On DAY 1, Yukio Ishizuka asked Governor Koike about the current status of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s initiative in pursuing diversity in Tokyo.

Diversity is considered an essential part of “Future Tokyo: Tokyo’s Long-Term Strategy” announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). Why are you pursuing diversity?

Koike:Diversity is considered indispensable to vitalize our society. Yet, Japan ranks 125th in the Global Gender Gap Index in 2023, the lowest-ranking member of the G7. That’s why I have exhaustively promoted the active participation of women since becoming governor. The proportion of female members in expert councils that discuss the TMG’s key policies has risen to 46%, while women now hold 18% of the managerial positions in the TMG. The participation of women in the decision-making process has allowed for a broader range of perspectives. On policy measures, we have also been putting a lot of effort into measures to cope with the declining birthrate, providing benefits for children aged 0-18, and making tuition for all high schools in Tokyo free of charge. What counts most is to help everyone who wants to have and raise children, thus fulfilling their desire. As long as the total number of mothers decreases, the population decline will continue even if the birthrate is raised from 1.04 to 1.05, for instance. That’s why the “point of no return,” as is often mentioned in the context of climate change, can also be applicable to the population problem.

Diversity will also require the participation of foreigners and senior citizens.

Koike:If a society does not appeal to people, it will not attract them. Right now, as part of our effort to harness Tokyo’s potential to generate new innovation, we are preparing for an event which we call “SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024” and is to be in the Tokyo Bay area from April to May. “SusHi Tech Tokyo” or “Sustainable High City Tech Tokyo” is a symbol of overcoming global urban challenges with the use of cutting–edge technology, to create a sustainable society. To help attract highly skilled and talented people, we are also developing an environment to offer better services of healthcare and education, and to break down language barriers. As for the utilization of senior citizens, I believe Japan’s longevity society presents us with an opportunity to take full advantage of. If the skills of retirees match jobs at small and midsize enterprises, they can alleviate a labor shortage. The country’s greatest resources and assets are its people. That’s why we want to support them at all the important points in their lives, such as childbirth, childcare, and education. It is critically important to pursue diversity in our society in which people will also be able to shine.

On DAY 2, Sputniko! asked how Tapestry, the company that operates fashion brands Coach and Kate Spade New York, is building more inclusive workplaces.

Noting that more than 70% of Tapestry’s employees are women and that the company has achieved gender parity in its leadership team, Ruelland asserted, “Evaluation and corporate culture are essential for EI&D (equity, inclusion and diversity). It is very important to value employees, share our common opportunities and recognize their achievements. At Tapestry, we conduct employee engagement surveys. We are also creating an open space that allows all employees to give feedback.” Explaining the unique nature of the company, Yanagisawa added, “At Tapestry, women have historically taken leadership roles alongside men, which has enabled us to drive diversity management in our organization. Today, EI&D targets are part of the annual incentive scheme for senior leaders.”

Next, Sputniko! asked, “What challenges do you face regarding EI&D?” Ruelland replied, “Despite having a strong base with a large population of female employees, we found women tend to score lower than men in EI&D indexes such as the ability to be their authentic selves. To try and understand this phenomenon more clearly, we are taking specific actions under the APAC Inclusion Council together with our local Japan Inclusion Team.” Underlining the company’s ambition, he added, “We want to have a dialogue with our employees and not just see how we can fill the index gaps, but focus on how we can continue to evolve and improve.” Pointing out the importance of raising the self-esteem of employees, Yanagisawa said, “We offer multiple career opportunities including mobility, such as for our store employees, we have established a short-term brand exchange program (short-term assignment to a different brand) and a job challenge program in which store employees can experience office work for several months.” Explaining the aim of these efforts, she added, “The opportunity to work at a different brand, function or team gives employees a deeper understanding and bigger picture of our business and helps them better map out their future career within the company.”

DAY 3 featured an interview on the theme of global diversity with the CEO of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Takeshi Hashimoto.

Why are you focused on global diversity?

The MOL Group is a team of about 20,000 people, of whom 10,000 work at sea. The overwhelming majority of these offshore workers are Filipinos and Indians. Also, a little less than half of our ground staff are non-Japanese. Right now, we are expanding our business worldwide. Given these circumstances, I am very conscious about how to involve non-Japanese in policy and decision-making. To operate a global business, it is essential to have executives who can deal effectively with the political and economic situations of different countries.

MOL revised its human resources strategy last year. How did the strategy change?

Previously, locally hired employees were job-based hires. This meant that their job description did not change. However, when employees are unable to see a career development plan for themselves, they are less likely to stay with the same company for any length of time. Without a roadmap that allows them to work their way to senior positions based on performance, talented employees will leave. We therefore decided to offer more senior posts and assign a significant proportion of them to foreign nationals. Our aim is to get non-Japanese into around one-third of key executive positions. We already have a good number of foreigners who have served as captains and chief engineers. This is a treasure trove of human resources. Last year we launched the Human Capital Strategy Division and started a project to list and train our best talent. We believe that if we promote the right people to the right positions, regardless of nationality, diversity will naturally and steadily progress throughout the company.

“Why should companies and organizations promote diversity?”

Iriyama’s answer to this fundamental question by Nakamura was straightforward. “To improve business performance. No company or organization can survive without innovating and offering new value to the world. For this, it is essential to be diverse and combine a wide range of knowledge.” Agreeing with Iriyama, Saruya added, “At Randstad, we want to become the world’s most equitable and specialized talent company. We see ED&I as a very important part of this effort. Cultivating a more diverse workforce helps companies to develop new businesses.”

Nakamura’s next question was, “What needs to be done to ensure equity?” Saruya replied by outlining Randstad’s approach. “At our company, anyone can put up their hand for a management position. If the candidates are all male, however, we wait until a female candidate comes forward before proceeding with the selection.” Expressing admiration for this mechanism, Iriyama said, “People have a strong tendency to favor people similar to themselves. That’s why such rules are vital. The same applies to innovation. It is pointless to talk idealistically about not being afraid of failure. Unless we put in place a system in which taking risks is appreciated, employees will not tackle new challenges.”

According to an employer brand survey conducted by Randstad, Saruya said, “34% of Japanese workers say they want to work for a company that actively supports ED&I. The belief that diversity is essential is particularly strong among younger people.” Summing up, he asserted, “ED&I is an effort to enable everyone to demonstrate their true potential.”