With an Eye to the Future, Assessing the Needs of Our Customers and Solving Challenges in Society
The Shimadzu Group has embraced the pursuit of planetary health (well-being of mankind and the Earth). In our medium-term management plan, we intend to be an innovative company that solves social issues with global partners. To realize this vision, we believe it is essential to build an organization that leverages diversity and fosters a workplace where employees can stay healthy, feel engaged, and thrive. Accordingly, we are advancing initiatives in both diversity management and health management as key components of our overall strategy.
Review of Two Years of the Medium-Term Management Plan
Under our medium-term management plan, we have advanced initiatives tailored to attributes such as gender, age, disability, and nationality, while promoting DE&I by leveraging the unique strengths of each individual. On a non-consolidated basis, we are promoting measures to support women’s advancement, with the goal of achieving a 6% ratio of women in management positions by FY2025. As of March 2025, the ratio reached at 5.8%, exceeding the target of 5.6%. In our engagement survey, the non-consolidated inclusion index also received a strong result of 59%, surpassing the 2025 target of 50% or higher. Shimadzu has been recognized as a Nadeshiko Brand, and received a 3-Star Eruboshi ranking, a Platinum Kurumin, and a Work with PRIDE Silver award. Further, DE&I initiatives have been launched in earnest across the Group as a whole. In FY2024, the percentage of Group companies that established DE&I KPIs reached 78%, significantly exceeding the target of 50%.
Challenges in Promoting DE&I Understanding and Practicing Diversity Management
Current challenges include: (1) promoting understanding of DE&I, and (2) implementing diversity management at the workplace level.
Understanding of women’s advancement initiatives is gradually improving. However, feedback suggests that support systems in the workplace remain insufficient. Management plays a central role in building an organization that harnesses the strengths of every individual. Ensuring that managers fully understand DE&I, internalize its importance, and practice inclusive leadership is a top priority. These efforts began with DE&I management training. In FY2024, the program was launched for the presidents of Group companies in Japan. In FY2025, the training will be extended to managerial-level employees at Shimadzu Corporation, beginning with general managers. The program helps participants identify their own biases and obstacles, and supports the ongoing implementation of the DE&I initiatives they designed during the training. The goal is to drive DE&I through a three-step approach: knowledge, awareness, and action. We are also implementing supervisor-participation programs to support the development of future female management candidates.
Promoting diversity management requires the understanding and engagement of all stakeholders. To advance DE&I across the organization, we are conducting unconscious bias training for executives and hosting interactive workshops that encourage openness to differences and collaborative thinking. These efforts aim to deepen understanding of DE&I across all organizational levels and advance diversity management.
Shimadzu Group’s Vision for DE&I
While DE&I promotion faces headwinds in North America, they remain a critical focus in Japan. In a societal context where male-dominated organizational structures and traditional gender role expectations still persist, promoting women’s participation continues to be one of the key pillars of our DE&I strategy. However, we recognize the need to go beyond numeric targets. It is equally important to refine our initiatives through the lens of talent development and by fostering genuine inclusion. Our vision for DE&I is to enhance employee engagement and support the mutual growth of both the Shimadzu Group and its employees. We aim to achieve this by improving the quality of strategic, operational, and managerial decision-making through the active involvement of diverse talent and the cultivation of cognitive diversity. At the same time, we strive to drive innovation with a forward-looking perspective.
Advancing Health Management to the Next Level
In recent years, social challenges such as the declining birthrate, aging population, and the growing strain on long-term care and health insurance systems have become increasingly serious. In response, the Shimadzu Group raised the retirement age to 65 in FY2024. We are actively working to create a healthy and secure working environment, while also supporting the maintenance and improvement of health for both our employees and their families.
In addition to supporting health-related events and health management initiatives at our domestic Group companies, we have introduced a health examination subsidy program that utilizes Shimadzu’s proprietary healthcare technologies. Leveraging the strengths of our healthcare business, we offer services such as screening tests for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and examinations using our dedicated breast PET system, providing direct benefits to our employees and their families.
However, verifying the effectiveness of these health initiatives remains a challenge. To address this, we are analyzing past health data and employee survey results to gain a clearer understanding of physical and mental health levels and to assess the impact of our programs. Based on these insights, we are implementing targeted measures to address health issues at both the individual and organizational levels. Looking ahead, we will further enhance data-driven evaluation and promote evidence-based health management, while strengthening external collaborations to advance health and productivity management that remains one step ahead.
Aiming to Foster a Corporate Culture Where DE&I Is Second Nature
We believe that the ideal state of DE&I is one in which it is fully embedded in our corporate culture̶where leveraging the strengths of each individual happens naturally, without the need to explicitly refer to it. While achieving this will take time, we are committed to pursuing it with steadfast determination. We aim to sustainably enhance our corporate value and promote the well-being of our employees, in order to meet the expectations of our stakeholders.
Career History
| Apr. 1984 | Joined Shimadzu Corporation | |
| Oct. 2007 | General Manager, Export Management Department, Shimadzu International, Inc. | |
| Oct. 2013 | General Manager, Export Management Department, Shimadzu International, Inc. and concurrently Senior Manager, Business Process Re-engineering Unit, Business Systems Management Department | |
| Jan. 2014 | Representative Director, President, Shimadzu International, Inc. | |
| Jun. 2017 | Corporate Officer, General Manager, Public Relations Department | |
| Apr. 2019 | Corporate Officer, General Manager, Corporate Communication Department | |
| Apr. 2021 |
Managing Executive Officer in charge of Human Resources, Diversity Management, and Health Management |
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| Apr. 2024 | Managing Executive Officer in charge of Legal Affairs, Diversity Management, and Health Management (current) |
