SustainabilityCPSO Message

We are dedicated to nurturing a sustainable future while continually enhancing corporate value, in order to be the customer’s indispensable No.1 partner. Spearheading this mission is the Sustainability Promotion Headquarters, which is committed to realizing a sustainable society in harmony with TDK’s Long-term Vision of “TDK Transformation,” in order to accelerate transformation for a sustainable future.
To fulfill this agenda, we foster a culture of My Sustainability Action (MSA), where each team member (employee) is empowered to act with personal dedication and a proactive desire to contribute. This ethos extends beyond mere compliance to encompass a broader range of global issues, making sustainability a personal responsibility for all TDK team members.
Since the establishment of SPHQ, we have cultivated a system where frontline members actively consider how to leverage our technology to address diverse challenges, integrating these solutions into our business strategies. Rather than viewing sustainability initiatives as mere costs, we have embraced them as opportunities for innovation and future growth.

In the upcoming fiscal year, my focus will center on three key areas outlined in our Medium-term Plan: fostering engagement for value creation through MSA, strengthening our social responsibility management system, and addressing global environmental challenges.
I plan to enhance team member engagement by leveraging our Group’s shared platforms, such as MSA and MSA Guides while also promoting internal and external initiatives through the DX for Sustainability+ project. Over the past five years, we have undertaken more than 80 projects as part of our global management development programs, with approximately one-third of them touching on sustainability in some capacity. These projects have played a crucial role in raising awareness among our members, fostering a common understanding of sustainability within the Group.
Moving forward, I aim to accelerate TDK’s sustainability transformation by further encouraging active participation in our projects. For me, sustainability encompasses achieving a balance between environmental and social concerns and economic prosperity. I believe that prioritizing the continuous development and well-being of our team members is key to establishing TDK as a sustainable organization—one that contributes to building a sustainable company, society, and future.

TDK has set transformation through the promotion of the active participation and development of diverse human resources as one of the company’s key issues (materialities) in working toward the realization of our long-term vision. We particularly focus on enhancing team member engagement to bolster sustainable human capital for continued growth and development. Under my leadership, I aim to foster a corporate culture that values diversity, promotes inclusive leadership, and empowers all team members to make meaningful impacts.
Success cannot be achieved by working in isolation or within organizational silos. We all share responsibilities as members of the TDK Group, and it is essential to connect and collaborate across departments and organizational boundaries to thrive.

My critical tasks toward promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization are to appoint leaders from amongst the members of the TDK team with diverse backgrounds and to cultivate inclusive leadership styles. When leaders draw upon their varied experiences and knowledge to demonstrate inclusive leadership across all levels and workplaces, it accelerates the transformation of the entire Group. I am also aiming to enhance our organizational capabilities to drive innovation and efficiency. Additionally, I am committed to further improving the health and engagement of our team members. I also believe that it is crucial to put the above commitments into practice while upholding human rights and addressing environmental and societal challenges such as climate change.

TDK actively engage in initiatives to develop the next generation of business entrepreneurs and planning for succession through a variety of programs, including the Global Management Development Programs and TDK Kindergarten, a development program for internal start-ups. Guided by our principles of Empowerment and Transparency, we ensure that all Group companies are undertaking initiatives to develop leaders under the same objectives, while encouraging each company and leader to engage in initiatives autonomously regarding the specifics of plans and on-site management. This approach, underpinned by mutual support and the sharing of progress and information, is essential for the success of inclusive leadership.
One aspect that concerns me is how we can sustain our progress while considering the global landscape.
Japanese companies tend to seek to adopt Western management styles when expanding globally. However, I firmly believe that TDK’s true success lies in our capability to blend both approaches. That is why our top leadership program, the Global Executive Management Program (GEMP), collaborates with both a Western business school in Barcelona and a graduate school in Tokyo. In the last leadership program session, roughly half of the participants were Japanese, with the other half coming from various countries worldwide, resulting in a diverse mix. Each participant had the opportunity to learn from different approaches, fostering a rich exchange of ideas. I am committed to ensuring that we continue this balanced approach, rather than focusing too heavily on one perspective over the other.
Reflecting on our company’s growth and workforce demographics, when I joined TDK in 2000, we had roughly 35,000 members. Now, we have around 100,000 members. Since then, numerous companies have joined us through mergers and acquisitions. About 80% of our members joined TDK through M&A activities. Of the roughly 100,000 members, about 11,000 are based in Japan, with the remaining 90,000 located outside of Japan. This diversity is what makes TDK so unique. I have noticed that human resources leaders from other Japanese global companies have been reaching out to us, interested in learning how we manage such a diverse population. This uniqueness gives us a significant advantage compared to our competitors.

To achieve our vision of becoming our customers’ No.1 partner, we must transition from a product-out approach to one centered on discussing and co-creating various futures with them. This shift requires foresight capabilities, where each team member envisions potential market scenarios. I believe the following three approaches can enhance our team members’ future envisioning capabilities.
Firstly, we aim to foster an environment that encourages innovation. By decentralizing authority to our subsidiaries and implementing programs like TDK Kindergarten we encourage creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. Through this program, TDK’s first internal start-up business has been underway, which aims to solve electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) for consumer electronic companies. We will will continuecontinue the the programTDK Kindergarten program and we wish for our team members to express their own creativity to to bring out the creativity and future vision of our team membershelp give shape to our vision for the future.
Secondly, we prioritize knowledge sharing and collaboration across regions and divisions through Weconnect, a group-wide e-Learning platform. This platform facilitates the creation and dissemination of courses, enabling members to acquire skills quickly and efficiently. For instance, our global leaders collaborated to develop standardized quality training modules. These modules were created through working groups, validated by our headquarters, and then translated into multiple languages for global accessibility. This streamlined process ensures that all team members can swiftly access and exchange the knowledge and skills essential to TDK. Furthermore, these courses undergo continuous evaluation and improvement, allowing us to maintain updated and relevant content. By doing so, we not only enhance individual capacity for future envisioning and proposal-making but also foster collaboration by co-creating new courses with colleagues worldwide.
Lastly, we focus on improving team member engagement and well-being. Through events, engagement surveys, and initiatives promoting empowerment and transparency, we create an environment where every team member feels valued and can contribute meaningfully.
Implementing these programs that prioritize our principles of Empowerment and Transparency enables TDK to gain insight into the perspectives and experiences of each team member. This allows us to promptly identify and address any issues that arise.
For example, during last year’s engagement survey across all Group companies, many team members reported that they had encountering encountered procedural barriers issues when attempting to engage with tasks topics which went beyond the scope of individual companies to encompass the entire Group. beyond their company’s scopeIn response, we introduced a global IT system to digitize decision-making processes, improving organizational efficiency. This initiative exemplifies our commitment to the PDCA cycle, where we use survey results to pinpoint on-site and organizational issues and implement effective solutions.
Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen both individual and organizational foresight capabilities, fostering a cohesive team dedicated to our shared goals while empowering each member to implement their own MSA by thinking and acting proactively.

By default, I am not an expert on sustainability. When I first started, I was not an expert in human resources either; my background was in supply chain management. However, thanks to the knowledgeable members at TDK, I am learning something new every day.
Shortly after assuming the role of General Manager of Human Resources HQ in 2017, I recognized the critical importance of globally enhancing our human resources development to fortify the Group’s organizational structure. This realization, informed by my background in supply chain management, spurred me to devise a plan to appoint human resources leaders from Group companies and regions worldwide. Presenting this proposal to the then-president Ishiguro, he promptly granted me the authority to proceed with the initiative.
Subsequently, I delegated authority to human resources leaders from our U.S., Asian and European Group companies for various global projects, emphasizing their autonomy in project management while collaborating closely with me. This approach empowered them to present their initiatives directly to management and the CEO, instilling a sense of responsibility and pride in their newfound roles, which, in turn, fueled their motivation and yielded positive outcomes. Consequently, we fostered an organizational culture characterized by Empowerment and Transparency.
This cultural shift, combined with our distinct approaches to team management, brought about a transformation within our Human Resources HQ. Previously comprising solely Japanese members, the HQ now boasts approximately 20 non-Japanese managers and leaders, reflecting a more diverse composition.
In April 2023, I was appointed Chief People and Sustainability Officer. As the head of Human Resources HQ, I perceive the significance of this role lies in the inherent connection between “people” and “sustainability.”
Having witnessed firsthand how fostering connections and nurturing individual growth generates value and opens avenues for new possibilities, I firmly believe that human resources are indispensable for both the sustainability and growth of our company and society.
I am committed to my ongoing personal growth in tandem with TDK’s development, as together, we continue our transformative journey.
Our vision is to establish an autonomous and sustainable organization where our talented leaders inspire and empower their team members to think and act independently, guided by the principle of “Empower Minds, Ignite Action.”
To address areas for improvement, we will enhance and leverage our Group’s common communication platforms to foster cross-cultural understanding and embrace a feedback culture. Additionally, we aim to enhance operational efficiency by promoting greater transparency through increased sharing of information and evaluations with senior leaders and executives.
Achieving these objectives necessitates harnessing the strengths of Europe, America, Asia, and Japan to bolster our readiness to navigate any global business environment. I see it as my mission to propose and implement effective initiatives in pursuit of these goals, and I am fully committed to realizing them.
By integrating our human resources and sustainability initiatives, we are now poised to swiftly advance TDK Transformation, paving the way for a future of sustainable growth and innovation.