The TOPPAN Group regards human rights as a paramount principle guiding its business activities and sustainability initiatives.

We continue to operate our business under the foundational tenet of “respect for human beings.” A TOPPAN Group Human Rights Policy based on this tenet was formulated in October 2021. Respect for human beings, or more specifically respect for human rights, is required as the first behavioral norm set under the TOPPAN Group Conduct Guidelines. Basic Principle 1 of the guidelines includes protecting individual dignity, prohibiting discrimination and harassment, prohibiting child labor and forced labor, and promoting diversity and inclusion.

We have also been taking measures to avoid human rights violations that might adversely affect the lives of people living near Group sites in the course of business. Our environmental conservation initiatives, for example, are promoted based on the TOPPAN Group Declaration on the Global Environment and the Basic Policy on Biodiversity.

Supporting Human Rights Principles under the UN Global Compact

We have been participating in the United Nations Global Compact and therefore supporting its six principles of human rights and labour since 2006.

Promotion FrameworkBack to Top

We have established a Groupwide framework for promoting human rights initiatives led by the Corporate ESG Project, a cross-divisional team driving sustainability activities under the Sustainability Promotion Committee chaired by the President & Representative Director. The Board of Directors supervises key human rights efforts, while the head of the Personnel & Labor Relations Division oversees their implementation. The Personnel & Labor Relations Division, Manufacturing Management Division, and Legal Division steer day-to-day human rights activities in collaboration with related departments throughout the Group.

Human Rights Due DiligenceBack to Top

TOPPAN supports the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and recognizes the need for due diligence to ensure human rights. We have clarified and evaluated human rights risks in the printing industry and identified five risks specific to us, in accordance with the TOPPAN Group Human Rights Policy formulated in October 2021.

In FY2023, we conducted surveys and interviews with TOPPAN Group stakeholders, focusing on the five human rights risks that we identified. For group companies, in addition to written human rights risk surveys and analyses of 72 domestic and 100 overseas companies, we conducted on-site assessments for 8 domestic and 1 overseas company to identify the actual situation. We also conducted desktop and on-site assessments and interviews with business partners in our supply chain. In addition, we advanced efforts to reduce human rights risks by providing feedback on items that could entail human rights risks, as well as examples of corrective measures. The results of the surveys and analyses were reported to the Board of Directors and the Sustainability Promotion Committee, where future initiatives were discussed.

Further, in FY2023, we continued to participate in the Human Rights Due Diligence subcommittee and the Human Rights Education subcommittee of the Global Compact Network Japan, deepening our understanding of social trends and initiatives by leading companies.

Identifying Human Rights Risks in the Printing Industry

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We have categorized human rights issues by prioritizing human rights risks as they relate to the characteristics of our businesses, competitor trends, and international human rights standards. Five core human rights risks facing us have been identified through the process: the four risks shown above in red and “human rights governance across the Group” (not shown in the list).

Results of Human Rights Due Diligence

Fiscal 2023 Human Rights Risk Assessment at the TOPPAN Group

Follow-up Assessments

A detailed analysis of the human rights risk assessment results revealed no severe risks requiring immediate attention, no violations of local laws or international norms, and no apparent negative impacts on human rights. Consequently, we have not implemented any remedial measures. However, for potential future risks, we are taking corrective and preventive measures at each site. Based on the 2023 human rights risk assessment result, we prioritized companies with a non-negligible potential for negative human rights impacts. We implemented the following measures for 8 domestic companies and 1 overseas company during fiscal 2023. We will continue these efforts in fiscal 2024.

Grievance Mechanism

Upon detecting a negative human rights impact caused or contributed to by our business activities, we will work to remedy the issue through appropriate means. If the negative impact is found to be directly linked to our corporate activities through business relationships, we will work with the relevant stakeholders to fulfill our role in remediation.

The TOPPAN Group Helpline has been established as an internal reporting system to be used by Group employees when an infringement of human rights is suspected or discovered. We also operate a Supplier Hotline open to business partners for the anonymous reporting of related matters.

Human Rights Training and Harassment PreventionBack to Top

We organize diverse forms of human rights training for human assets based on a fundamental ethos of respect for human beings.

While new managers and supervisors have been routinely trained on human rights issues focused on harassment prevention, a new program for the prevention of workplace harassment covers employees under an agreement on harassment prevention reached with the Toppan Printing Labour Union in April 2020. Personnel & labor relations departments at Toppan Inc. and Group companies in Japan have set up consultation desks to manage workplace harassment. The departments train counselors on methods to prevent harassment and strictly deal with every case. If any form of harassment comes to light, the departments will investigate the case appropriately, mainly through interviews with the parties involved, and strive to resolve the matter promptly through measures such as corrective or disciplinary actions against the persons responsible.

The Conduct Guidelines Promotion Leaders also present case studies on human rights issues as a means of disseminating the Conduct Guidelines at their assigned workplaces and enhancing the understanding of human rights across the Group.

In fiscal 2022 we informed employees at Group companies of the TOPPAN Group Human Rights Policy and organized training on human rights issues recently faced in society. Based on the results of human-rights risk assessments carried out in fiscal 2022, we conducted training for employees of Toppan Inc. and selected Group companies to further their understanding of human rights risks.

Labor RightsBack to Top

Labor-Management Initiatives for Human Rights

We undertake various measures for labor-related human rights based on a basic policy arising from an agreement reached through consultation with the labor union and other stakeholders.

The agreement promotes stable labor-management relations, maintains and improves working conditions, and secures the corporate concord by establishing a fundamental approach between labor and management, the rules governing union activities and labor-management negotiations, and employment conditions pertaining to wages, working hours, etc.

Developing Appropriate Working Conditions

We convene labor-management committees every month to review the actual working hours of employees and discuss measures to regulate them at each Group site. The committees check and take steps to ameliorate cases of long working hours occurring either chronically or over extended periods. The measures for reducing overtime work range from direct communications, such as the sending of alerts to employees and their superiors through our work management system, to environmental adjustments, such as scheduled shutdowns for PCs and office lighting.

We also strive to adapt to the “new normal” in the post-pandemic world and develop appropriate working conditions that support the autonomy of individual employees on all fronts. Smart work and remote work systems have been introduced throughout the Group, along with smart devices that can be used in the same ways inside and outside of office environments.

Securing Occupational Safety and Health

Safety masters, safety personnel, employees in charge of engineering and safety, and other safety experts have been deployed to operational sites across Japan under the safety promotion structure of the Group. We organize safety training for all Group employees, both regular and contract hires, as prescribed by the Basic Policy on Safety, Health, and Fire Protection, a policy that prioritizes safety over all other considerations. Training content is extensive, including safety programs mainly for forepersons as well as enhancement of intrinsic safety for machines and equipment through risk assessment. Anzen Dojo safety-training facilities outfitted to simulate and alert employees to workplace hazards are operated at seven Group sites around the world. A cumulative total of 38,712 persons have received dojo training since the facilities opened, as part of an ongoing effort to refine Groupwide safety promotion activities for the prevention of occupational accidents. We also work with industrial physicians and the TOPPAN Group Health Insurance Union to drive primary prevention activities aimed at securing workplaces to be free of mental health problems.

Pursuing Diversity and Inclusion

We position diversity and inclusion initiatives as critical management strategies to further advance our progress as a group of corporations that create social value. Constant dialogue and heightened awareness have been facilitated to ensure mutual respect and create psychologically safe workplaces where every person can speak and act with dignity and without inhibition. We provide employees with support systems to balance their work with childcare and nursing care burdens, promote the employment of people with disabilities, and take positive action to assure gender-equal treatment. These measures have led to increases in the percentage of persons with disabilities in the workforce and the number of female managers and supervisors.

We also implement various LGBTQ initiatives to incentivize every employee to create inclusive environments in which all persons can feel at ease. In addition to holding LGBTQ seminars open to employees across the Group, the TOPPAN ALLY initiative has been organized to encourage employees to express their alliance with LGBTQ individuals. A system has also been introduced to extend the benefits granted to employee spouses to same-sex and/or common-law partners.

Arranging Self-directed Career- and Skill-enhancement Programs

Toppan Inc. operates an annual Challenging Job System, a self-directed program to encourage all regular employees to consider their own career aspirations and develop skill-enhancement plans. The Company expects this system to enhance the autonomy and independence of employees and to nourish a problem-solving, can-do mindset. By assigning human assets to positions suited to their individual motivations and qualifications, the system optimizes personnel positioning across the Company to energize each organization and reinforce Toppan Inc. as a whole.

The system also gives employees periodic opportunities to exchange opinions with superiors on their career- and skill-enhancement plans. The structured approach to career planning helps employees design their own career paths and develop necessary competencies on their own initiative.

The Company has also been running an in-house staff recruitment system to provide every employee with an equal opportunity for skill enhancement.

Paying Appropriate Wages

We pay appropriate wages to Group employees by considering the local living costs and observing the minimum wages set under the laws and regulations of each country or region. In addition to providing the monetary remuneration and welfare and benefits legally required, we offer non-monetary support such as programs for enhanced job satisfaction, self-actualization, and career development. The average annual salary at TOPPAN Holdings Inc. was 7.56 million yen in fiscal 2023. The Company’s remuneration system for determining employee wages is based on the individual’s capabilities and roles and imposes no differential standards based on gender. Remuneration is also determined uniformly across the Group companies in Japan based on similar criteria.

In 2024, we self-checked and confirmed that the FY2023 salaries paid to employees by TOPPAN Holdings Inc. and its domestic Group companies were designed to exceed the living wages outlined in the "2021 Rengo Living Wage Report" and the "Rengo Living Wage (2023 Simplified Revision)" published by the Japan Trade Union Confederation (JTUC).

* The Rengo Living Wage, as published by the JTUC, calculates the minimum wage level necessary for workers to live a healthy and cultured life, reproduce the labor force, and maintain social dignity. The living wage consists of taxes, social insurance premiums, and automobile-related expenses, in addition to the costs of 10 essential items: 1) food, 2) housing, 3) utilities and water, 4) furniture and household utensils, 5) clothing and footwear, 6) health and medical expenses, 7) transportation and communication expenses, 8) education expenses, 9) education and entertainment expenses, and 10) other expenses (social activities, pocket money).

Gender Pay Gap at the TOPPAN Group

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Calculated based on the provisions of the Japanese Act on the Promotion of Female Participation and Career Advancement in the Workplace (Act no. 64 of 2015). The calculation method applied to overseas subsidiaries conforms to the standards presented in the act.

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“Wages” include wages, salaries, allowances, and any other payments (whatever they are called) paid by the employer to workers as compensation for their labor.

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The totals for “Toppan Inc. and consolidated subsidiaries worldwide” are tabulated from the weighted averages reported by Toppan Inc. and overseas subsidiaries. Those for overseas subsidiaries have been converted into Japanese yen using the rate as of March 31, 2023.

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The “Wage Disparity between Male and Female Employees” is calculated for the business year at each company, which may differ from the business year of Toppan Inc.

Starting Salary at Toppan Inc.

The starting salary of new university graduates hired on April 1, 2023 was 222,500 yen (1,390 yen per hour) uniformly throughout Japan.

Providing an Open Recruitment Environment

Toppan Inc. recruits university and high school graduates, mid-career personnel, and persons with disabilities regardless of nationality, gender, age, or disability. The Company hires diverse human assets by delivering information on working at Toppan Inc. to a broad range of people through company presentations, websites, and other media.

Personnel who interview applicants receive a recruitment manual and training on fair selection practices. Questions deemed to be inappropriate in an interview setting are listed in the manual to ensure that the interviewers avoid any topics that could constitute employment discrimination. The Company also takes comprehensive steps to protect applicants’ human rights in recruitment. The interviewers, for example, are required to sign written pledges regarding the handling of personal information.

Properly Operating Technical Internship Programs

Head office personnel collaborate with local general affairs staff in a fact-finding survey conducted to assess human rights risks for foreign technical interns working at Group sites across Japan. They employed Toppan Inc.’s original check sheets to verify the actual living and working conditions for the interns and whether the internship programs were being run in accordance with the requirements stipulated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. We confirmed that technical internship programs were introduced at seven of the plants operated by our three manufacturing subsidiaries in Japan.

The survey also confirmed the following: that the employment contracts concluded with foreign interns were explained in either their native languages or in languages that they could understand, that there were no cases of unpaid wages or long overtime hours worked, that appropriate wages were paid in accordance with the hours worked, and that the living conditions provided to the interns were comparable to those provided to TOPPAN employees.

Identification of Human Rights Risks in New Businesses Resulting from Mergers and Management Integrations

During the due diligence process for mergers, management integrations, and the formation of joint ventures, the TOPPAN Group conducts risk assessments on human rights aspects such as occupational health and safety management, inhumane treatment, and the state of freedom of association. Furthermore, once these entities become part of our group, they become subject to our human rights risk assessment. We are committed to implementing measures to prevent and mitigate human rights risks. The risk assessment carried out in FY2023 did not reveal any significant risks that required intervention.