On March 4, 2021, Sojitz Corporation (“Sojitz”) was certified as a “White 500” company for the third consecutive year*¹for its efforts to actively promote employee health and implement superior health management systems under the 2021 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program organized by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Nippon Kenko Kaigi. This fiscal year, Sojitz has also been selected under the 2021 Health & Productivity Stock Selection Program in recognition of the company’s efforts to strategically implement health management for employees from a management perspective.

Sojitz Group believes the health of each and every one of its employees is foundational to “create value and prosperity” as set forth in its corporate statement, and the company established the “Sojitz Healthy Value” charter as part of its commitment to protect and improve the health of Sojitz employees and their families.

In particular, Sojitz has employed an industrial psychiatrist from April 2020 as one of the company’s health-related measures to prioritize mental health. Executive officers under the president and all line managers attended lectures given by the industrial psychiatrist to increase their understanding of mental health issues and take preventative measures. Sojitz’s industrial psychiatrist, managers, and HR Dept. are working together to seamlessly support those with mental health issues by facilitating their return to the workplace. Additionally, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sojitz has worked to increase available web-based medical diagnostics and health consultation services.

Sojitz will improve employee health through disease prevention measures that address cancer and other lifestyle diseases and help employees stop smoking, among other initiatives, as well as strengthen its policies to create a supportive environment for working employees who are receiving medical treatments. Through these efforts, Sojitz strives to improve health and productivity while simultaneously raising its corporate value.

[Related Information]
The Health & Productivity Stock Selection Program, which is jointly administered by METI and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), selects TSE-listed companies that demonstrate exceptional health management. The program aims to promote organizational health management by recognizing companies who have made strategic efforts to address employee health from a management perspective and by introducing these selected companies as attractive companies for investors who prioritize the improvement of corporate value from a long-term perspective.

The FY2020 Survey on the Health and Productivity Stock Selection assessed responses from 2523 companies in Japan based on five criteria: 1) the positioning of health and productivity management in management philosophy and policies, 2) organized frameworks established for tackling health and productivity management issues, 3) specific systems established for ensuring health-conscious management as well as measures introduced for implementation, 4) measures established for assessing and improving health and productivity management, and 5) adherence to laws and regulations and risk management. This fiscal year, 48 enterprises in 29 industries were selected as brands under the 2021 Health & Productivity Stock Selection after evaluation of survey results and financial performance, with Sojitz selected as one of two companies to represent the wholesale trade category.

*1: Please refer to Sojitz’s new releases dated February 27^th, 2019, and March 4^th, 2020.