Promoting Health Management

Basic Concept

The Nisshinbo Group’s Health Management Policy states that the “Nisshinbo Group, through the establishment of an environment where each individual member can play an active role by promoting employee health and sound workplace, aims to be a corporate group which is indispensable, at any time, for our society.”

Promotion System

Under a system in which the Director and the Chief of the Corporate Strategy Center of Nisshinbo Holdings, Inc. is in charge, the Nisshinbo Group launched the "Group Health Management Department Meeting" in FY2018, which is attended by the persons in charge of the health care divisions of each group company, to promote health management throughout the Group. The meeting is held every September to promote unified activities.

In FY2022, the following items were designated as action points for activities at each group company in Japan.

  • ①Reduction of smoking rate. Increase in the percentage of people with exercise habits. Increase in the percentage of people who get enough rest through sleep.
  • ②Reduction of overall health risk values in stress checks.
  • ③Creation of health management reports from FY2022 based on guidelines on employment and health checkup items under the Health and Safety Law to ensure the fulfillment of the obligation to give due consideration to safety.

To promote health management based on the Sustainability Promotion Plan, the Group is managing targets and Key performance indicators (KPIs) and implementing measures.

Health Management

Specifically, the following three health management measures are being promoted as the three pillars of the Nisshinbo Group's activities:

  • ①From the perspective of individual health, lifestyle improvement based on health checkup data
  • ②From the perspective of organizational health, the following two points are implemented to support the creation of an organization in which employees can work with vitality.
    • ・Operation of indicators for comprehensive management of physical and mental health
    • ・Creation of health management reports
  • ③From the perspective of execution of safety obligations without fail, operation of work guidelines for high workloads

Framework for Health Management Measures

Framework for Health Management Measures

Corporation for Excellent Health Management

The Certification System for Excellent Corporations for Health Management is a system where the Japan Health Council awards corporations, including large corporations and small- and medium-sized corporations that practice particularly excellent health management based on their efforts to address local health issues and the health promotion initiatives promoted by the Japan Health Council.

The Nisshinbo Group's efforts to promote health management have resulted in nine companies in the large corporate sector and four companies in the small and medium-sized corporate sector receiving the Excellent Health Management Corporation 2023 certification.

*1 Large Corporation Sector: Nisshinbo Holdings Inc., Japan Radio Co., Ltd., Nagano Japan Radio Co., Ltd., Ueda Japan Radio Co., Ltd., Nisshinbo Micro Devices Inc., Nisshinbo Brake Inc., Nisshinbo Mechatronics Inc., Nisshinbo Chemical Inc., Nisshinbo Textile Inc.

*2 Small and Medium-Sized Corporations: JRC Logistics Service Co., Ltd., Nagano Japan Radio Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Nisshinbo Micro Devices AT Co., Ltd., Nisshinbo Micro Devices Fukuoka Co., Ltd.

The 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management
The 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding: Large Corporate Sector
The 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management
The 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding: Small and Medium-Sized Corporations

Specific Initiatives of The Nisshinbo Group

In the revised “Fifth Sustainability Promotion Plan,” the Nisshinbo Group has designated cultivation of employee health as a key action items and are working to promote health management. The Group is working to achieve the following KPI targets: ①Rate of patients receiving detailed examinations after regular health checkups, 85% or more, and ②Implementation rate of health guidance for high-risk workers, 100%. In addition, in FY2023, as in FY2022, The Nisshinbo Group promotes various activities based on the concept of promoting health management measures as a foundation for protecting the health of the workplace and employees and increasing productivity in the face of major environmental changes, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In FY2022, in accordance with the “Fifth Sustainability Promotion Plan” before its revision, the Group sets the KPIs of ①Participation rate of regular health examination, 100% and ②Implementation rate of stress check, 95%, and proceeded with activities to achieve the targets while implementing the PDCA cycle

Countermeasures for the COVID‑19

Following the vaccination of 3,694 employees in FY2021, Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. vaccinated an additional 1,048 employees against the Omicron strain of the COVID‑19 vaccine for the third time from October to December in FY2022. The vaccinations were given to Nisshinbo Group employees working in the Tokyo area at the head office building with the cooperation of contracted health checkup organizations led by its industrial physicians and staffed by employees from the general affairs and human resources departments of the Company and Japan Radio Co. Meetings were held before and after each vaccination to make improvements, and the vaccinations were completed without major problems.

Workplace vaccination site
Workplace vaccination site

Improvement of Lifestyle Habits

Based on the results of regular health checkups, the Nisshinbo Group is working to improve the lifestyle of employees at each company to “reduce the smoking rate,” “promote exercise habits,” and “increase the percentage of employees who get enough rest through sleep.”

Activities to reduce smoking rate

  • ①Reviewing the operation of smoking areas, such as removing indoor smoking rooms and shortening the hours of use of smoking areas
  • ②Providing subsidies for outpatient smoking cessation and incentives to quit smoking
  • ③Displaying posters on World No Tobacco Day and smoking cessation
  • ④Seminars on smoking cessation by industrial and other physicians

Promotional activities for exercise habits

  • ①Holding events to encourage walking (exercise)
  • ②Holding sporting events (bowling tournaments etc.)
  • ③Promoting the use of stairs
  • ④Implementation of workplace exercises
  • ⑤Participation in exercise experience of private business
  • ⑥Providing information on exercise, such as introducing walking courses
  • ⑦Holding seminars on exercise habits by industrial and other physicians

Activities to increase the percentage of people who get enough rest through sleep

  • ①Providing information on shift work, mental and physical health management, and sleep
  • ②Seminars on sleep by industrial and other physicians

Mental Health Care

The Nisshinbo Group implements the following initiatives at each group company.

  • ①Interviews with industrial physicians for high-stress employees
  • ②Stress interviews by supervisors
  • ③Mental health counseling
  • ④Workload equalization
  • ⑤Stress check improvement plans
  • ⑥Providing information on stress measures and mental health
  • ⑦Providing information on harassment
  • ⑧Providing information on promotion of communication in the workplace
  • ⑨Seminars on mental health by industrial and other physicians

Seminars and lectures

The Nisshinbo Group holds the following seminars and lectures for employees at each group company.
The seminars and lectures are designed to help employees improve their lifestyles based on the results of regular health checkups, and the topics selected are smoking cessation, exercise, sleep, and mental health care, such as stress checks.

Smoking cessation

  • ①Smoking cessation seminars
  • ②Industrial physician lectures

Exercise

  • ①Online seminars by private businesses
  • ②Lecture on exercise by industrial physicians at health and safety committee meetings
  • ③Walking workshop

Sleep

  • ①Information on sleep from industrial physicians at health and safety committee meetings
  • ②Relaxation lectures

Mental health care including stress checks

  • ①Mental health counseling
  • ②Lectures by industrial physicians
  • ③Mental health training
  • ④Relaxation courses

Nisshinbo Health Insurance Association Website Launched

On February 15, 2023, Nisshinbo Health Insurance Association opened its website. The following five advantages of this new website are below.

  • ①You can seek information on legal revisions, its health insurance program, budget and settlement of accounts, public notices, and other information can be viewed in a timely manner.
  • ②You can check Q&A before making inquiries to the health insurance association.
  • ③You can search by scene, benefit, and procedure when unsure of the procedure.
  • ④You can download additional application forms you need.
  • ⑤You can easily access the site not only from your PC but also from your smartphone or tablet.

The Group will continue to review its website and enhance its contents to better serve its subscribers.

Specific Activities of the Group Companies

Acquiring Knowledge of Women's Health-Related Issues

Women's health-related issues are said to have an impact on job performance. The Health and Global Policy Institute of Japan (HGPI), a nonprofit organization, published a study showing that women with higher health literacy have better job performance, suggesting the importance of women's health literacy in corporate productivity. In FY2018, women's health has become a priority in the selection of health management descriptions, and specific questions about women's specific health issues have been included in the “health management surveys” conducted for companies.

As part of its health management measures, Japan Radio Co., Ltd., implemented education through the Learning Management System to provide managers and women with correct knowledge about the specific health issues faced by women, such as menstrual disorders, so that they can take appropriate action, including taking care of their work and visiting a gynecologist.

The training was provided to all female employees and managers of the company working in Japan from October 7 to November 30, 2022, and 590 out of the 597 eligible employees (99% participation rate) completed the course.

Participation in the Rotterdam Marathon

Alphatron Marine Beheer B.V., based in the Netherlands, supports its employees in maintaining and improving health and striving to achieve their goals. One such activity is the annual Rotterdam Marathon, which the company supports by paying for the participation of its employees.

There are three courses: the full marathon, the duo (half marathon for two runners), and the relay (four runners: 9 km, 12 km, 8.5 km, and 12.5 km), and participants can choose the distance to run according to their ability. All participants receive a running shirt with the company logo "Alpha Runners" on it.

Participants train together for the event, and there are training sessions for beginning runners. All participants are encouraged to have fun while working toward finishing the race.

The Rotterdam Marathon 2022 had 11,716 participants and is expected to increase further in 2023 with three teams of 12 participants.

Rotterdam Marathon
Rotterdam Marathon

Health Education According to Risk Factors Based on the Results of Health Checkups

Nisshinbo Micro Devices (Thailand) Co., Ltd., based in Thailand, provides health education according to the risk factors identified from the results of health checkups in FY2021 with the aim of promoting and improving the health of employees.

The results of the health checkup in 2021 showed that some employees had abnormal results of high fat and high cholesterol. In March 2022, the company invited a doctor from Hariphunchai Memorial Hospital in Lamphun Province to provide in-house health maintenance education. Eighty-six employees participated in the training and were provided with knowledge and advice on practical health maintenance guidelines. Employees were encouraged to ask questions about any health problems, thereby increasing their awareness and concern about their health.

For the same purpose, on August 16, 2022, the company invited a nutritionist from the Nutrition Lampoon Hospital to provide basic knowledge on quality food to the company's cafeteria vendors. The content of the course was based on the basics of nutrition, principles of food hygiene, and proper nutritional management during the workday. In particular, eating food that tastes sweet, greasy, or salty is one of the main causes of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cancer, and emphysema, and these diseases are the leading cause of death in Thailand. Nine cooks were given the opportunity to learn how to prepare high quality food in a hygienic manner and how to properly select the appropriate ingredients to raise awareness of food and nutrition.

In-house health maintenance education
In-house health maintenance education
Lectures on food and nutrition
Lectures on food and nutrition

Setting up a Nonsmoking Day

As part of its anti-smoking educational activities, Nisshinbo Brake Inc., Tatebayashi Plant, observes four nonsmoking days a year throughout the entire premises to raise awareness of the importance of not smoking. The smoking rate at the plant has decreased by approximately 10% over the past 10 years, but the rate remains above the national average.

With the partial revision of the Health Promotion Law and other changes, the smoking environment has been shifting from separate indoor smoking areas to outdoor smoking areas. To encourage each and every employee, the company has been displaying awareness information and educational posters related to the SDGs, such as moderate smoking, smoking cessation, quitting smoking, in conjunction with World No Tobacco Day and No Smoking Week.

At the beginning of its activities, the company had set one smoke-free day per year to coincide with the World No Tobacco Day. However, after a change to two days per year when the company received sufficient understanding and cooperation for the prevention of smoking in the smoking area at the corona disaster, the company now has set four days per year. The company will continue to make effective use of these four nonsmoking days throughout the premises to gather information on nonsmoking awareness activities throughout the Nisshinbo Group, as well as activities in the community, and disseminate this information within its business sites.

Antismoking awareness bulletin board
Antismoking awareness bulletin board

Health Consultation by a Health Care Physician

Nisshinbo Textile Inc., Osaka Office, uses the opportunity of a monthly visit by a health doctor to offer health consultations (interviews) to those who wish to receive them.

Each consultation lasts for 30 minutes and is open to employees on loan from nearby subsidiaries and other companies. Applications should be addressed to the manager of the Human Resources and General Affairs Section, who accepts a variety of consultations from individuals regarding both mental and physical health issues with full consideration to privacy. In some cases, with the consent of the individual, necessary measures may be implemented for employment.

In FY2022 (April to December), six individuals were consulted and interviewed. There is a certain need among employees for health consultation services provided by a physician who understands the company's business operations and working environment. The company will continue to offer this health consultation service as an opportunity to maintain and improve the mental and physical health of its employees.