JAPEX Named Nadeshiko Brand for Three Consecutive Years

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (JAPEX) was selected as "Nadeshiko Brand 2018 (Fiscal 2017)" enterprises for the three consecutive years by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) announced today, as the first enterprise in mining industry of TSE to be selected for the third years in a row.

The "Nadeshiko Brand" program is the annual selection of enterprises listed in TSE to excellent efforts encouraging women for playing active roles in the workplace, and has been held six times since fiscal 2012. This program has been aiming to promote investments to enterprises and to accelerate listed enterprises' efforts by introducing attractive stock brands for investors who place a significance on "the enhancement of its corporate value in mid-to-long term."

JAPEX established the Diversity Promotion Group of Human Resource Dept. in March 2015 as well as formulated "JAPEX Diversity Policy" in January 2016 and has been making various efforts to promote activities of all employees. In fiscal 2017, we held several programs for male employees to change their mindsets in female career and workplace management, enhanced support system for motivated employees to continue and develop their careers, and introduced new work-time system to promote workstyle transformation by flexible working.

1. Changing Mindsets of Male Employees

For male managers, a seminar was held in company-wide basis including local district offices to remove their gender bias on female role in workplace, as well as, a seminar named "IKU-BOSS Seminar" by an external speaker, about improving training ways of subordinates and enhancing their own management capabilities.

In addition, the support systems were explained for each male employees who have a new born child, together with a little gift. As a result, the acquisition rate of parental leave by male employees significantly increased, which was 21.1% of the latest fiscal year compared with 2.1% of the preceding fiscal year.

2. Enhancement of Career Support System

In April 2017, we enhanced the career support system for highly motivated employees who want to continue working regardless of changing circumstances such as child care, nursing, and transfer of their spouse.

In this time, we increased items of the support system for full-time working employees who have child before being 4th grade of elementary school and are in the situation of both-working or having overseas transferring spouse; assisting their actual expenses for child care and housekeeping service, giving additional 10 days leave for traveling to the assignment location of the spouse, being enable to apply for reemployment within a year from returning Japan by ex-employees who resigned our company due to overseas transfer of spouse. Moreover, we introduced the system for employees who go on higher educational institutions at their own expense; using educational absence up to 2 years, allowing time-shorting work for going school, and giving 10 days additional leave.

3. Systems and Efforts for Workstyle Transformation

Aiming to accelerate flexible working of employees, we officially introduced the flex-time working system in April 2017, which sets 10am to 3pm as core time. Also, a trial of no-core-time working at last Friday of every month was began aligned with "Premium Friday" campaign promoted by the government. In addition, every Wednesday are regarded as "early-finishing-work day" that employees are recommended to close their work until 6pm as much as possible.

Further, "summer campaign for workstyle transformation" has been held annually since fiscal 2015 aiming to promote flexible working and operational efficiency that hold "work productivity contest" in the summer of fiscal 2017. Several ideas were shared with trial operations including improvement of information sharing across the business departments, work-sharing framework for practical use and increase development ranges of professionals in overseas business, and others.

JAPEX will pursue to enhance our corporate competitiveness by the efforts that each employees work actively and continue to grow up as self-organized professional with the difference including gender, age, nationality, career, workstyle. And we will proactively promote improvement of our HR system as well as diversity of employees, work-life balance, training for career development, awareness events, and others.