attendance. We carried out about one month of orientation training using a hybrid format that combined online and on site. New employees participated in the discovery training based on the principles from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," which focuses on developing professionals with roots (mind) and leaves (skills). They learned about each division’s strategy, the human resources system, and skills such as logical thinking and business etiquette. As the culmination of the training, a presentation session was held , integrating the learnings acquired over the course of the month. |
| No. of Trainees | 120 (Males: 75, Females: 45) |
| Total Training Hours | 18,400hrs |
| Basic Business Skills Training Programs (Online and on site) | |
| Details | To promote the development of the foundation for job performance capabilities, the “Issue-Setting and Problem-Solving Training,” which serves as the basis for logical and strategic thinking, and the “Basic Accounting and Management Training,” which serves as the foundation for managerial decision-making, have been designated as mandatory training programs to be completed prior to appointment as a management-level employee beginning in FY2025. |
| No. of Trainees | 492 (Males: 399, Females: 93) |
| Total Training Hours | 4,201hrs |
| Training for Newly-promoted Management Staff (Online) | |
| Details | Message from the management, understanding each role, and gaining an understanding of the results of a 180-degree survey and their own behavioral characteristics, and through feedback sessions, participants are encouraged to demonstrate the competencies expected of management-level employees. |
| No. of Trainees | 139 (Males: 109, Females: 30) |
| Total Training Hours | 1,065hrs |
| Line Manager Training Program (Online) | |
| Details | (1) Awareness of one's roles, labor management, mental health management, compliance, and diversity (understanding diversity such as LGBTQ, harassment, women's empowerment, etc.), (2) Subordinate development skills, and (3) Performance management |
| No. of Trainees | ① 108 (Male: 90, Female: 18) ② 104 (Male: 84, Female: 20) ③ 134 (Male: 114, Female: 20) |
| Total Training Hours | (1) 648hrs (2)745hrs (3) 268hrs |
Career Training
The role of companies in the era of the 100-year lifespan is shifting from “continued employment” to “career development.” In order to improve employee engagement, it is essential to create a framework for further career and growth opportunities. Based on our basic human resource development policy of “self-initiative, autonomy, and collaboration,” we launched the “Autonomous Career Development Promotion” in fiscal 2022 to embody the independence and autonomy of each and every employee.
Key Achievements of Career Training (Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. registered employees in fiscal 2025)
| Name of Training Program | Program objectives | Number of participants | Male participants | Female participants | Training Hours (hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Leadership Program (The Seven Habits) | Based on Stephen R. Covey's “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” learn perspectives and attitudes that will help you achieve long-term and effective results. | 16 | 9 | 7 | 229 |
| Self-Leadership Program (Self Empowerment) | To recognize one's own leadership, to think about the meaning of work and one's own guiding principles, and to connect them to actions to be taken tomorrow. | 19 | 15 | 4 | 285 |
| Career Workshop (by Generation) | Pursue personal potential and design future careers according to career challenges specific to each generation. | 37 | 26 | 11 | 265 |
| Career development workshop for employees in their 50s | Provide opportunities before retirement age to consider post-60 life and career, serving as preparation for future career development. | 581 | 541 | 40 | 2,021 |
Digital Transformation (DX) Training
As a basic strategy for promoting DX under VISION 2030, Mitsui Chemicals aims to improve our digital literacy and shift to a data-driven organizational culture by improving the literacy of all employees and training them to acquire specialized skills. In fiscal 2021, as part of our endeavors to improve the digital literacy of all employees, we defined four levels for DX talent from 0 to 3, created a talent development plan based on the skills to be acquired at each level, and began implementing the plan.
By the end of fiscal 2025, more than 11,000 people, including directors, Audit & Supervisory Board Members, and members at overseas sites, had completed Level 0, the basic level for understanding the importance of DX and data utilization. In addition, more than 4,000 people had completed Level 1, the level at which they can perform data analysis under the instruction of a superior.
Furthermore, from among those who completed Level 1, we selected individuals to advance to Level 2, where they can independently conduct data analysis, and promote the in-house development of worksite data scientists who utilize data to drive problem-solving. As a result, in March 2026, we achieved the goal of training 165 DX specialists by fiscal 2025, which had been established in 2021 as a non-financial metric.
We will continue to develop DX specialists going forward. At the same time, we will shift our focus toward supporting their active contribution, review educational content in response to emerging technological trends such as generative AI, and accelerate the implementation of initiatives for business transformation and value creation.
Key Talent Management
Overview of Key Talent Management
As part of our efforts to accelerate the identification and development of future executives, the Mitsui Chemicals Group introduced and has operated Key Talent Management as a Group-wide and global framework since fiscal 2016. The Mitsui Chemicals Group defines candidates for critical positions such as division heads and above at Mitsui Chemicals, and presidents of large affiliates who are expected to lead the transformation of our business portfolio with a focus on social issues, or who can simultaneously achieve new insights and transformations in building solution-based business models utilizing global expansion and M&A, as "Future Executives*1" and "Key Talent*2."
*1 Our group employees who are future CxO or sector president candidates at Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
*2 Our group employees who are future general manager candidates at Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Key Talent Management Implementation System
According to the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, "Key Talent Management" is positioned at the core of the system that ensures the effectiveness of the succession planning for senior management (CxOs and sector presidents). These activities are appropriately monitored by the Board of Directors.
Key Talent Management clarifies the qualities required for executives and carries out early selection and strategic development of "Future Executives" and "Key Talent." Every year, all members of senior management, including the President/CEO, CxOs, sector presidents, and general managers of each business division and office, participate in Function and Corporate Key Talent Management Committees as consultative members. At the Group and global levels, they select next-generation talent, formulate development plans for each candidate, and spend time discussing their details. In addition, to grasp the direction and readiness of the development, we conduct assessments using external specialized agencies and create opportunities for development and placement to accelerate the appropriate development of each candidate. We established the "Key Talent Management Code," which defines the specific achievements required in each position with a view toward promoting future executives. This code defines five key outcomes expected of executives, including M&A, new business creation, and strategic planning from a group and global perspective. As changes in the internal and external environment intensify, management executives who drive business portfolio transformation and Building solutions-based business models are increasingly expected to perform a wider range of sophisticated roles and possess greater expertise. In developing future leadership candidates, we prioritize assigning necessary experience (assignments) for each position based on this code, and we are accelerating development in alignment with the intended career trajectory.
Additionally, we have set as non-financial KPIs in VISION 2030 the ratio of diversified executive officers (at least three women and at least ten non-Japanese and career hires), and are working to build a diverse talent pool.
Successor Selection and Development for Critical Positions
The critical positions for implementing each strategy and positions for which assignment should be promoted (to train next-generation future executives) are being identified and approved by the Corporate Key Talent Management Committee, and successors are being planned for such development positions. The committee also creates succession planning for these positions. We have identified some 100 critical positions and development positions across the world, and are actively acquiring suitable human resources from inside and outside the Group to fit them.
The progress of key talent management and succession planning for critical positions is periodically reported to the Board of Directors. Doing so enables the Board to monitor the progress of talent pipeline development periodically and objectively. We are also proactive in making suggestions from the aspect of strengthening the pool of human resources who will be considered by the Nomination Committee for the nomination of director candidates, thus creating a framework with strong capabilities for the whole Group.
Key Talent Management Processes
Key Talent Management Assessment System
*1 The proportion of Group employees who are future CxO or sector president candidates at Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
*2 The proportion of Group employees who are future general manager candidates at Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Qualification and Experience Required for Future Executives
For each CxO and sector president position, we define the expected roles, competencies, qualities, and experience, and use them as the criteria for selecting successor candidates.
Progress and Future Prospects
| Progress in FY2025 |
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| Plans for FY2026 |
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Successor Coverage Rate / Number of Executive Officers with Diverse Backgrounds
The successor coverage rate* shows the percentage of secured successor candidates versus the number of critical positions to achieving company-wide strategies. The rate is regularly monitored. Today, many companies are working on succession plans and succession planning in order to avoid the risks associated with the absence of successors. We have established the successor coverage rate as a non-financial metric in VISION 2030, and publish it externally so that we can quantitatively grasp its status and ensure its effectiveness. We have also set the number of executive officers with diverse backgrounds as a non-financial metric (executive officers in 2030: at least three women and at least ten non-Japanese and mid-career hires). This has been done not only to ensure continuous and stable development of successors, but also to manage the effectiveness of key talent management from the perspective of diversity. As of April 2026, the number of diverse individuals among our executive officers has increased to seven. (As of April 2025, five people)
*Successor Coverage Rate:
The number of successor candidates for critical positions / The number of critical positions.
Successor Coverage Rate for Critical Positions
