Human Capital Management Consortium to Be Established

1. Background to the establishment of the Human Capital Management Consortium

(1) Human capital management

There is increasing attention on human capital management, which will lead to medium- to long-term improvement of corporate value by looking at human resources as "capital" and maximizing their value. The Corporate Governance Code, which was revised in June 2021, states among other things that companies should disclose specific information regarding human capital investment, while being aware of its consistency with their management strategies and issues. Then, in May 2022, METI released the “Ito Report 2.0 for Human Capital Management”, which summarizes its importance and efforts and creative measures taken to put human capital management into practice.

(2) Discussions on disclosing human capital information in Japan and abroad

Amid the growing importance of human capital in corporate value assessment, discussions are taking place both at home and abroad about how companies should disclose their human capital information.
In Japan, the focus is on how to further disclose human capital information. Approaches proposed include describing in annual securities reports a human capital development policy or internal environment improvement policy based on the importance of human capital strategy in the medium- to long-term improvement of corporate value, and specifying the proportion of women in management positions, the gender wage gap, and other indices as disclosure items. In addition to that, the Cabinet Secretariat has formed the Study Group on Visualizing Non-financial Information, which is making progress on considering guidelines to serve as a reference for corporate management when making human capital information visible.
Looking abroad, the IFRS Foundation announced in November 2021 that it would create the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), a group that is developing disclosure standards for sustainability-related information. They are considering climate-related standards first but will likely develop ones for other items as well.

2. Outline of the Human Capital Management Consortium

To sustainably increase corporate value, management must spearhead formulating and implementing human capital strategies that contribute to their companies' medium- to long-term growth, and they must also explain the policies they create in conversations with investors and in integrated reports for stakeholders.
For this reason, Mr. ITO Kunio, Director of Hitotsubashi University CFO Education and Research Center, and six other founders proposed the establishment of the Human Capital Management Consortium. Its inaugural general meeting will be held on August 25 (Thu.), 2022.

The Consortium will also establish, under its general meeting, committees for planning, implementing, and information disclosure. Through the work of these committees, they plan to share progressive case examples of human capital management practices, hold discussions toward intercompany cooperation, and explore effective ways to disclose information. They will also establish a platform for talks with investors. METI and the Financial Services Agency (FSA) will participate in the Consortium as observers.
The Consortium's work is expected to attract international funding for Japanese companies actively investing in people, thereby leading to further growth.

3. The Consortium's founders

• Mr. ITO Kunio, Director of Hitotsubashi University CFO Education and Research Center [Representative Founder].
• Mr. ISOZAKI Yoshinori, President and CEO, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited.
• Mr. KITAMURA Yoshihiro, President and Representative Director, Recruit Co., Ltd.
• Mr. SAKURADA Kengo, Group CEO, Director, Chairman and Representative Executive Officer, Sompo Holdings, Inc.
• Mr. HIGASHIHARA Toshiaki, Executive Chairman, Representative Executive Officer and Director, Hitachi, Ltd.
• Mr. YOSHIDA Kenichiro, Chairman, President and CEO, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Group Corporation.
• Mr. SUGANO Akira, President and CEO, Asset Management One Co., Ltd.

4. About the inaugural general meeting

Date:

August 25 (Thu.), 10:00-12:00

Venue:

Otemachi PLACE Conference Center (subject to change)

5. How to join the Consortium

Corporations that will endorse the purpose of the Consortium's establishment and that make progressive efforts toward human capital management practices and disclosures—and that are willing to share the content of those efforts—are invited to join the Consortium via the Membership Application Form. (Applicants must confirm the Endorsements and Commitments within the Membership Application Form.)
Corporations joining the Consortium are expected to meet the following three criteria:

• Having business facilities within Japan and currently doing business here
• Making human capital-related efforts for a significant number of employees.
• Disclosing human capital information in securities reports, integrated reports, etc.

Please submit your Membership Application Form to the email address below (the Human Capital Management Consortium contact email address).

Membership Application Form:

Download here (in Japanese)

Submit to:

Human Capital Management Consortium contact email address

Submission deadline:

August 12 (Fri.)

Related materials

• Human Capital Management Consortium Establishment Prospectus and Guide (in Japanese)(PDF:551KB)

Division in Charge

Human Resources Policy Office, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau