The basic approach to corporate governance of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation is described below.
The Group supplies basic materials and components that are essential to society, and is a composite business entity that also operates recycling and renewable energy businesses. Therefore, to ensure flexible and appropriate business execution, we have introduced an in-house company system.
The functions and duties of the Board of Directors shall be as follows:
Further, Outside Directors play a role in supervising the appropriateness of Directors and Executive Officers in the execution of their duties from an objective standpoint and in providing a diverse range of values regarding the management of the Company based on expert knowledge and through experience that differs from that of officers who advanced internally, so that the Board of Directors' management supervisory functions would be further strengthened. The Board of Directors is comprised of 11 Directors (including 7 Outside Directors), and the Chairperson of the Board of Directors is performed by Akira Takeuchi (Chairman of the Company).
The Nomination Committee determines the policy for nomination of candidates for Director and dismissal of Directors and the content of proposals for the appointment and dismissal of Directors to be submitted to the General Meeting of Shareholders. In addition to this, the Committee deliberates on the appointment and dismissal of Executive Officers, etc. in response to inquiries from the Board of Directors and reports back to the Board of Directors thereof. Furthermore, the Committee deliberates on the candidates for the successor of the Chief Executive Officer with the development plans and exercises supervision to ensure that the development of successor candidates is performed appropriately. The Committee deliberates on candidates for the next Chief Executive Officer in response to the inquiries from the Board of Directors and reports back to the Board.
Majority of the Nomination Committee members shall be Independent Outside Directors, and the Chairperson shall be performed by an Independent Outside Director. The Nomination Committee is comprised of 5 Directors (All are Outside Directors), and the Chairperson is Tatsuo Wakabayashi (Independent Outside Director).
The Audit Committee audits the legality and validity of duties performed by Directors and Executive Officers, via audits either using internal control systems or directly by the Audit Committee member selected by the Audit Committee. Majority of the Audit Committee members shall be Independent Outside Directors, and the Chairperson shall be performed by an Independent Outside Director. The Audit Committee also elects 1 full time Member of the Audit Committee in order to improve the effectiveness of audits conducted by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is comprised of 5 Directors (including 4 Outside Directors), and the Chairperson is Kazuhiko Takeda (Independent Outside Director).
The Remuneration Committee establishes policies for determining individual remuneration for Directors and Executive Officers, and determines the individual remuneration to be received by Directors and Executive Officers based on such policies. Majority of the Remuneration Committee members shall be Independent Outside Directors, and the Chairperson shall be performed by an Independent Outside Director. The Remuneration Committee is comprised of 3 Directors (All are Outside Directors), and the Chairperson is Hikaru Sugi (Independent Outside Director).
The Sustainability Committee shall review policies on sustainability issues and others after being consulted by the Board of Directors, and submit the details to the Board. Majority of the Sustainability Committee members shall be Independent Outside Directors, and the Chairperson shall be performed by an Independent Outside Director. Currently, the Sustainability Committee is comprised of 4 Directors (including 3 Outside Directors), and the Chairperson is Koji Igarashi (Independent Outside Director).
*To enable Directors to perform at a higher level, the Company reviewed the number of committees on which each Director concurrently serves and the appropriate number of members for each committee. The number of members on the Remuneration Committee and the Sustainability Committee were reduced respectively as of June 26, 2024 (members of the Remuneration Committee were reduced from 5 to 3, and those of the Sustainability Committee were reduced from 5 to 4).
Even after the number of committee members is reduced, the committees will allow Outside Directors other than committee members to participate as observers to eliminate information gaps among Outside Directors, and will also allow the CEO and others to attend committee meetings as necessary to hear explanations and opinions.
Executive Officers execute business in accordance with the prescribed segregation of duties, based on the delegation of authority from the Board of Directors. The Company has 8 Executive Officers, of which the Chief Executive Officer Naoki Ono, and Managing Executive Officer Makoto Shibata, are elected as Representative Executive Officers upon the decision of the Board of Directors.
Following the delegation of authority from the Board of Directors, the Strategic Management Committee reviews and determines important matters concerning the management of the entire Group. The Strategic Management Committee consists of the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Officers in charge of each department of the Div. of the Corporate. The Chief Executive Officer serves as the chairperson of the committee.
As part of sustainability initiatives, Sustainability Deliberative Council and Reviews are implemented starting in the fiscal year ending March 2025, replacing the previous Governance Review and Meeting for Sharing Governance Information.
Themes to be covered have shifted from governance-related matters (safety, health, human rights, compliance, environment, quality, communication and information security) to sustainability-related matters in response to global environmental issues and human capital management.
Sustainability Deliberative Council is a forum for the head office and business divisions to deliberate and decide on policy and plans related to the above sustainability-related matters prior to the start of the fiscal year (March).
Sustainability Reviews are forums for each business division to report on progress of activities based on policy and plans decided at the Sustainability Deliberative Council at least once per fiscal year.
Meetings are attended by Executive Officers and heads of relevant departments, with a system in place for sharing and following up on information reported at these meetings.
Our basic approach to the structure of the Board of Directors, which fulfills the roles of determining the direction of management and exercising supervision over the progress of business execution, is to ensure that it comprises a diverse range of human resources with different expert knowledge, experience, and other qualities. In particular, the Nomination Committee will consider candidates for Outside Director to ensure that they comprise individuals who possess experience and knowledge in corporate management (including in businesses similar to and/or different from the Group’s business) and organizational management, and individuals who possess broad and advanced expert knowledge and extensive experience in relation to finance and accounting, legal affairs, production engineering, research and development, sales and marketing, international relations, etc.
In light of the basic policy on the structure mentioned above, the Nomination Committee will nominate and select individuals who satisfy the following requirements as candidates for Director, regardless of individual attributes concerning gender, nationality and race, etc.:
Further, with respect to candidates for Independent Outside Director, the Nomination Committee will nominate and select individuals who satisfy the following requirement in addition to the above requirements:
The specific selection of talent shall be decided after deliberation by the Nomination Committee.
If any of the following apply to a Director, the Nomination Committee may make a determination on the content of a proposal to be submitted to the General Meeting of Shareholders regarding the dismissal of that Director.
The Company considers that an Outside Director is not independent if he or she falls under any of the conditions listed below while meeting the standards for independence established by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.
1. An individual who falls under or has fallen under any of items (1) or (2) below, either presently or in the past:
2.An individual who falls under any of items (1) through (5) below:
3.An individual who has fallen under any of items (1) to (5) of 2 above at any time in the past three (3) years:
4.A close relative of any of the persons listed in item (1) or (2) of 1 above, items (1) to (5) of 2 above, or 3 above (excluding unimportant persons); or
5.A person who has served as the Company’s Outside Director for a period of more than eight (8) years.
In electing Executive Officers responsible for the execution of business tasks, individuals who satisfy the following requirements will be elected, regardless of individual attributes concerning gender, nationality and race, etc.:
In relation to the election process, the Chief Executive Officer will first draft a proposal for the election of Executive Officers after consulting with relevant officers as necessary. The Chief Executive Officer will then submit a proposal for the election of Executive Officers to the Board of Directors based on the deliberations and responses to inquiries at a Nomination Committee meeting, and Executive Officers will be elected by resolution of the Board of Directors based on a comprehensive review of the candidates’ personal history, achievements, specialist knowledge, and other capabilities.
In addition, if any event occurs that makes an Executive Officer highly ineligible in light of these standards, the Executive Officer shall be dismissed by resolution of the Board of Directors following a review by the Nomination Committee.
The main expertise and experience possessed by the Directors are shown in the Skill Matrix in Table 1. In addition, Table 2 shows from what perspectives the Directors contribute and provide knowledge on the Company’s Medium-term Management Strategy working toward achievement in 2030 based on their respective expertise and experience as indicated in the Skill Matrix.
With the aim of creating an attractive remuneration system for outstanding management talent that will drive improvements in the Group’s corporate value from a medium- to long-term viewpoint and establishing remuneration governance that will enable the Company to fulfill its accountability to stakeholders, including shareholders, the Company shall establish a policy on determining the remuneration for Directors and Executive Officers (collectively, “Officers”) and a remuneration system as follows:
Basic remuneration shall be paid in cash as fixed remuneration in accordance with one's job position.
The annual bonus shall be determined based on the consolidated operating profit, relative comparison of TSR, and status of achievement of the non-financial target set for each Executive Officer, on a single-year basis.
The specific evaluation items shall be as follows:
*Sustainability Policy Items
By deeming the amount payable for achievement of the target (Base Annual Bonus) as 100%, the amount for each individual shall be calculated by using the following calculation formula:
Annual Bonus = Base Annual Bonus by Job Position × Payment Rate Based on Performance Evaluation*
The annual bonus shall be determined based on the evaluations of each portion of 60%*, 20% and 20% of the base amount, which depends on one’s job position, in terms of consolidated operating profit (or, in the case of an Executive Officer in charge of business activities, operating earnings from the relevant business sector), relative TSR comparison and non-financial factors, respectively.
With regard to the target of consolidated operating profit for annual bonuses, in principle, the consolidated performance forecast for the current period planned in the Medium-term Management Strategy shall be applied. (For operating earnings of the business for which the Executive Officer is responsible, planned consolidated operating earnings from the relevant business sector shall be used.)
Stock-based compensation shall be a system that utilizes a trust for the purpose of achieving the sharing of a common profit awareness with shareholders. This shall be used as an incentive for improving the medium- to long-term corporate value of the Group and under which the Company’s shares and cash equivalent to the proceeds from the realization of the Company’s shares shall be delivered and paid in accordance with one’s job position, upon retirement from the post of Executive Officer. No performance conditions nor stock price conditions shall be set with respect to the shares to be delivered.
Please note that in the case of a non-resident staying in Japan, different treatment may be applied under laws or for any other relevant circumstances.
For non-financial evaluation, each Executive Officer (excluding the CEO) is required to set three target items, one of which is a sustainability issue. Each item is broken down into two or three sub-items. The table below summarizes details of non-financial sub-items set for the fiscal year ending March 2025 in accordance with the Sustainability Policy, etc.
In the fiscal year ending March 2025, we have mandated the promotion of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and in particular, the setting of targets related to the ratio of female managers. Additionally, many Executive Officers set targets related to proactive efforts to protect the global environment.
Items in line with the Sustainability Policy | Executive Officer | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
Build a Work Environment that puts Safety and Health First | 〇 | 〇 | |||||
Respect for Human Rights | 〇 | ||||||
Promote Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
Cultivate Mutual Prosperity with Stakeholders | |||||||
Strengthen Corporate Governance and Risk Management | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | ||||
Engage in Fair Business Transactions and Responsible Sourcing | 〇 | 〇 | |||||
Ensure Stable Provision of Safe, Secure, and High Value Added Products | |||||||
Proactive Engagement for the Global Environment | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
Classification of Officers | Total amount of remuneration, etc. (Millions of yen) |
Type of Remuneration, etc. | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monetary remuneration | Nonmonetary remuneration | ||||||
Basic remuneration | Bonus (Performance-linked remuneration) | Stock-based compensation | |||||
Total (Millions of yen) | Number of eligible recipients | Total (Millions of yen) | Number of eligible recipients | Total (Millions of yen) | Number of eligible recipients | ||
Directors (Other than Outside Director) |
88 | 88 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Executive Officer | 489 | 312 | 9 | 76 | 9 | 100 | 9 |
Outside Director | 126 | 126 | 7 | — | — | — | — |
Name | Classification of officers | Total amount of remuneration, etc. (Million Yen) |
Type of remuneration, etc. (Million Yen) |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monetary remuneration | Nonmonetary remuneration | ||||
Basic remuneration | Bonus (Performance-linked remuneration) | Stock-based compensation | |||
Naoki Ono | Executive Officer | 104 | 63 | 16 | 25 |
With regard to the consolidated operating profit target for the annual bonus, in principle, the consolidated operating profit plan for the current fiscal year in the Mid-term Management Strategy shall be applied (with regard to the operating profit of the business in charge, the consolidated operating profit plan for the relevant business in charge shall be used).
The following are the target and actual values of performance-linked indicators for bonuses paid in the current fiscal year:
Evaluation criteria | Target value | Actual value | |
---|---|---|---|
Operationg profit | Consolidated | \500 billion | \232 billion |
Metals Business | \218 billion | \98 billion | |
Advabced Products Business | \155 billion | \40 billion | |
Metalworking Solution Business | \143 billion | \108 billion | |
Consolidated operating profit growth rate | ー | -53.52% | |
TSR (Ranks in parentheses are for the six domestic nonferrous metal companies) |
ー | 134% (Third rank) |
The Board of Directors met 19 times in the fiscal year ended March 2024. To ensure the effectiveness of the Board of Directors, the Company requires each Director to make every effort to attend all meetings, and the attendance rate was 100% in the fiscal year ended March 2024. Approximately 100% attendance rates are also maintained by the Nomination Committee (which met 14 times), Audit Committee (17 times), Remuneration Committee (9 times), and Sustainability Committee (9 times).
Board of Directors | Nomination Committee | Audit Committee | Remuneration Committee | Sustainability Committee | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of meetings held | 19 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 68 |
Rate of attendance of all Directors (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98 | 100 | 100 |
Rate of attendance of External Directors (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98 | 100 | 100 |
The term of a Director in the Company is one year. As of July 2024, the average number of years served by active Directors was 4.6 years while the figure for Directors who have resigned in the past five years was 3.3 years.
Item | Average term |
---|---|
Average number of years served by active Directors at present | 4.6years |
Average number of years served by Directors who resigned in the past five years | 3.3years |
The Company analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of the Board of Directors based on the evaluation by each Director on an annual basis. In the fiscal year ended March 2022, the evaluation was conducted using a third-party organization for the first time. In the future, a third-party evaluation shall be conducted once every three years.
In the fiscal year ended March 2024, the Company evaluated the effectiveness of the Board of Directors by way of a questionnaire-based self-evaluation. Starting in the fiscal year ended March 2024, we operate a new initiative in which Directors (excluding those who also serve as Executive Officers) comment on each others’ contributions to the Board of Directors, etc. The evaluation method and a summary of the results are outlined below.
The questionnaire uses a four-grade evaluation for the questions below (1. Strongly agree, 2. Agree, 3. Disagree, 4. Totally disagree) and provides a free comment space where needed.
There was an evaluation of initiatives concerning the following matters taken for further improvement by the Board of Directors in the fiscal year ended March 2024 based on the results of the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Board of Directors in the fiscal year ended March 2023. It was confirmed that although “improvements have been made” in general, “initiatives were not adequate” for certain matters.
As a result of deliberations by the Board of Directors, it was confirmed that the effectiveness of the Board of Directors was secured in the fiscal year ended March 2024. Through the evaluation, it was confirmed that “Efforts will be made to further improve the management of the Board of Directors in order to enhance corporate value, which is one of the most important missions of the Board of Directors, and initiatives will be taken to further improve the following matters in the fiscal year ending March 2025.”
・Development of core management personnel
・Medium- to long-term competitive advantage of the Company
*To the following questions in the questionnaire, 6 of 11 Directors answered “Disagree” and 5 responded “Agree,” with negative responses outnumbering positive responses.
・Do you think that the Board of Directors holds sufficient discussions on the development of core management personnel?
・Do you think that the Company’s medium- to long-term competitive advantage (business strategy, quality of management, governance system, etc.) has been adequately conveyed to the capital market?
A summary of the opinions of the Directors regarding the above is as follows.
Based on the results of the evaluation of the Board of Directors in the fiscal year ended March 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors will undertake the following measures to increase the effectiveness of the Board of Directors in the fiscal year ending March 2025.
The Audit Committee examines the status of the development and operation of the internal control system, risks in implementing the Medium-term Management Strategy and the status of countermeasures, the status of measures related to sustainability issues including occupational safety and compliance with the Antimonopoly Act, the appropriateness of auditing methods and the results of audits by Accounting Auditors, as well as other matters.
To these ends, the Audit Committee has established and operates a framework to audit the execution of duties by Directors and Executive Officers. Specifically, the Committee conducts interviews with Directors, Executive Officers, departments in charge of internal audits, and departments in charge of internal control, etc. to assess their progress in executing their duties. The Committee also reviews approval documentation and other relevant materials. Appointed members of the Committee are assigned to investigate the business and asset conditions at the Company’s headquarters and key business locations, and they conduct on-site audits of subsidiaries and other entities as required, in accordance with the audit standards and audit plan established by the Committee. Additionally, the Audit Committee enhances coordination by regularly holding meetings with Audit & Supervisory Board Members at major Group companies to strengthen the effectiveness of the Group wide audit system. To enhance the overall effectiveness of the three-pillar audit system, the Audit Committee, the Internal Audit Department, and the Accounting Auditor actively engage in discussions and collaborate closely to strengthen coordination.
The full-time member of the Audit Committee also interviews with the CFO regularly and with Executive Officers, to exchange opinions. In addition, he receives reports from the Corporate Division on a regular or timely basis and makes suggestions or recommendations. He also attends important meetings such as the Strategic Management Committee, the Group’s Management Committee, Budget Deliberation, Monozukuri and R&D Strategy Meetings and Sustainability Deliberative Council, as well as conducting on-site audits of locations both inside and outside Japan, including affiliates, and make comments or suggestions on matters of concern.
Kazuhiko Takeda, Chairperson of the Audit Committee, has extensive knowledge of finance and accounting through his experience as the CFO at a major subsidiary of a listed company.
The Audit Committee Office is set up as an organization directly under the supervision of the Committee to assist the Committee in carrying out its duties.
As of June 26, 2024, the Audit Department of the Corporate Division and the Audit Department of in-house companies, which are departments in charge of internal audits, consist of 29 persons, including the General Managers of each Audit Department. They are responsible for conducting internal audit work on the instructions of the responsible Executive Officer in cooperation with the Audit Committee to investigate whether internal control systems are developed and applied in an appropriate manner. They also audit the effectiveness and efficiency of company operations across the Group, the credibility of financial reports, the state of asset preservation and use, the risk management status, and the state of compliance with laws and regulations, and internal rules and standards, based on internal audit plans approved by the responsible Executive Officer and the Audit Committee. Additionally, audits are conducted in close coordination with the Accounting Auditor by sharing information.
The Audit Department of the Corporate Division regularly reports the results of Company-wide audits to the Executive Officer in charge and the Audit Committee, and the Executive Officer in charge regularly reports those results to the Board of Directors.
The Audit Committee appoints the Accounting Auditor based on the following criteria: (1) expertise, independence, timeliness and appropriateness, quality control and governance systems, (2) ability to respond to the Company's multi-industry and global business developments, (3) efficiency improvement of accounting audit operations, (4) communication with the Audit Committee, management, etc., (5) any applicability to dismissal requirements based on statutory grounds, and (6) continuous audit period. The Audit Committee’s policy is to dismiss or not reappoint if a problem is found in these criteria.
Based on the standards for evaluation and selection of Accounting Auditor established by the Audit Committee, it comprehensively evaluates these criteria of Accounting Auditor after obtaining materials from Executive Officers, related departments in the Company and Accounting Auditor and receiving reports necessary for determination.
Since the establishment of the Internal Control System Management Committee in January 2006, we have taken steps such as developing a set of basic principles for improving the Group’s internal control systems, and ensuring compliance with the requirements to introduce internal control evaluation and disclosure systems in relation to inancial reporting, in an effort to ensure compliance with the Companies Act, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and other relevant legislation, and to establish the optimal internal control systems for both Mitsubishi Materials and the Mitsubishi Materials Group companies.
Regarding evaluations conducted during the fiscal year ended March 2024 on our internal control system for financial reporting, an Internal Control Report was submitted in June 2024 for which we received an unqualified opinion of the auditing firm that the content is appropriate.
The Company has a policy of not acquiring or holding shares (Strategic Share Holdings) other than purely for investment purposes, except when it is required for the business strategy. With regard to the Shares in the Form of Strategic Share Holdings, the appropriateness of such holdings shall be specifically reviewed and examined at a meeting of the Board of Directors on an annual basis. As a result of such reviews and examinations, the Company will reduce any Shares in the Form of Strategic Share Holdings if it is not deemed to be necessary to hold such shares.
In the fiscal year ended March 2024, out of Strategic Share Holdings (six listed stocks held as of April 1, 2023), we sold all or part of two of the listed stocks and newly acquired one stock, resulting in a total of six listed stocks held as of the end of March 2024.
As of the end of March 2024, the amount of Strategic Share Holdings on the balance sheet was approximately ¥20.1 billion for listed stocks, approximately ¥2.2 billion for unlisted stocks, and approximately ¥8.7 billion for deemed share holdings of equity securities, totaling 4.6% of the Company’s consolidated net assets as of March 31, 2024.
Mar. 31, 2021 |
Mar. 31, 2022 |
Mar. 31, 2023 |
Mar. 31, 2024 |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of Strategic Share Holdings | Listed: | 43 | 30 | 6 | 6 |
Unlisted: | 106 | 99 | 56 | 54 | |
Deemed share holdings: | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
Total amount: | 153 | 132 | 64 | 61 | |
Total price (billions of yen) |
Listed: | 116.7 | 64.7 | 14.9 | 20.1 |
Unlisted: | 2.8 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 2.2 | |
Deemed share holdings: | 17.6 | 13.7 | 7.9 | 8.7 | |
Total amount: | 137.2 | 84.7 | 25.3 | 31.2 |