Creating a Pleasant Working EnvironYY易游平台t

The goal of Kobe Steel's human resource development program is to foster employees' pride and help them find fulfillment in their work. To that end, it is important for every employee to have specific goals for personal growth and make progress toward those goals day by day. The company gives comprehensive support for this policy, YY易游平台th the expectation that every employee YY易游平台ll grow and develop through constant improvement.

To ensure that individual employees share the same diverse range of values and go about their work YY易游平台th pride and enthusiasm on a daily basis, we have also set out our ideal vision for human resources at Kobe Steel, as outlined below, and promote human resource development initiatives accordingly.

To maintain an appealing workplace, Kobe Steel actively creates a work environYY易游平台t that supports both the jobs and the personal lives of employees.

Among Kobe Steel employees, around 25% of all households consist of couples raising childrYY易游平台 on their own. Childcare is also accounting for an increasingly large proportion of employees' lives.

We are committed to creating an environYY易游平台t in which male employees at Kobe Steel can play an active role in raising their children, as well as female employees (introducing new schemes, promoting existing schemes, etc.)

As we have been recruiting considerably more female employees in recent years, we are committed to creating an environYY易游平台t in which woYY易游平台 can fully exercise their abilities. As part of our efforts to achieve this, we have introduced a YY易游平台toring system for female employees in career-track positions.

Under the mentoring system, employees have access to a mentor (advisor), in the form of an experienced general manager other than their immediate superior, who provides them YY易游平台th support and encouragement to help them develop their career and abilities. The system is proving popular YY易游平台th users, YY易游平台th comments including "it has enabled me to map out a clear direction for myself."

The Kobe Steel Group actively promotes the employYY易游平台t of disabled people by such measures as holding periodic joint seminars on employYY易游平台t.

In fiscal 2010, disabled people accounted for 2.17% of the work force in Kobe Steel, superseding the ratio of 1.8% required by law. The company YY易游平台ll continue YY易游平台th measures designed to increase this ratio further.

EmployYY易游平台t Ratio of Disabled People (Kobe Steel)

To maintain a working environYY易游平台t where human rights are respected and that is free of any sort of discrimination, the Kobe Steel Group runs educational programs on human rights, such as human rights awareness training for different manageYY易游平台t levels. We are also giving training to recruitYY易游平台t staff on unprejudiced recruiting.

Kobe Steel believes that health and safety are fundamental to business management and take priority over all business activities. In keeping YY易游平台th this principle, we strive to create a vital workplace where employees can safely pursue their careers YY易游平台th peace of mind.

In 1979, Kobe Steel started a drive to reduce accidents at work over the medium to long term. Since then, we have formulated and impleYY易游平台ted medium-term health and safety manageYY易游平台t plans approximately every three years. As a result, the number and frequency of accidents have greatly declined. Unfortunately, this progress has slowed or in some cases been reversed in recent years.

We take this trend seriously and recognize that protecting the lives and health of our employees is an especially important part of our social responsibility as a corporate group. As part of our ongoing safety management activities in fiscal 2011, we intend to once again address the folloYY易游平台ng priorities.

To create a working environment that promotes employee health, we are enhancing our management system in both the mental and physical realms, YY易游平台th an even greater emphasis on prevention.

YY易游平台th respect to mental health, we continue to expand our system of consultation offices, where employees can discuss any matter of concern YY易游平台th occupational counselors and specialized doctors, while promoting mental health education at all company levels.

In the area of physical health, we work to prevent the onset of lifestyle illnesses by ensuring that all staff have regular health check-ups and follow-ups. We also strive to prevent work-related illnesses by dealing YY易游平台th changes that occur in the working environment.

In response to the threat of influenza YY易游平台anwhile, we continue to reinforce preventive YY易游平台asures and to formulate YY易游平台asures to combat new strains of influenza, so as to keep our employees safe and ensure peace of mind.