Policy and Strategy
IINO Group Human Resource Policy
At the IINO Group, the IINO Group Sustainability Policy states that "The IINO Group respects the human rights of all people, strives to raise awareness of human rights, and prohibits any discrimination on unreasonable grounds." Furthermore, under its new Medium-Term Management Plan, "Transformation for a Sustainable Future," the Group positions human capital as a critical management resource that supports medium- to long-term corporate value creation and promotes human capital management aligned with its business strategy as one of its core business foundation strategies. Specifically, the Group has established three pillars of its talent strategy: (1) allocation of human capital to growth businesses, (2) creation of offensive earnings capabilities, and (3) creation of defensive earnings capabilities. Based on these pillars, the Group is developing and deploying talent with a broad, enterprise-wide perspective, diverse areas of expertise, and strong execution capabilities that drive value creation. In parallel, the Group is advancing organizational and workforce transformation and enhancing the value of its human capital through initiatives such as further refining its role- and contribution-based human resources systems, improving productivity and creating workforce capacity through DX and other measures, and optimizing talent allocation and career development design with a focus on future growth and profitability areas.
In addition, the Group regards workforce diversity as a source of value creation and is committed to promoting the active participation of diverse talent both in Japan and overseas.We are creating employment opportunities not only in Japan but also overseas through initiatives such as employing local staff from Singapore and neighboring countries at our Singapore subsidiary; providing scholarship programs and onboard training opportunities in the home countries of our seafarers-Korea, the Philippines, India, and Myanmar; and appointing employees from the countries of origin of our seafarers.
Our Corporate Philosophy and the IINO Group Sustainability Policy have been translated into English and published on our corporate website to communicate and inform our Group employees working around the world.
Shipping Business
Basic Views in Shipping Business
IINO Group regards safety as the foundation of its business operations. The key to ensuring safety in the Shipping Business is the seafarers who work on board. Securing and training seafarers is an important initiative for the Group to become a resilient organization, and the Company is promoting the following measures to cultivate human resources and develop a comfortable workplace environment.
Basic Views in Onshore
In line with the human resources policy set by the Company of "Management in small numbers," "Promotion of motivation enhancement and activation," and "Viewing each person in detail," we are actively tackling personnel and career development in consideration of each individual employee's needs and aptitudes, while also giving them a wide range of knowledge and experience to enable them to boldly challenge themselves in a new age.
Real Estate Business
Basic Approach to Real Estate Management
In managing the Real Estate Business, the Company endeavors to step up its efforts concerning human resources toward the realization of a sustainable society. The IINO Group practices strict office management designed to provide those working in offices with a safe and healthy environment, prohibit forced labor and child labor in keeping with the Labor Standards Act, and thoroughly eliminate discriminatory practices in employment as set forth in the IINO Group Sustainability Policy.
Initiatives
Development of Human Capital in the Onshore
Developing a Comfortable Work Environment
As measures aimed at seafarers, we implement a number of initiatives to improve and support the working environment for seafarers who conduct operations away from family on ships that are active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Measures to improve and support the working environment
| Management of labor and rest time | To secure adequate rest time, the vessels managed by the Group have management systems to track labor and rest time online, and rest time for the crew is monitored and managed. |
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| Measures to prevent overwork | Crew workloads are controlled by monitoring labor and rest time for the crew on each ship and implementing measures such as providing additional crew members in cases where overwork is projected. |
| Installation of ship-based Wi-Fi | Each ship has ship-based Wi-Fi environments installed that can communicate at all times, providing an environment where the crew can utilize their own smartphones to communicate with family and friends via emails, chats, and SNS. |
| Family invitations to ships | We have systems in place to provide support for travel expenses and lodging for crew family members to visit the crew onboard when ships enter port. |
| Crew mental care | In a shipboard environment, where work, private life, and rest are confused, it is necessary for seafarers to be able to mentally switch between work and rest. To ensure that mental health does not deteriorate due to stress, the Company conducts training and practice through our occupational physicians on board for crew and managers in areas such as stress understanding, self-care, response to mental deterioration, and line care*. |
* Mental health measures in which managers take the initiative to grasp and improve the work environment through communication with employees.
Implementing Technical Training and Safety Training
To operate vessels with safety and efficiency, we implement technical training, certification training, and technological improvement training for seafarers, held by various equipment manufacturers, and strive to improve individual knowledge and skills. The whole crew needs to work as one to achieve the safe operation of ships, and we emphasize mutual understanding and building relationships among the diverse seafarers working on ships and incorporate training related to cross-cultural understanding, harassment prevention, and mental health. These training exercises are managed with a training matrix, and seafarers are able to receive education and training at the appropriate times that are relevant for their positions.
Sea-shore Job Rotation to Foster Maritime Technology Experts with Comprehensive Skills
To develop maritime technology experts with comprehensive abilities not only in maritime vessel operation abilities but also in areas such as vessel management and technical support for new businesses, the Company conducts job rotations periodically for seafarers to serve in onshore duties. Additionally, to foster maritime technology experts with global sensibilities, we also conduct placement to overseas offices.
Initiatives to Hire Talented Human Resources
In our Short-sea/Domestic Shipping Business, we have traditionally recruited licensed seafarers who graduated from advanced courses at maritime high schools, as well as holders of maritime licenses who graduated from maritime training institutions nationwide. However, in response to demographic changes and the resulting shortage of seafarers in domestic shipping, we are actively recruiting general-course graduates of maritime high schools who have not yet obtained maritime licenses, as well as personnel who have taken early retirement from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. We secure the sea service experience required for obtaining maritime licenses through onboard work on our operating vessels. In addition, together with maritime licenses, we also support the acquisition of Hazardous Materials Handling Licenses, which are required to handle dangerous goods on small gas carriers. Through these efforts, we train seafarers in-house who are expected to assume senior positions in the future.
Furthermore, as there are only three educational institutions nationwide where ship cook qualifications can be obtained, the shortage of ship cooks has become significant. To address this issue, we recruit graduates of general culinary schools and holders of chef licenses, and train them in-house to become qualified ship cooks. We are also working in cooperation with other shipowners to establish a collaborative framework for mutual training, by placing onboard seafarers who do not yet hold qualifications as Hazardous Materials Handling Supervisors in order to secure the necessary sea service experience.
As a further initiative going forward, we are considering strengthening our in-house training by utilizing the Seafarer Recruitment Support Program of the Japan Seafarers Employment Promotion Center (SECOJ), a public interest incorporated foundation, and recruiting students from general universities and high schools.
Enhancing Human Capital On Shore
Based on its human capital management strategy, the Group regards the establishment of a work environment that enables each employee to maximize their capabilities as a key foundation for achieving its strategic objectives and enhancing corporate value.Developing a Comfortable Work Environment
Employment regulations that comply with various laws and regulations
The IINO Group has established employment regulations that comply with the Labor Standards Act and various other laws and regulations. Specifically, the payment of overtime allowances to employees who have been working beyond scheduled working hours and statutory working hours, the granting of annual paid leave, the designation of statutory and non-statutory holidays, and provisions to verify the age of new hires are among the provisions set forth in our employment regulations.
Enhancing systems to promote work-life balance
The Group believes that creating an environment in which employees with diverse backgrounds can maximize their potential and thrive is essential to achieving sustainable growth. Active staff involvement is essential to the sustained growth of IINO Group over the long term. We are expanding the systems to promote work-life balance to create workplaces that encourage employee motivation while also enabling people to balance work with family commitments.
As part of its efforts to create a work environment that enables employees to balance work with life events such as childcare and caregiving, the Group has established a range of flexible work arrangements, including a telecommuting program, an hourly paid leave system, staggered working hours, shortened working hours, and a job return (rehiring) program. In addition, the Group supports diverse working styles through initiatives such as partnerships with on-site childcare facilities, online obstetrics/gynecology and pediatric consultations, employer-sponsored babysitting services, and subsidy programs for housekeeping and childcare services.
In addition, in October 2025, we introduced a new Support Allowance designed to ease the additional workload of employees who assume responsibilities for colleagues taking childcare or caregiving leave, while also expressing our appreciation for their cooperation. Through these initiatives, we are fostering a workplace culture in which both employees taking leave and those providing support can collaborate with confidence and peace of mind.
Re-employment Initiatives
Since April 2006, the Company has established Mandatory Retiree Part-Time Employment Regulations to set regulations for the working conditions and employment of mandatory retirees who are re-employed as part-time workers. This system ensures that mandatory retirees who wish to continue employment can be re-employed up to the age of 65.
In June 2020, we introduced a Job Return Program to rehire employees who had left the company due to childcare, caregiving responsibilities, a spouse's job transfer, or similar life circumstances. Building on this initiative, in April 2025 we removed restrictions on the reasons for resignation, further evolving the program into a framework that enables anyone to pursue a fresh professional challenge. Through this expanded program, we provide individuals who wish to continue their careers with opportunities to rejoin the company and once again play an active role.
Initiatives to Prevent Discrimination and Harassment
As measures to prevent discrimination and harassment, we have established Harassment Prevention Policy , conduct harassment prevention workshops once a year, have eliminated fields where applicants indicate their gender in the hiring process, and implement wage systems that eschew discrimination on the basis of gender or academic history.
Human Resource Development Initiatives
Providing Opportunities for Self-Realization: Personnel Evaluation System
For personnel evaluations, IINO LINES has introduced a goal management system as a mechanism to manage the achievement of organizational goals. Under the system, supervisors and individual employees discuss and set individual goals aimed at achieving the organizational goals in each fiscal year, bringing actions aimed at achieving organizational goals into alignment between the organization and employees. Every fiscal year, employees meet with their supervisors to self-assess their progress towards the set goals and draw attention to the areas they think deserve recognition, and after employees have been evaluated by their supervisors, the evaluations are finalized by a Personnel Evaluation Council. Feedback interviews are then conducted by supervisors to make each employee aware of their performance. The results of evaluations are not only reflected in monthly salaries and bonuses but also impact early advancement to managerial positions and other career aspects. This system invigorates individual employees and encourages their growth by providing opportunities to achieve goals and experience development through work.
Additionally, as a part of engagement efforts, each year, we ask all employees to submit self-reports, which are reports submitted to the Human Resource Department on the status of their assigned work, the workplace environment, the desire to be transferred, future direction, and so on. From the perspective of medium-to-long-term human resources development and organizational operation, this gives the Company an understanding of each employee's future career and the direction in which they will demonstrate their abilities, and we do our utmost to support and guide employees so that they can achieve the careers they have envisioned.
Initiatives for Human Resource Development
Under its Medium-Term Management Plan, "Transformation for a Sustainable Future," the Group is committed to developing human resources by positioning human capital as a key management resource for the execution of its business strategy and the enhancement of corporate value over the medium to long term. In developing its workforce, the Group places emphasis not only on the acquisition of knowledge but also on providing practical experience aligned with its business strategy, thereby enabling employees to maximize their potential while enhancing the organization's overall value creation capabilities.
Specifically, we focuses on developing the "value-creating talent" it seeks to cultivate, namely individuals who possess a broad perspective that considers overall optimization, diverse areas of expertise, and the execution capability to drive value creation forward. To this end, the Group promotes the accumulation of diverse experiences and the deepening of professional expertise by providing opportunities to take on challenges in growth and profit-generating businesses and through cross-functional talent deployment. In addition, to improve the effectiveness of talent development, the Group is advancing its human resources systems based on roles and expected contributions and implementing personnel placement and development initiatives that reflect each employee's career aspirations and aptitudes. Through these efforts, the Group is fostering an environment that encourages proactive growth and challenge-taking. In doing so, the Group aims to create a virtuous cycle in which employee development and organizational value creation mutually reinforce one another.Furthermore, with an eye toward the expansion of its global business, the Group promotes the development of an international mindset through personnel exchanges with overseas offices and international training programs. It also offers a variety of training programs designed to enhance language proficiency, professional expertise, and management capabilities. In addition, the Group supports employees' self-directed development by providing continuous learning opportunities through e-learning and other platforms, as well as incentives for obtaining professional certifications and qualifications.
In addition, we offer the following human resource development programs tailored to different career levels and specific themes.
Data List (Training Hours / Career Development-related Data)
Promoting Diversity in Personnel
The IINO Kaiun Group's Human Rights Policy prohibits discrimination based on nationality, race, or other personal attributes. Furthermore, its Medium-Term Management Plan identifies the "creation of diverse value-creating talent through the promotion of DE&I" as a key initiative. Guided by these principles, the Group promotes a talent strategy that not only respects diversity but also seeks to harness the diverse knowledge, perspectives, and experiences of its people to enhance value creation. the IINO Group's seafaring employees, including onshore employees and fixed-term seafaring employees are made up of a diverse range of races and nationalities, mainly those of Asian descent from South Korea, the Philippines, Myanmar, and India. Moreover, at our local Singaporean subsidiary, which handles the chemical tankers operations, we employ a mostly Asian staff including Singaporeans, Indians, and Indonesians in addition to Japanese. As a human resources measure to support the global business expansion at overseas sites, we foster the development of Japanese employees who are able to succeed overseas while also hiring and strengthening the development of local staff of various nationalities. Through these efforts, the Group is building an organization where people with diverse backgrounds mutually inspire one another and collaborate to generate new value.We have also introduced a highly transparent personnel evaluation system. Going forward, the Group will continue to deploy and promote talent based on merit, irrespective of race or nationality, while fostering value-creating talent through the promotion of DE&I and thereby enhancing corporate value.
Promotion of Women's Activities
As of March 31, 2026, the Company employed 34 women in career-track positions. In fiscal 2025, the ratio of female employees was 21.1% across the Group and 20.7% at the Company on a non-consolidated basis. In addition, the ratio of female managers at the Company steadily increased from 1.4% in fiscal 2020 to 4.9% in fiscal 2025. The Company is committed to advancing women's participation and advancement from the perspective of effective talent utilization to support sustainable growth. Under its Medium-Term Management Plan, the Company has set a target of increasing the proportion of women among shore-based career-track employees (the pool of future management candidates) by three percentage points from the fiscal 2025 level by March 31, 2031. As of March 31, 2026, women accounted for 18.4% of shore-based career-track employees. The Company believes that diverse perspectives and values contribute to the generation of new ideas and innovation. Accordingly, it will continue its efforts to increase the proportion of women in career-track positions that lead to management roles and to create an environment in which women can further thrive and succeed. In addition, the Company actively recruits individuals with diverse backgrounds, including differences in age, race, nationality, values, and professional experience, regardless of gender.
Promotion of Non-Japanese Employees to Management Positions
The Company is committed to recruiting and promoting non-Japanese employees as part of its efforts to leverage a diverse workforce. As of March 31, 2026, the Company employed two non-Japanese employees. Across the Group as a whole, there were 62 non-Japanese employees, 13 of whom held managerial positions. Going forward, the Company will continue its efforts to enhance diversity by appointing and promoting talent based on ability and aptitude, regardless of race or nationality.
Promotion of Mid-Career Hires to Management Positions
As of March 31, 2026, 44.4% of career-track employees hired through mid-career recruitment held managerial positions, playing an important role in supporting the Company's business operations. In addition, mid-career hires accounted for 14.8% of all managerial positions. The Company will continue to proactively recruit experienced professionals in order to further enhance workforce diversity and strengthen organizational capabilities.
* Data relating to women, non-Japanese employees, and mid-career hires at the Company include employees seconded to Group companies.