Corporate Governance
- Fundamental Approach
- Overview of the Corporate Governance System and Reasons for Employing the System
- Corporate Governance System
- Self-evaluation Concerning the Effectiveness of the Board of Directors
- Key Areas of Expertise and Experience of Directors (Skills Matrix)
- Meeting Attendance (FY2021)
- Executive Remuneration
- Dialogue with Stakeholders
- Cross-shareholdings
Fundamental Approach
The Nittobo Group constantly revises corporate governance with the aim of creating a fair and highly transparent management organization in order to conduct business activities with emphasis on social trust from our shareholders, investors and other stakeholders.
Overview of the Corporate Governance System and Reasons for Employing the System
The Company introduced an executive officer system in June 2003 and has created a system able to maximize the effect of consolidated management by invigorating the Board of Directors and speeding up decision making. Since June 2008, management has been conducted by further clarifying the functions and roles of management and business execution.
In addition, with the approval of the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on June 26, 2014, Nittobo shifted to a company with Nomination Committee, etc. By doing so, the Company further clarified the separation of supervision from execution and aims to strengthen supervisory functions, ensure highly transparent management, execute business swiftly, and increase the flexibility of management. Furthermore, by establishing a system that enables it to more precisely meet the expectations of stakeholders, such as customers, shareholders, suppliers, and employees, the Company will work to further enhance its corporate value.
Corporate Governance System
Board of Directors
The Company's basic policy is to constitute the Board of Directors with Directors from the Company who have capabilities and knowledge on each business and management in general, and at least the same number of External Directors as Internal Directors, who are able to express opinions beneficial for the enhancement of governance from the perspectives of diverse stakeholders and society, in order to ensure a system enabling appropriate supervision of the Company's business execution by the Board of Directors as a whole, and has specified that the Board of Directors shall have no more than 12 members in its Articles of Incorporation.
The Company's Board of Directors is currently made up of 7 members including 4 External Directors.
The Board of Directors is responsible for supervision of business execution through selection of Directors making up the Nomination, Remuneration and Audit Committees; election and dismissal of Executive Officers and delegation of business to them; approval of matters related to operations that have an impact on basic management policy such as mid-term business plans and annual budgets; and approval of matters that could have a significant impact on Group management such as investments exceeding a certain amount. The term of office of Directors is one year, and a vote of confidence in Directors is obtained in the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders held annually. The Company's Executive Officers are determined by the Board of Directors. People suitable for the execution of the Company's business are elected from the perspective of enhancement of business execution and corporate value by adopting the approach of putting the right people in the right place.
Nomination, Remuneration and Audit Committees
As a company with Nomination Committee, etc., the Company has established a Nomination Committee, a Remuneration Committee, and an Audit Committee. The roles of the committees and overviews of the members of the committees are as follows.
Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee determines the content of proposals to elect and dismiss Directors to be submitted to the General Meeting of Shareholders. It is made up of 5 Directors (4 of whom are External Directors), and is chaired by External Director Sadayoshi Fujishige. Meetings of the Nomination Committee are held as needed. The Nomination Committee selects the Company's Director candidates who are believed to be the most suitable based on factors such as their character and insight.
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee determines the content of individual remuneration, etc., of Directors and Executive Officers. It is made up of 5 Directors (4 of whom are External Directors), and is chaired by External Director Takeshi Miida. Meetings of the Remuneration Committee are held as needed.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee's responsibilities include auditing the state of execution of duties of Directors and Executive Officers, and the preparation of audit reports. Working with accounting auditors and the Audit Office, audits, etc., are conducted based on audit plans approved in the Audit Committee. It is made up of 5 Directors (4 of whom are External Directors), and is chaired by External Director Yasuharu Nakajima. An Audit Committee Secretariat has been established as an organization for assisting the duties of the Audit Committee. In principle, the Audit Committee holds meetings at least once every month.
Execution of Business
As of the date of the publication of this report, the Company has 15 executive officers, of whom one has been selected as representative and chief executive officer. An Executive Meeting has been established as an organ to deliberate matters related to the execution of business delegated by the Board of Directors, and it endeavors to ensure efficient business execution by holding meetings twice a month in principle.
Self-evaluation Concerning the Effectiveness of the Board of Directors
Based on evaluation results for the fiscal year 2024, the Company performed the following initiatives for fiscal year 2025. In the survey summarizing fiscal year 2025, the average evaluation score for most items was 4 or more out of 5, indicating that the effectiveness of the Board of Directors was highly evaluated by both Internal and External Directors of the Company. Furthermore, opinions were expressed that the following issues should be worked on in the future. Opinions were expressed that, as issues to be worked on in the future, it is necessary to further enhance forums for discussions on major management themes from medium- to long-term perspectives, continue to deepen discussions in order to organize and clarify matters for the construction of a better governance system, and aim to foster the next generation of management based on succession planning. The Company will continue to make improvements to ensure the Board of Directors performs supervisory functions even more effectively.
- In order to improve medium- to long-term corporate value, the Company held discussions regarding fluctuation risks in the market and competitive environments of the Company’s business, based on detailed reports from Executive Officers.
- The Company deepened discussions regarding human capital based on the understanding that diverse perspectives are essential for sustainable growth.
- Following last year, opportunities for communication between External Directors and Executive Officers have been enhanced, furthering sharing of issues and discussions on management strategy.
Key Areas of Expertise and Experience of Directors (Skills Matrix)
The Company defines the fields of Directors’ knowledge, experience and capability that are considered important for the Company from the perspective of company management as “corporate management,” “global business,” “sales and marketing,” “technology and R&D,” “finance and accounting,” “legal affairs and risk management,” “HR, labor resources, personnel development.” The Company aims to ensure the Board of Directors is made up of personnel who possess the appropriate insight and abundant experience in each of these fields.
| Name | Corporate Management | Global Business | Sales /Marketing |
Technology /R&D |
Finance /Accounting |
Legal Affairs/Risk management | HR/ Labor resources/ Personnel development |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuichi Tsuji | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||
| Hisanobu Hayashi | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||||
| Takanobu Matsunaga | ● | ● | ● | |||||
| Sadayoshi Fujishige | External Director | ● | ● | ● | ||||
| Agasa Naito | External Director | ● | ● | |||||
| Yasuharu Nakajima | External Director | ● | ● | |||||
| Takeshi Miida | External Director | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||
- (Note) The above table does not represent all knowledge, experience, etc. possessed by each person.
Meeting Attendance (FY2025)
Attendance/Number of meetings |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Board of Directors Meetings | Nomination Committee Meetings | Remuneration Committee Meetings | Audit Committee Meetings |
| Yuichi Tsuji | 13/13 | 3/3 | 3/3 | ||
| Hiroyuki Tada | 13/13 | 3/3 | 2/3 | ||
| Takanobu Matsunaga | 13/13 | 15/15 | |||
| Sadayoshi Fujishige | External Director | 13/13 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 15/15 |
| Agasa Naito | External Director | 13/13 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 15/15 |
| Yasuharu Nakajima | External Director | 13/13 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 15/15 |
| Takeshi Miida | External Director | 13/13 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 15/15 |
Executive Remuneration
Executive Remuneration
1. Matters pertaining to policy the determination of the amount of executive remuneration, etc., and the method of calculation thereof
(a) Deciding policy
The Company determines policy related to the determination of individual remuneration of Directors and Executive Officers on the basis of objective data, etc., from external consultants in the Remuneration Committee made up of a majority of External Directors and chaired by an External Director, based on the provisions of the Companies Act related to a Company with Nomination Committee, etc.
Furthermore, the policy is based on the approach of providing strong motivation for officers to achieve their performance targets with secure transparency and rationality, fostering awareness for medium- to long-term management, and conforming with the interests of stakeholders including shareholders and investors, and the performance targets used for calculating remuneration also reflect this approach.
(b) Outline of the policy
Remuneration for Directors and Executive Officers of the Company (excluding External Directors) is structured with basic remuneration (fixed remuneration) determined by the position and variable remuneration (performance-linked remuneration) that varies within a range of 0% to 150% according to the level of achievement of company performance targets for the previous fiscal year, the level of achievement of operating profit targets for the division under charge, and the evaluation of activity KPIs for medium-term - 14 - issues for the division under charge. In addition, Executive Officers receive stock remuneration (performancelinked remuneration), the level of which is linked to the performance targets of the Company’s Medium-Term Management Plan. Variable remuneration and stock remuneration are not applicable for External Directors due to the role of supervising management from an independent and objective perspective.
| Position | Portion of officer remuneration (if the percentage of performance-linked remuneration is 100%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic remuneration | Performance-linked remuneration | |||
| Variable remuneration | Stock remuneration | |||
| Company performance | Business division performance | |||
| Representative and chairman, Representative and chief executive officer and other representative executive officers | 60.0% | 25.0% | ー | 15.0% |
| Senior managing executive officers and managing executive officers | 60.0% | 7.5% | 17.5% | 15.0% |
| Senior and other executive officers | 65.0% | 7.5% | 17.5% | 10.0% |
| Directors not concurrently serving as executive officers (excluding external directors) | 71.0% | 14.5% | 14.5% | ー |
| External directors | 100% | ー | ー | ー |
| Company performance | Operating profit (standard amount: 10.0 billion yen) |
Operating profit (change year on year) |
ROE (change year on year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% |
| Individual performance | Operating profit of the division under charge (compared to budget) |
Activity KPIs for medium-term issues in each business division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior and other Managing Executive Officers, and Senior and other Executive Officers | 42.9% | Senior and other Managing Executive Officers, and Senior and other Executive Officers | 57.1% | |
Indicator Selection
1. Company performance
The selected indicators are operating profit as a measure of earning power and enhanced growth potential, and ROE as a measure of improvement in capital efficiency.
2. Business division performance
The operating profit of the division under charge and activity KPIs for medium-term issues were set to clarify the responsibility for performance that each officer (excluding External Directors) should take on. In addition, evaluation is conducted based on a perspective and items different from the Company’s performance. Evaluations of activity KPIs for medium-term issues are rated based on their activities’ status and their contribution to the performance. However, for Directors who do not concurrently serve as Executive Officers (excluding External Directors), individual performance (activities) as Directors is used as a separate indicator, as they are not in charge of business divisions.
Process of Determining Remuneration
The Remuneration Committee, chaired by an External Director, checks the exhibition of competencies and the level of achievement of the Company's performance targets, along with individual performance targets, and then calculates and determines individual amounts based on the aforementioned remuneration percentages and percentages of reflection in performance-linked remuneration.
<Calculation Rules>
(Basic remuneration)
The amount of basic remuneration for each officer is determined by resolution of the Remuneration Committee based on a table that defines the fixed amount for each position.
(Performance-linked remuneration)
- Company performance component = Basic remuneration for the preceding fiscal year × percentage of business division performance portion for each position × Level of achievement of Company performance for the preceding fiscal year
- Business division performance component = Basic remuneration for the preceding fiscal year × percentage of business division performance portion for each position × Level of achievement of operating profit of the division under charge + evaluation of activity KPIs for medium-term issues in each business division
Variable remuneration is determined by combining the Company performance and individual performance components calculated as shown above.
Note that targets and actual values of company performance for fiscal 2024 used in the calculation of performancelinked remuneration in fiscal 2025 are as follows.
Operating profit (amount) Target: JPY 10,000 million ; Actual: JPY 16,445 million
Operating profit (year on year) Target: JPY 8,387 million ; Actual: 16,445 million
ROE (year on year) Target: 6.1% (after adjustment) ; Actual: 9.9% (after adjustment)
- Note : Business division performance targets are set using quantitative and qualitative targets, and the achievement rate was 99% to 119%, respectively.
2. Total amount of remuneration, etc., by category of executive, total amount by category of remuneration, etc., and number of officers who are recipients thereof
| Category | Total amount of remuneration, etc. (million yen) | Total amount by category of remuneration, etc. (million yen) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed remuneration | Performance-linked remuneration | Stock remuneration | Retirement benefits | Number of recipients | |||
| Directors | Directors (excluding External Directors) | 70 | 60 | 10 | — | — | 3 |
| External Directors | 76 | 76 | — | — | — | 4 | |
| Subtotal | 146 | 136 | 10 | — | — | 7 | |
| Executive Officers | Subtotal | 370 | 194 | 118 | 58 | — | 13 |
| Total | 516 | 330 | 128 | 58 | — | 20 | |
| (Notes) |
|
|---|
Dialogue with Stakeholders
The Corporate Communication Officer is responsible for general dialogue with shareholders, and the Corporate Communication Department is the internal department responsible for providing assistance thereto. The Company endeavors to create opportunities for shareholder dialogue that will contribute to the sustained growth and enhancement of medium- to long-term corporate value of the Company centered on Executive Officers. Furthermore, departments involved in IR activities centered on the Corporate Communication Department work to coordinate among departments on a daily basis.
We will continue to endeavor to disclose information in a timely and appropriate manner to enable the Nittobo Group's customers, shareholders and investors to accurately recognize and judge the actual state of the Nittobo Group. In order to achieve this, we comply with laws, regulations and securities exchange rules on disclosure, and are engaged in the creation and operation of an appropriate disclosure system.
- We publish items specified for disclosure in Japanese and foreign laws, regulations and securities exchange rules in business reports, annual securities reports and communications to shareholders, and announce them in securities exchange communication systems and press releases.
- In principle, we publish information being disclosed on the Nittobo Group's website, and also endeavor to provide fairer and broader disclosure.
- We conduct briefings for analysts and institutional investors promptly after the announcement of quarterly financial results.
- We publish an integrated report that incorporates financial and non-financial information, including CSR, in order to provide a better understanding of the Group's medium- to long-term value creation framework.
Opinions and concerns, etc., about the Company that are learned through dialogue with shareholders and investors are collated by the Corporate Communication Department, reported to the Corporate Communication Officer, Executive Meeting, and the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis, and appropriately provided as feedback to management executives.
Adequate care is given to insider information in individual inquiries and dialogue with the Nittobo Group, and explanations are limited to information that has already been published and facts that are well known.
Cross-shareholdings
Policy Regarding Cross-shareholdings
The Company holds shares of listed companies under its policy on cross-shareholding in cases where it deems such shareholding to be beneficial for building favorable trading relationships with important trading partners of the Nittobo Group in fields including sales, raw material procurement and finance, smoothly advancing business activities of the Nittobo Group, and enhancing corporate value in the Nittobo Group. However, from the perspective of improving the Group's corporate value, the Company will sell shares that are deemed to be of little holding significance, while paying attention to the effect on the market, and so forth.
Method for Assessing Rationale for Holding Shares
The Company reviews the holding policy for listed shares individually at meetings of the Board of Directors on a periodic basis, comprehensively considering qualitative factors that take into account the importance of the transactions, the maintenance and establishment of good business relationships, and other factors in terms of sales, procurement, technical cooperation, joint capital investment, joint ventures, and financing, and a quantitative evaluation that compares the total return on investment, calculated by considering dividend yield and business profit, against the cost of capital.
Exercise of Voting Rights Associated with Cross-shareholdings
The Company will appropriately exercise its voting rights associated with cross-shareholdings after consideration of whether such issuing company has established an effective governance structure and is making appropriate decisions to improve its corporate value over the medium to long term, as well as whether such shareholdings will contribute to enhancing the Group's corporate value.
| FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sold during the period | Unlisted stocks | Number of stocks | 1 | — | — | 3 | 1 |
| Amount (JPY million) | 0 | — | — | 26 | 5 | ||
| Listed stocks | Number of stocks | — | 1 | — | 6 | 6 | |
| Amount (JPY million) | — | 2,561 | — | 1,957 | 4,784 | ||
| Total | Number of stocks | 1 | 2 | — | 9 | 7 | |
| Amount (JPY million) | 0 | 2,516 | — | 1,983 | 4,789 | ||
| Capitalization at end of period (including unlisted stocks) |
Number of stocks | 47 | 47 | 47 | 43 | 40 | |
| Amount (JPY million) | 15,243 | 13,643 | 22,595 | 20,549 | 25,248 | ||