MARUI GROUP’s Governance Focused on
Six Stakeholder Groups

MARUI GROUP’s Governance Focused on Six Stakeholder Groups
MARUI GROUP defines corporate value as being produced bycreating harmony between the interests and happiness of all of
its stakeholders and growing the intersection of these interestsand happiness. To coincide with this view, we have begun practicing governance with a focus on our six stakeholder groups.
In June 2021, as the first step of this process, we appointed
two new outside directors—Yasunori Nakagami and Peter David
Pedersen. Also at this time, Reiko Kojima was appointed as aninternal director. We also incorporated elements of the Board
3.0 model, a new governance model being promoted thatentails actively involving external directors in management
strategy planning and other facets of management. Specifically,
MARUI GROUP established the Strategy Committee as a newadvisory body to the Board of Directors tasked with examining
medium-to-long-term business strategies. MARUI GROUP has
also appointed new advisors from younger generations onwhom it will call for advice based on their new perspectives anddiverse values. Through these frameworks, the Company will
accelerate governance focused on six stakeholder groups for the
purpose of achieving its desired impact.

Customers

Business
partners

Investors

Appointment of New Advisors from Younger Generations
MARUI GROUP appoints external experts with insight into business strategies and various business areas as advisors. We anticipate
that such advisors will be powerful assets in the establishment of strategies for Groupwide efforts to accomplish the targets of themedium-term management plan and to improve corporate value over the medium-to-long term as we seek to address the rapidlychanging operating environment and an ever-diversifying society. Regular meetings of advisors are held once every two or threemonths, at which the president, pertinent directors, executive officers, and representatives from relevant areas attend; advice is alsosought on specific themes. In December 2021, MARUI GROUP appointed two representatives of younger generations as advisors to
guide it in accommodating the needs of future generations.

Sota Watanabe

Sustainability Specialist

Public Blockchain Specialist

Reason for appointment: As the first chief future officerof euglena Co., Ltd., Kyoko Ozawa began offering insight
regarding frameworks that unconsciously drive
consumers to eco-friendly action and the elimination of
products contained in plastic bottles in 2019 from theperspective of future generations. MARUI GROUP thus
judged that she would be able to offer valuable input andadvice for achieving the impact targets described in its
medium-term management plan.

Reason for appointment: After founding STAKETECHNOLOGIES in 2019, Sota Watanabe went on todevelop Japan’s Astar Network public blockchain. With
substantial experience and insight regarding blockchain
technology, MARUI GROUP judged that he would be
able to offer valuable input and advice for promoting
digital transformation based on its medium-term
management plan.

Member of Sustainability Committee
University Freshman

Stakeholder Value

Communities
and Society

Kyoko Ozawa

Employees

Appointed in
December 2021

CEO, STAKE TECHNOLOGIES PTE. LTD.
Director, Japan Blockchain Association

Appointed in
December 2021

Future generations

Masakazu Masujima

Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Appointed inJuly 2016

Members of the New Board of Directors Including Stakeholders

Reason for appointment: Masakazu Masujima is a leading expert in the field of fintech with robust insight and experience. MARUI GROUP anticipates that he will offer
proposals of specific growth investment targets, advice and proposals regarding entry into the securities business, and advice on fintech-related laws and regulations foruse in the development of new fintech businesses.

Meyumi Yamada
Director, istyle Inc.

Hiroshi Aoi

Etsuko Okajima

President and Representative Director, Representative Executive Officer
Chairman of Management Committee and Compliance Promotion Board,
Member of Nominating and Compensation Committee, Sustainability
Committee, and Strategy Committee

President & CEO, ProNova Inc.
External Director, Member of Nominating andCompensation Committee and Strategy Committee

Reason for appointment: Hiroshi Aoi has properly overseen the Board of Directors as thechairman and duly performed his supervisory functions with regard to important management decision-making and operational execution as the president and representative
director of the Company since 2005. He has ample business experience and knowledge asa corporate manager and has overseen the overall operation of the Group and performed
his duties properly as the Group representative executive officer. Based on the above
reasons, the Company believes that he can fully perform his functions for facilitating the
medium-to-long-term improvement of the corporate value of the Company.

Peter David Pedersen
Representative Director, Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability
Professor, Shizenkan University
External Director, Chairman of Sustainability Committee

Reason for appointment: Yasunori Nakagami has accumulated a wealth of experience atmanagement consulting firms and investment management companies through which hehas amassed exceptional insight regarding corporate management that emphasizes capital
markets. The Company thus judged that he would be able to contribute to the supervision of
overall management from an independent and objective standpoint as an external director.

Hirotsugu Kato
Director, Managing Executive Officer, and CFO
Chairman of ESG Committee and Insider Trading Prevention Committee,
Member of Management Committee, Sustainability Committee,
Strategy Committee, Compliance Promotion Board,
Public Relations IR Committee, and Internal Control Committee
Reason for appointment: Hirotsugu Kato has overseen finance, investment research,sustainability, and ESG divisions and performed his duties properly as a managing
executive officer of the Company. Based on the above reasons, the Company believes that
he can fully perform his functions for facilitating the medium-to-long-term improvement of
the corporate value of the Company.

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Appointed inJuly 2017

Yutaka Matsuo

Professor, Department of Technology Management for Innovation, Artifacts, Center for Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering,
The University of Tokyo

Appointed in
October 2019

Yasunori NakagamiReason for appointment: Peter David Pedersen has accumulated a wealth of experience atenvironmental and CSR consulting firms through which he has amassed exceptional
insight regarding global-level sustainability management. The Company thus judged that
he would be able to contribute to the supervision of overall management from an independent and objective standpoint as an external director.

Doctor of Medicine; Preventative Medicine Researcher; Representative Director, Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation

Appointed inJuly 2020

Reason for appointment: Reiko Kojima has robust experience as a general physician, aDoctor of Medicine, and a company physician and has properly performed her duties inoverseeing Groupwide well-being divisions as an executive officer. Based on the above
reasons, the Company believes that she can fully perform her functions for facilitating the
medium-to-long-term improvement of the corporate value of the Company.

AI Specialist

Reason for appointment: Yutaka Matsuo possesses a wealth of insight and experience as a leading authority in artificial intelligence (AI) research. In addition, he has
devoted his efforts promoting the use of AI and the cultivation of human resources in this field. One such effort was the establishment of the Japan Deep Learning
Association, an organization tasked with improving the competitiveness of industry in Japan with deep learning. MARUI GROUP anticipates that he will offer valuablesuggestions and advice for utilizing AI to improve corporate value.

Yoshiki Ishikawa

Well-being Specialist

Reason for appointment: Yoshiki Ishikawa possesses a wealth of experience and broad-ranging insight as a preventative medicine researcher. He is also one of Japan’s
foremost researchers of well-being and the representative director of the Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation. MARUI GROUP anticipates that he will offer valuablesuggestions and advice pertaining to the Company’s management.

Masayoshi Suzuki

Executive Vice President, BORDERLESS JAPAN CORPORATION
Member of Sustainability Committee

Reiko KojimaDirector, Executive Officer, and CWO (Chief Well-being Officer)
General Manager, Wellbeing Promotion Department
Company Physician
Member of Management Committee and Sustainability Committee

D2C Specialist

Reason for appointment: MARUI GROUP anticipates that Meyumi Yamada will provide up-to-date information on D2C ecosystems and customer success strategies andstimulate meaningful discussion in this regard to drive new value creation in the post-digital world.

Reason for appointment: Etsuko Okajima has experience and extensive knowledge incorporate management and is well versed in diversity policy and practices. She has
performed her duties as an external director of the Company from an objective, independent position. The Company believes that she can continue to contribute to the reinforcement of the supervisory function for the management of the Company.

Representative Director and CEO, Misaki Capital Inc.
External Director, Chairman of Strategy Committee,
Member of Nominating and Compensation Committee

Fintech Specialist

Appointed in
January 2019

Tomohiro Miyasaka
Venture Capitalist

Appointed inAugust 2021

Social Specialist

Reason for appointment: Masayoshi Suzuki co-founded BORDERLESS JAPAN, one of the few companies in the world that only engages in social businesses, throughwhich this company has addressed social issues pertaining to poverty, discrimination and prejudice, and the environment. MARUI GROUP anticipates that he will offer
valuable suggestions and advice for resolving social issues to help create a flourishing and inclusive society.

Venture Investment Specialist

Reason for appointment: Tomohiro Miyasaka has been involved in initial public offerings associated with numerous investees including Sansan, Inc.; Mercari, Inc.; Money
Forward, Inc.; RAKSUL INC.; Chatwork Co., Ltd.; and Uzabase, Inc. With this extensive background and robust insight, MARUI GROUP judged that he would be able to offer
valuable input and advice for promoting forward-looking investments and gaining higher levels of trust from stakeholders.

89

MARUI GROUP’s Governance Focused on
Six Stakeholder Groups

MARUI GROUP’s Governance Focused on
Six Stakeholder Groups

Corporate Governance System

Officer Skill Matrix

Under the new corporate governance system launched in June 2021, the Board of Directors and the Company’s various committees
have been engaging in discussions that are not bound by previous conventions in search of the strategies, organizational structures,and human resources that will be necessary for achieving its three impact goals. One aspect of the new system is the Strategy
Committee, which was established with the goal of discussing and examining MARUI GROUP’s management from the perspectivesof shareholders and other investors. This committee is helping us produce an even greater range of strategic proposals for businesses based on their barriers to entry. Moreover, the Strategy Committee coordinates with the Sustainability Committee to alignour business and sustainability initiatives in order to develop management frameworks directly linked to positive impacts.
Major Agenda Items Discussed at Meetings of the New Board of Directors (June–November 2021)• Discussion themes for the new Board of
Directors• Revision of officer compensation systems• Establishment and revision of committees• Revision and augmentation of membershipof Management Committee and othercommittees• Appointment of new advisors• Revision of regulations related to Board of
Directors and Management Committee• Evaluation of Board of Directors’ effectiveness• Changes to authority delegated to executive
officers• Response to revision to Japan’s Corporate
Governance Code• Revision of MARUI GROUP Corporate
Governance Guidelines• Production and disclosure of officer
skill matrix• Partial revision of internal audit regulations• Status of cross-shareholdings and future
measures• Cancellation of treasury stock• Status of investment projects and holdingof unlisted securities• Transfer of stock listing to Tokyo Stock
Exchange Prime Market• Directives for new business development• Organization and human resource development for post-digital world• Allocation of Co-Creation Management
Academy participants• Issues and future initiatives pertaining to
subsidiaries

MARUI GROUP began disclosing annual officer skill matrixes with the publication of VISION BOOK 2050 in 2019 in order to help
stakeholders gain a more multifaceted understanding of the management skills and personal qualities of the officers that represent
the Company in various business fields. Through discussions by the new Board of Directors held during 2021, it was decided that
there were 14 skills, comprising shared skills and unique skills, that were required for achieving MARUI GROUP’s desired impact
through the advancement of its management and medium-term management plan. Based on this decision, we prepared a new skill
matrix indicating the insight, experience, and skills of MARUI GROUP’s 24 internal and external directors, Audit & Supervisory Board
members, and executive officers (please see page 106).
Shared Skills

Unique Skills

Common skills required for the Board of Directors to appropriately fulfill its function (insight, experience, and skills)

Unique skills necessary for implementing MARUI GROUP’s
medium-term management plan (insight, experience, and skills)

1. Corporate management
2. Management strategy formulation
3. Human resource management
4. Finances
5. Corporate governance6. Risk management
7. Innovation

8. Sustainability

New Committee Structures and Purpose
Strategy Committee (Newly Established)
ChairmanSustainability Committee

Yasunori Nakagami, External Director

ChairmanMARUI GROUP is unique in its development of abusiness model merging retailing, fintech, andforward-looking investment. Through the Strategy
Committee, I hope to examine strategies for generating long-term, ongoing profits based on extensive
fact and data analyses in order to find an original
approach that is suited to MARUI GROUP.

MARUI GROUP has a close connection to consumers
through its retailing and fintech businesses. I therefore
feel that proposing alternative forms of consumption
and new lifestyles are among our top priorities forsustainability management at MARUI GROUP. In my
capacity as chairman of the Sustainability Committee,
I hope to help MARUI GROUP tackle these priorities.

Coordination

10. Digital transformation

Transcript of Board of Directors’ Discussion

Peter David Pedersen, External Director

Four directors/officers

Members

Meeting
frequency

Once every two months

Meeting
frequency

Four times a year

PurposeThe Strategy Committee was established in
November 2021 to discuss and examine strategies
from the perspective of shareholders and otherinvestors in order to formulate strategies for developing businesses with future potential, including thosewith high barriers to participation, and thereby facilitate management emphasizing stakeholders.

PurposeThe Sustainability Committee was established in May
2019 to help promote the integration of sustainability
and management strategies. Sustainability andimpact specialists and members of younger generations were invited to join the committee as MARUIGROUP sought to set impact targets.

Members

9. Well-being

Unique skills needed for MARUI GROUP’s business strategies(insight, experience, and skills)
11. Retailing 12. Fintech
13. N
 ew business development(forward-looking investments)
14. Investments in start-up companies(forward-looking investments)

Four directors/officers, two advisors

The following is an abridged transcript of a discussion by the Board“investments in start-up companies” and “new business develop-of Directors regarding the skill matrix that took place across two

ment,” as surrogates for this concept.

meetings held in September and November 2021.

Pedersen: “Innovation” may be a little too broad, but I think that

Nakagami: There is no need for MARUI GROUP’s skill matrix to be“investments in start-up companies” might be too narrow. You could

like those of other companies. MARUI GROUP has its own purpose,talk about the co-creation of businesses.

and its skill matrix should thus focus on the skills that are necessary

Aoi: I think we could use “investments in start-up companies” tofor achieving this purpose. Skills related to the Company’s businessrefer to forward-looking investments and include it in the shared

could include industry experience and insight related to retailingskills category if we want to give it a broader nuance. I hope we canand fintech.

receive more input from you when refining future iterations of our

Okajima: When considering the reasons why Japan’s Corporate

skill matrix.

Governance Code expects companies to disclose skill matrixes,
I think we don’t necessarily need to focus on the areas of expertiseof each officer. Rather, it would probably be better to think about the* The CliftonStrengths® assessment is a framework developed by Gallup, Inc., of the UnitedStates that defines 34 CliftonStrengths® themes created by consolidating some 5,000
behavior and thought patterns. This assessment is used in the human resource development programs of more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies.

contribution everyone makes to the Board of Directors as a forum
for management decisions.
Pedersen: I agree with both of you. The skill matrix should not be

Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders
Appoint / Dismiss

Audit & Supervisory Board

Audit

Appoint / Dismiss

about filling in a template; it should be prepared as a message from

Select /Discharge

Board of Directors

MARUI GROUP.
President

Advisory
Committees

Nominating and Compensation
Committee
Sustainability Committee
Strategy Committee

Report / Advise
ReportReport / Advise

Instruct

Report / Advise

Compliance Promotion Board
ReportInstructPublic Relations IR Committee, Internal Control Committee, ESG Committee,
Information Security Committee, Safety Control Committee, Insider Trading Prevention Committee

90

the ideas of purpose and impact that Mr. Nakagami spoke of. I thinkthat we could really make a unique skill matrix by discussing thismatter a little further.

Management Committee

Committee Membershipwww.0101maruigroup.co.jp/pdf/
committee_members_en.pdf

Aoi: By incorporating your input, I hope to make a skill matrix that
truly represents MARUI GROUP, something that closely resembles

ReportMARUI GROUP Corporate Governance Guidelines
www.0101maruigroup.co.jp/pdf/
cgg_20210805_en.pdf

MARUI GROUP Corporate Governance Reportwww.0101maruigroup.co.jp/pdf/
cgr_en.pdf

Nakagami: In the past, MARUI GROUP has taken such unique steps
as presenting external evaluations of the officers using frameworks
like CliftonStrengths®.* The effectiveness of a board of directors is
not only determined by the skills of its members, there also has tobe a good match between the thought patterns of these members.
I hope you will continue to release such evaluations in the future.
Innovation is a very broad concept. Accordingly, the skill matrix
could use concrete terms matched to your business strategies, like

Online Board of Directors’ meeting held in September 2021

91

MARUI GROUP’s Governance Focused on
Six Stakeholder Groups

MARUI GROUP’s Governance Focused on
Six Stakeholder Groups

Energization through Well-being and Gender Equality

CMA Program’s Fifth Year Curriculum Road Map
Step 1: Fostering of recognition as manager
Core values(discussions with officers)

Management simulations

Megatrends

Start-up management mentality

Interim presentation (team presentation)

Step 2: Acquisition of necessary management skills through practical exercise
Profit sensing

Digital transformation(user experience, programming)

New business proposal

Discussion with members ofyounger generations

Final presentation (individual presentation)

MARUI GROUP’s goal in emphasizing well-being in management is to make all of its stakeholders happier. Employees are one suchstakeholder, and ensuring that they are healthy and energized is of utmost importance. The World Health Organization (WHO) uses
the word “well-being” in its definition of “health,” which is as follows: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” MARUI GROUP aims to allow all of its employees to experience the type ofwell-being talked about in this definition. We believe that when every employee is empowered to utilize their individuality and skills tocontribute to higher corporate value and consequently greater happiness for society, they themselves will also feel happier. This cycleof generating happiness is indispensable to the accomplishment of the impact targets described in MARUI GROUP’s new mediumterm management plan.

Resolution of Well-being Issues through Groupwide
Project Teams
MARUI GROUP has establishedGroupwide project teams inwhich any employee can volunteer to participate. One of theseteams is the Well-being
Management Project Team.
This project team is engaged in Fifth-year Well-being Management Project
Team members
discussion of various themes
related to working while maintaining a strong sense of wellbeing. Based on these discussions, the team is formulating andimplementing action plans for achieving our impact targets
through well-being activities. Another well-being-related project
team is the Gender Equality Project Team. MARUI GROUP
recognizes that empowering its female employees in the workplace requires the development of gender-equal work styles.
Developing these work styles is a task that cannot be accomplished by women alone, but rather one that requires reforms to
the thinking of their families and coworkers and of society as awhole. As its first step in promoting these reforms, MARUIGROUP analyzed its degree of success with regard to thewomen’s empowerment indexes it unveiled in 2014. This

information has been used to set new targets to be accomplished by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026.
Women’s Empowerment Indexes

Awareness and corporate culture reforms

MARUI GROUP unveiled its Co-Creation Management Academy (CMA) future leader
development program in April 2017 with the aim of identifying and cultivating
human resources capable of promoting management innovation. This program isbased on open application by individuals passionate about shaping the future of
MARUI GROUP, and each year 10–20 candidates are selected from among theseambitious volunteers. To date, a total of 62 individuals have participated. Those
selected are submitted to a one-year training curriculum developed under the guidance of external directors to instill in them a management perspective.
In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, the fifth year of the program, 12 individuals
were chosen for participation with an average age of 32. Under the guidance ofExternal Director Etsuko Okajima, these individuals are taking part in a one-year curParticipants and instructor for fifth year of CMA program
riculum aimed at cultivating human resources that are able to undertake co-creative
businesses with start-up companies and younger generations. After the completion of this curriculum, they will be seconded to partnercompanies or positioned in strategy or corporate planning positions as we monitor their ongoing development as future leaders.

Empowerment offemale employees

Future Leader Development Program Seeing Involvement from Officers and Advisors

Indicator

Goal

FY2021ResultFY2026
TargetRate of elimination of genderpreconceptions (ratio of
employees rejecting preconceptions about gender roles)

Cultivation of a cultureemphasizing well-being throughelimination of preconceptions
about the roles that people ofspecific genders should play inhousework and child-rearing

37%

50%

Ratio of applicable male
employees taking childcare
leave

Promotion of involvement ofboth parents in child-rearing

100%

100%

Ratio of applicable male
employees taking childcare
leave within eight weeks ofchildbirth by partner

Encouragement of men to get
involved in child-rearing from anearly stage

36%

80%

Ratio of applicable male
employees taking childcare
leave for one month or more

Establishment of foundations
for ongoing involvement inchild-rearing by men

9%

20%

Rate of household chore andchild-rearing participation bymale employees

Improvement of rate of
involvement in housework andchild-rearing by men

30%

35%

Ratio of female employees
pursuing upper-level positions

Establishment of foundations
for empowering female
employees

70%

75%

Ratio of female leaders

Expansion of female representation in management

30%

40%

Ratio of female managers

Encouragement of female
employees to participate inmanagement

15%

20%

Ratio of female officers

Encouragement of female
employees to participate insenior management

22%

30%

Principal Instructors and Discussion Counterparties
Overall supervision

Etsuko Okajima, External Director

Core values(discussions with officers)

Hiroshi Aoi, President and Representative Director
Masao Nakamura, Senior Managing Executive
Officer
Tomoo Ishii, Senior Managing Executive Officer

Start-up management
mentality

Yuta Tsuruoka, CEO, BASE, Inc.
Taejun Shin, Representative Director & CEO,
Gojo & Company, Inc.
Yosuke Miyama, Representative Director,
Sparty, Inc.

MegatrendsPeter David Pedersen, External Director(Sustainability)
Masayoshi Suzuki, Advisor (Social Impact)
Yoshiki Ishikawa, Advisor (Well-being)

Digital transformation (userexperience, programming)

Yusuke Mizuno, Representative Director and CEO,Life is Tech, Inc.

New business proposal

Kentaro Sakakibara, Representative Director,
SAMURAI INCUBATE INC.

VOICE

Yoshiki Ishikawa
Advisor, MARUI GROUP
Doctor of Medicine;
Preventative Medicine Researcher;
Representative Director, Well-being
for Planet Earth Foundation

92

I am focused on how to measure reductions in the disparity in the use of time between men and women.
Well-being includes both objective and subjective elements. The objective elements can be measured in theform of data on such metrics as the rates of employees undergoing health examinations or taking paid leaveand childcare leave. Subjective elements, meanwhile, include how empowered and motivated one feels intheir work. The world I envision after the COVID-19 pandemic is not just one where we live without masks
and enjoy resumed economic growth. I want a world in which everyone has true well-being, in other words, aworld in which everyone experiences both objective and subjective well-being. In order to effectively promote
well-being, a company must do so from both objective and subjective perspectives.
MARUI GROUP is a company that is truly committed to promoting well-being for both its employees andthe rest of society. Looking at these committed efforts, I am focused on how to measure reductions in the
disparity in the use of time between men and women going forward. For example, women have a tendency
to devote more time to their work and family than men, and therefore spend less time on themselves. It iscurrently common for their husbands and male coworkers to fail to understand this difference between theirideal use of time and the reality of the situation, which has created a gender gap when it comes to well-being.
By sharing this information among people of all genders, and reconciling these disparities, I hope to help
improve contemporary lifestyles. This would help us enjoy the fundamental quality of well-being, which is justthat—being well. I have high expectations for the activities of MARUI GROUP’s Well-being Management
Project Team and Gender Equality Project Team. I hope to see their activities spread throughout theCompany and then into the greater society.
93Broadening Scope of
Well-being Activities
DIALOGUE 07

A K I R A S AT O

REIKO KOJIMA

Potential for Well-being That Extends Outside of the Company
Former leading securities analyst and current investor Akira Sato believes the excitement an organization exhibits is an intangible asset. Joined by Reiko Kojima, CWO, company physician, and proponentof well-being management at MARUI GROUP, he explores the meaning of this statement through an
intellectual examination of topics ranging from the definition of well-being to the Group’s future direction.

Improvement of Well-being through Empowerment
and Excitement

Akira Sato
Co-Founder and Representative Partner, Value Create Inc.
Akira Sato joined Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., in 1987, where he became
a securities analyst in 1989. He co-founded Value Create Inc. together
with Masahiro Mitomi, a certified public accountant in Japan and theUnited States, in May 2001. Over the years, he has held a number of
positions, which have included being a part-time lecturer at the
Department of Management of Technology of the Tokyo University of
Science and director of WICI Japan. He also held director, outside
director, and corporate auditor positions at overseas asset managementcompanies, Rheos Capital Works Inc., long-term investment firm
Commons Asset Management, Inc., Fuji Pharma Co., Ltd., and othercompanies. In 2016, Sato became general manager of the Investment
Research Department at MARUI GROUP.


Reiko Kojima
Director, Executive Officer, and CWO (Chief Well-being Officer)
Company Physician
General Manager, Wellbeing Promotion Department, MARUI GROUP CO., LTD.
A physician by profession, Reiko Kojima spent roughly 10 years as acompany physician at a major manufacturer. She began working at theoccupational mental health unit of Kitasato University Graduate Schoolof Medical Science in 2006, receiving her Doctor of Medicine in 2010.
Kojima became a company physician at MARUI GROUP in 2011, laterassuming her current positions of director, executive officer, CWO, andgeneral manager of the Wellbeing Promotion Department in 2021.

94

Photographs show Sato and Kojima walking at
the Four Seasons and Waterside Gardens biotope at Nakano Marui.

Kojima: The Constitution of the World Health Organization(WHO), which was written in 1946, uses the word “well-being”
in its definition of the word “health.” The full definition of theconstitution is “Health is a state of complete physical, mental
and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.” In 2016, MARUI GROUP started up a Companywide
project team based on the theme of health, which would eventually become the Wellbeing Promotion Project Team. I havebeen sharing the WHO’s concept of well-being with project teammembers since this time. However, the idea of well-being was
not one that was well known in Japan even just a few years ago.
Not until recently did you hear people talking about the subject.
Sato: It is similar to the concept of outcome as it relates to theprocess of creating corporate value. It was only just recently
that people have started to assess outcome for this purpose.
Companies create products as their output, and people havenow begun emphasizing the outcome of that output, such as
the positive impacts they create for society. However, it was
only just five years ago that this idea of outcome would be met
with question marks. Even when I was still an analyst, I did not
believe that quarterly financial results were directly linked tocorporate value. For that reason, I found no excitement in thefinancial explanations at financial results briefings. I was moreinterested in going to factories to talk to engineers and otherfrontline workers. Seeing their enthusiasm gave me a better
sense of the potential outcomes of a given company.
Kojima: Management academic Sumantra Ghoshal explainedthat the competitiveness of a company flows from the front lines.
Sato: Yes. And I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Many
investors who were focused on the fundamentals also turned
their attention to non-financial factors. I, personally, look at factors
like a company’s strengths, strategies, culture, the differences in
the quality of its human resources, and employee turnover rates.
Kojima: Over the course of two decades, I worked as a company physician at a number of companies. My examinations of
employees revealed that addressing an individual’s healthissues did not necessarily contribute to their happiness. Meanwhile,

people who were motivated to immerse themselves in their workor hobbies had a certain energy to them. This experience convinced me that empowering people and granting them a senseof excitement was a clear route to improving their well-being.

Well-being as Viewed from the Idea of Ecosystems
Kojima: When promoting well-being, selecting appropriate
indicators is something that requires special attention. If we areasked what indicators are linked to improved profitability, ourexplanations become very abstract and roundabout, with nohard, direct link established. There are a lot of elements that
contribute to well-being. It is therefore not as simple as saying,
we launched a Companywide project and it resulted in thisspecific improvement in financial indicators. What are yourthoughts regarding financial indicators for well-being, Mr. Sato?
Sato: There are two factors I would like to touch on in thatregard. The first is technological progress. It has gotten a loteasier to quantify various changes. The pace of technologicalprogress is such that we are substantially closer to the desired
technologies today than we were even just five years ago.
One example of new technology for quantifying well-being is
Happiness Planet, a smartphone app that measures happinessscores. I understand that you have used this app in the past,
Dr. Kojima. We have also recently seen the emergence of websites
like OpenWork, a review and recruitment website that allows
employees to post reviews of their companies. A number ofcurrent and former employees of companies use such websites
to score their employers. Moreover, we are now able to perform
analysis that reveals when a rise in a certain indicator has
contributed to higher sales or stock prices, even after a period
like 18 months. I suspect that we will see an increase in suchtools going forward. The second factor is the idea that, perhaps,
we don’t even need to look at the numbers. What I mean to say
is this, value is not about one-to-one relationships, where asingle action has a direct impact on a single indicator. Rather,value is born out of what is more like an ecosystem. I want totalk with institutional investors about things like the reasons
behind certain decisions or why they chose to emphasize a
specific indicator. I believe that such conversations can give95

a more overarching picture of these subjects. As opposed tofocusing on the mechanics of companies, like how much input
resulted in what output or what something’s absolute value was,I think it would be better to look at companies like ecosystems.
Kojima: I believe that we are currently seeing the spread ofsuch thinking.
Sato: MARUI GROUP advisor Yoshiki Ishikawa speculated thatwell-being should be defined as “when you feel like things aregoing well.” I think he touches on something incredibly insightful. It is important not to break things down too far. One way tolook at this is to think about the forest of Meiji Jingu shrine.
This forest was engineered by forestry expert Seiroku Honda
with a vision for its completion 150 years later. He assembled avariety of trees from across Japan: tall trees, short trees, broadleaf trees, conifer trees. He planted these in an inconsistentpattern while picturing how they would grow in this environment to get an idea of the completed forest that would emerge
150 years later. As a result, the Meiji Jingu forest is a lush andthriving forest today, 100 years after Honda started it. However,if Honda had broken down his view of the forest to look atthings on a lower level, I do not think we would have the forest
we have today. The same goes with finances. What others call“non-financial information,” I call “pre-financial information.” Thisis because I do not think we should look at aspects of a company as being either “financial” or “non-financial.” Rather, I thinkthat these two categories have more of an “and” relationship, as
what is currently “non-financial information” may become an
indicator of future performance if we look far enough down theline. This is why I brought this ampersand-shaped (&) decoration to today’s discussion. “Non-financial” factors like well-being
and impact will eventually have a financial impact. This is why
I refer to information on these factors as “pre-financial information.” Corporate value is predicated on the betterment of society.
For this reason, we should look at the benefits for society,including those that do not immediately translate to corporate
value, as elements of future corporate value. This value is somethingthat cannot be accounted for when you gauge corporate valueon the short time frame of one quarter or one year.

Analogy of Organizations as Bodies
Kojima: I can totally agree with the idea that we should not lookat non-financial information and financial information in termsof an “or” relationship. For example, health issues are somethingusually categorized as non-financial information. The COVID-19
pandemic is a major health issue, but it has also had a massive
impact on the financial performance of companies. Humanrights issues are also something viewed as non-financial. However,as we have witnessed with the Black Lives Matter movement,
human rights issues can also impact a company’s business. As
seen in these relationships, as well as in the recently emerging
concept of dynamic materiality, this is not an “or” relationship.
I think that a good analogy can be made between
96

organizations and people’s bodies. Every cell and every organ
does not only act based on the commands of the brain. They
function with a degree of autonomy based on feedback fromthe organism to work toward its own goal of survival.
Sato: I agree. Cells are at the same time individual organisms
as well as parts of a larger organism. In this manner, there is arelationship between the individual and organization. I think
I have heard something about a person’s bowels having a mindof their own.
Kojima: What you are talking about is the gut–brain connectionin which intestinal flora have a major influence on one’s physicalcondition.
Sato: So, it wasn’t cells, but bacteria.
Kojima: Yes, intestinal flora.
Sato: So, it is bacteria that is the source of the impact. Thereis perhaps something that can be learned by thinking aboutcompanies from that perspective.
Kojima: There is definitely a lot that can be learned. If all organs
fulfilled the same function, there would be no problem withpeople being like slimes. But this is not the case. Livers haveliver cells. Skin has skin cells. Because each cell has its own
characteristics, the collective of these cells that is us is able tofunction as a single human. Cells themselves are always working and being replaced via metabolism. When we think of it like
this, we will see that the human body is definitely the best
analogy for an organization.
Sato: What you are saying resembles the idea of dynamic
equilibrium put forth by Japanese biologist Shinichi Fukuoka. It
would be great if we could link this mechanism to corporate value.

Future Direction for Well-being
Kojima: A lot of Japanese companies still expect employees toleave their values at home, put on their work face, and do what
they are told. If MARUI GROUP can escape these conventions
and show how it can succeed without them, other companies
will be able to use this as an example. This would also move theGroup closer to accomplishing its mission of bringing happiness to its employees.
Sato: One’s physical and mental health as well as their happiness are all related. It is therefore odd to expect one to leave
their values at home. How are conditions for MARUI GROUP
employees in this respect?
Kojima: We still have a long way to go in this regard. MARUIGROUP has been fostering a corporate culture of voluntary
participation for about a decade now, and the ratio of employees
participating in the Company’s various voluntary opportunities
had risen to 80% in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. Ourcurrent task is to help employees express their personal values
as a lingua franca and to encourage them to share these values
with their colleagues so that everyone can feel joy in their work.
To this end, the Companywide Wellbeing Promotion Project
Team held a purpose workshop for around 200 employees.

Sato’s favorite “&” decoration(Learn its secret in the discussion!)

Project team members mentioned how they hadn’t had any
opportunities previously to think about the overlap between theirpersonal values and their work goals, and 95% of participants
said that the workshop was a beneficial opportunity.
Sato: That is great.
Kojima: MARUI GROUP aims to foster a corporate culture
founded on autonomy, in which employees are able to express
their personal values as a lingua franca and turn their preferences and aptitudes into work.
Sato: What do you think should be MARUI GROUP’s next
step forward?
Kojima: The next step should be to use MARUI GROUP’s initiatives and businesses to promote increased well-being throughout society. In 2020, the Wellbeing Promotion Project Team
partnered with students from Otsuma Nakano Junior & SeniorHigh School, which is located near the MARUI GROUP head
office in Nakano, in an effort to energize the community.
Students and employees prepared more than 1,400 cards
containing messages of appreciation for their families andfriends as well as for healthcare workers. These message cards
were displayed in Nakano Marui, where they could be viewed bycustomers. The employees who took part in this event in aneffort to contribute to the happiness of the community statedthat they also felt more empowered as a result.
Sato: They got joy from seeing the joy their actions brought tomembers of the community.
Kojima: Exactly. Rather than just trying to promote well-being in
the isolated environment that is a company, it is better to try
and bring joy to society, an approach that can also contribute tohigher employee engagement. The Nakano Marui event provedthat people get the most joy by bringing joy to others. This is
one of the reasons MARUI GROUP aims to help employees use
their preferences and aptitudes in their work. For example, by
having employees develop businesses based on their own
interests, whether that be anime, K-pop, or something else, we
can attract customers with similar interests and thereby bringjoy to both customers and the employees. Our well-being initiatives should not be limited to employees, but should rather beadvanced on targeting all stakeholders, including future generations, to bring joy to a wider range of people. This is the direction I think we should take in our well-being management.
Sato: I think the time frame we consider is important. Analysts
tend to only formulate performance forecasts for a two-year
period. However, if you only look to generate earnings on a
two-year basis, it will be tempting to push your employees
forward, even at the expense of their well-being. Conversely,some say that more than 60% of the corporate value of a company can be explained by its cash flows 10 years down the line.
If we take this perspective, the physical and mental health of
employees becomes more important than the earnings of agiven fiscal year or the three-year plan of a company. If employees, and society as a whole, are not healthy, a company will notlast 10 years. Based on this perspective, I think MARUI GROUP
has chosen the right direction.
97

Our favoriteS
As of October 1, 2021

H__Hiroshi Aoi

President and Representative Director, Representative Executive Officer
President and Representative Director, okos Co., Ltd.
Director, D2C & Co. Inc.

I love movies, especially comedies. Luckily, 2021 was a good year for comedies. The
pamphlet I hold is from a 2020 Taiwanese movie called My Missing Valentine that wejust got in Japan in 2021. This is a love story about a woman who is a second too early
and a man who is always a second too late. The fun is seeing the relationship develop
between these two people who live in different worlds. This fantastical story takes
place against a beautiful yet nostalgic backdrop, and even includes some scenes
more akin to science fiction. The happy ending exudes a warm feeling of peace andhappiness. I would also like to mention that this movie got me hooked on Douhua, aTaiwanese snack, over the summer. Its subtle taste brings with it a calming feelingof pleasure.

p__Peter David Pedersen

External Director
Professor, Graduate School of Leadership and Innovation, Shizenkan University
Representative Director, Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability

I love things that are based on a cross-generation perspective aimed at enriching
our future, whether these be products, services, businesses, people, or organizations.
I want to support things that can survive and evolve and help create a future that ismore in tune with people. In 1994, I went on an exchange to Schumacher College in
Devon, England. There, I learned from writer and scientist Fritjof Capra about the Gaia
hypothesis, ecology, and the systems theory of life. I also value peace above all else.
It was for this reason that I have devoted my life to ensuring the coexistence and survivability of all living things, including people and especially the future generations,
given their aversion toward conflict. These are areas in which I am incredibly interested. My experience at this school shaped my values and the course I would walkin the future.

H__Hirotsugu Kato

E__Etsuko Okajima

Director, Managing Executive Officer, and CFO
In charge of IR, Finance, Sustainability, and ESG Promotion
Director, MARUI CO., LTD.
Director, tsumiki Co., Ltd.
President and Representative Director, D2C & Co. Inc.
Director, okos Co., Ltd.

External Director
President & CEO, ProNova Inc.
Director, euglena Co., Ltd.

I love the act of co-creation through brainstorming with extraordinary people. I always
carry around a miniature whiteboard that I use to map out diverse viewpoints to help
stimulate innovation. My experience of co-creating with my various colleagues at
Harvard Business School transformed my priorities from maximizing, stabilizing,and knowing to updating, changing, and being. Meanwhile, having a child shifted myfocus from predicting the future to shaping the future. I now view my mission as being
to indulge my obsession with seeking out extraordinary individuals, including thoseamong younger generations, to connect with such individuals, provide them with
opportunities, and engage in co-creation. I also hope to continue to draw out the potential of the MARUI GROUP team so that we can create a more exciting future together.

I have with me my protein shaker, which I have been using at the gym for five years.
This is the longest I have ever managed to keep going to the gym, and I was able toslim down as a result. To be honest, I have signed up for gyms several times in thepast, but I would always quit within a year. This is because I was not very good at introducing myself to the established community that already existed at these gyms, whichmeant I always felt isolated. My current gym assigns me a personal trainer, which, ofcourse, means that I am exercising more effectively. This also means that I do not haveto feel isolated. After working out, my trainer will ice me down and then give me a massage. This is just pure bliss. My workouts are now an inseparable part of my well-being.

R__Reiko Kojima
Y__Yasunori Nakagami

External Director
Representative Director and CEO, Misaki Capital Inc.

My favorite words are “hypothesis” and “playfulness.” Hypotheses entail viewing theworld from different angles and thus serves as a source of motivation for changing thefuture. I feel the most excitement when I am hypothesizing in this manner. Surprisingly,
what I find most important when hypothesizing is a playful approach. Examining
something from a new angle can tend to make one get a little too serious, but thetrick to finding the best ideas is to take a playful approach and search freely. I brought
cuff links with me today. Cuff links are generally used in formal occasions and cansometimes be used for extravagance. However, my favorites are the playful cuff links,
like these beach sandal ones, or these tennis rackets, motorcycles, or triangles. I love
to clip on these cuff links when I hypothesize.

Director, Executive Officer, and CWO (Chief Well-being Officer)
General Manager, Wellbeing Promotion Department
Company Physician

My lifework is calling upon my background as a physician to contribute to the wellbeing of society. At graduate school, I researched how to energize people and organizations. Lately, I have been hooked on media related to China’s Records of the Three
Kingdoms. The highly relatable generals and strategists that appear in these stories
show a level of commitment to their goals that is itself empowering to see. When I feeltired, I pop in a DVD and am rejuvenated with a new passion to proceed and a recognition of how happy I am to have the job of making people happy. People should notleave their values at home when they go to work. Rather, they should find a way to­utilize their strengths and individuality in their work. I hope to help create a more
accommodating society in which this will be possible. Recently, I have been having
more opportunities to meet people outside of MARUI GROUP who share this vision,
giving me a sense that the times are changing and are making me even more committed to my work.
©京東方恒和影視文化有限公司(focused on works from Communication University of China)

9899

OUR FAVORITES

Y __Yoko Suzuki

Audit & Supervisory Board Member (Full time)

External Audit & Supervisory Board Member
Outside Director and Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Nippon Pigment Co., Ltd.
Member of the Board, Bridgestone Corporation
Auditor, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry
Partner, Suzuki Sogo Law Office

A number of years ago, a gust of wind blew over the planters on my veranda. My rosemary shrub, which was the largest among those plants affected, had its trunk split in
two by the impact. This got me a little down in the dumps. It was my fault for nottaking proper care of the plant. The sprig I have with me is from the rosemary shrub
after I managed to revive it. I have continued to care for this shrub since I bought it as asapling at a gardening store on the Boso Peninsula some 20 years ago, and this rosemary shrub is now among the oldest of the more than 70 plants that can be found bothin and around my house. This plant gives me peace with all the flowers it produceseach year while also helping to spice up my meals. In case you haven’t guessed, myhobby is gardening.

Growing up in the lush nature of Fukuoka City, I have loved the Guri and Gura seriesof books since I was a kid. Wanting to experience the world contained in these books,
I remember asking my mom to make pancakes and then eating these on a picnic. A lotof time has passed since then, and I am now a mom myself. Reading these books withmy children, I am once again moved by seeing the forest creatures happily share theircastella sponge cakes and reuse the shell of a big egg. When making our daily meals,
I try to make sure that I use everything I buy to prevent food loss. Also, like the characters Guri and Gura, I always want to enjoy cooking and the act of eating itself. One of
my hopes in helping build a sustainable society is to ensure that Guri and Gura can beread for generations to come.

H __Hitoshi Kawai

Guri and Gura
Written by Rie Nakagawa, illustrated by Yuriko Omura, published by FUKUINKAN
SHOTEN PUBLISHER INC.

M __Masao Nakamura

Audit & Supervisory Board Member (Full time)

Senior Managing Executive Officer, and CSO (Chief Security Officer)
In charge of Corporate Planning, Real Estate Operations
President and Representative Director, MARUI HOME SERVICE Co., Ltd.
President and Representative Director,
MARUI HOME SERVICE MANAGEMENT Co., Ltd.
Director, Epos Small Amount and Short Term Insurance Co., Ltd.

I lived in Hokkaido for three years when I was still in elementary school. It was during
this time that I first played ice hockey, and I have been in love with the sport ever since.
I even kept playing it as a hobby after joining MARUI GROUP. This is the head gear that
I used to wear back in the day. Ice hockey is an incredibly intense sport, with plays only
lasting about a minute or so. Accordingly, teams are always switching out their members, which means that teamwork is much more important than individual talent. It
was from this sport that I learned the value of cooperation and also gained the spiritof dedication that propels me to get things done. Today, MARUI GROUP is united in
exercising its philosophy of co-creation. I look forward to contributing to these efforts
by calling upon my spirit of dedication and what I learned from ice hockey.

I love sitting in my hammock chair, on my veranda, with the sun glinting throughthe trees. As I rock back and forth, and let my head relax, my imagination springs into
action, and I envision fun plans for the future, sometimes for my work, sometimes formy private life. I love the excitement I feel when lost in my mind. My attitude toward
work may make me seem like a pragmatist, but I actually see myself as a romantic.
I am also an optimist, believing that we can do anything as long as we want it bad
enough. I like it when my job is fun. Of course, I have never worked in a job that wasn’t
fun. Maybe I am just the kind of person who finds fun in everything. Right now, I am
filled with excitement for MARUI GROUP’s efforts to co-create value as we shape a
new future that is not confined by the limits of our common sense.

N __Nariaki Fuset __Takehiko Takagi

External Audit & Supervisory Board Member
Certified Public Tax Accountant

Here is a fountain pen that I have been using for more than two decades. Being stuckat home during the COVID-19 pandemic has given me a chance to reflect on my life.
There is a saying in Japanese that essentially translates to “do what you can and wait
for the heavens to judge.” This sentiment has inspired me to move forward without fear
for what might happen, and I am truly grateful for the environment that has allowed me
to take this approach. I think that acting with sincerity is incredibly important, whether
we are talking about people or about companies. MARUI GROUP shows such sincerity
as it continues to make forward-looking investments based on its co-creation approach,even while feeling the impacts of the pandemic. I too am sincerely committed to helping
the Company achieve its sustainability and well-being goals in my capacity as an
Audit & Supervisory Board member.
100

T __Tomoo Ishii

Senior Managing Executive Officer and CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer)
In charge of General Affairs, Personnel, and Wellness Promotion

People cannot see the future. If you could, you would be some sort of superhuman.
However, if one could see the future, I don’t think it would be any fun. Sure, things
would be easier, but it might actually be depressing for the prophet themselves. The
feelings of joy and excitement we experience are a result of us formulating hypotheses
about uncertain futures and working toward our goals to find success. There is nothing
greater than when your vision for the future matches up with the one of the company
you work at. We may feel a sense of lacking by ourselves, but we can form a strongorganization if we are all aligned toward a single goal. This is the type of organization,
the type of corporate culture, I hope to create. When I think about my future right now,there is a goal that I definitely want to accomplish: Getting beefed up!
101OUR FAVORITES

Y __Yoshinori Saito

A __Akikazu Aida

Managing Executive Officer
In charge of FinTech BusinessPresident and Representative Director, Epos Card Co., Ltd.
Director, MRI Co., Ltd.
Director, tsumiki Co., Ltd.

When I was in my 20s, an older coworker took me to a well-established bar, where I had
my first encounter with single malt whisky, and I have been a fan of whisky ever since.
The greatest appeal of single malt is the sense of individuality each brand has. The distillery and the number of years of distillation give each whisky its own, clearly defined
personality, characterized by differing colors, fragrances, and tastes. The COVID-19
pandemic has limited my opportunities to drink with friends, but I am still enjoying
experiencing new, unique single malts at home. I take the same approach toward interacting with people in my work and private life as I do to whisky, I value the individualityof every person as I seek to expand my number of acquaintances. After the pandemic,
I hope to go to Scotland with some of my good friends so that we can tour the distilleries there.

Senior Executive Officer, CDO (Chief Digital Officer), and General Manager,
Customer Success Division and Corporate Planning Division
In charge of Co-Creative Investment
Director, D2C & Co. Inc.
Director, okos Co., Ltd.

Working out at the gym is what gives me the strength to keep going every day. It goes
without saying that the gym helps me keep in shape. However, it is also an importantelement of my mental health as it offers me an opportunity to feel the joy of testingand surpassing my limits and gives my head a break when I shut out all unnecessary
thoughts to focus on my breathing. I have always been optimistic, forward-looking, andtrue to myself, and using the gym as a mood changer helps me better enjoy the otheraspects of my life. At the same time, I get tired of things easily, and I have a tendency
to seek out new thrills to excess. I also am a people lover, and I find joy in engaging
with different people. I therefore look forward to producing value that is beneficial tosociety through co-creation with a wide variety of people.

M __Masahiro Aono

M __Masahisa Aoki

Senior Executive Officer
In charge of Retailing BusinessPresident and Representative Director, MARUI CO., LTD.

Executive Officer
CEO, tsumiki Co., Ltd.

I love to see people’s smiling faces. I made my debut on the sales floor 35 years ago,
but I still remember the smile of a customer thanking me after they had purchased awallet. I was struck; it is so amazing to be able to do a job that makes people smile.
Around two decades ago, I was put in the position of selling yukata, traditional
Japanese garments people often wear to festivals, and it was great seeing all of thesmiling customers off on their way to a summer festival or to go see fireworks. Yukata
definitely look best on smiling people. I continue to wear a yukata every summer. It is
still the smiles of customers that motivate me today in our efforts to develop storesthat do not sell and eventful stores. I also want to make our business partners smile.
And our employees too. In fact, I hope to bring smiles to the faces of all of our stakeholders, including shareholders, communities, and even future generations. My business goal is to make as many people smile as possible, and I cannot forget about
myself when it comes to this.

H __Hajime Sasaki

Y __Yoshiaki Kogure

There are so many things I love: music, books, sports, sake, houses, cars, dogs, et cetera.
However, it is not like I have broad knowledge about all of these things. Rather, I am thetype of person who gets really into specific areas of my wider scope of interests. For
example, I am currently into surfing, and my instructor often tells me to be careful not
to overdo it. When I get into something, I really get into it, and I have to stop myself fromdragging others into whatever I am obsessed with at the moment. Everyone is different,
and I have to respect our differing values after all. I think everyone can understandgetting passionate about something they love. I hope we can make a society in which
everyone is free to passionately devote themselves to whatever it is that they love.

Recently, I have been spending all my time golfing, but I have to be honest and say that
I like skiing the best. Skiing is what made me. I joined a ski club in my freshman year
at university, but I had zero ski experience at the time. I remember spending the entire
year preparing for the winter skiing season and devoting so much time to competitions, where I would take part in races that were over in about a minute. I never reallyaccomplished much competitively, but I loved it nonetheless. It was this experiencethat gave me the dedication to see things through. I have with me the skis I used to usesome 40 years ago. I am not using them anymore, but they were too important to me
to throw away. When I see these scratched up, rusty old things, I can’t help but want totake a trip down the slopes. But, I guess I still love golf too.

Senior Executive Officer
In charge of Architecture
President and Representative Director, AIM CREATE CO., LTD.

102

When you want the thrill of speeding along untamed roads, but you just don’t havethe time, there is a small yet consistent group of people who turn to good old radiocontrolled (RC) cars. I think I am pretty good at supporting the interests of others andtaking these interests and turning them into businesses. When making such businesses, I always remember to have fun. Tackling a difficult task is not all fun andgames, but I try to turn a challenge into an opportunity with a higher-than-necessarylevel of smiles. I feel like I am defined by MARUI GROUP’s anime business, which was
still new when I got involved. In this business, the synergy between the interests of
employees and the interests of customers catalyzed rapid growth, and our anime business quickly reached a scale at which it is posting transaction figures in the tens of billions of yen. I am excited about the possibility of co-creating a new world together with
passionate, or perhaps over-passionate, customers and business partners.

Executive Officer
In charge of Audit

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OUR FAVORITES

Y __Yuko Ito

M __Miyuki Kawara

Executive Officer
General Manager, Group Design Center and Construction Department
Director, MARUI CO., LTD.
Managing Director, AIM CREATE CO., LTD.

Executive Officer
Director and Store Manager, Kitasenju Marui, MARUI CO., LTD.

I love fashion. When I was job hunting, I attended an introductory presentation on
MARUI GROUP. I was so happy for the opportunity to be able to go to Tokyo that I wore
a flower dress to the presentation. My love of wearing adventurous outfits continued
even after I joined the Company, with me showing up to work in a long skirt thatdragged along the ground and even pants with a tiger’s face on them. I was enjoying
testing the limits of how far I could go. If you ask me why I love fashion so much,
I would say because it fills me with a feeling of optimism. The things that give one
this feeling will vary from person to person. In fact, the same person may draw
­optimism from different things under different circumstances. I hope to co-create­businesses that give people this sense of optimism. Today, I have brought Ku-chan.
She helps me relax and she has a lot of friends back at home.

At school, I used to love geography and geometry. I had a lot of fun looking at maps andimagining spaces. This passion led me to visit these spaces to see what they actuallylooked like. Climbing tall mountains rewarded me with a view and feeling of accomplishment that no map can provide, and this thus became my hobby. Later, my love of imagining spaces would drive me to become an architect. I would eventually be involved indeveloping numerous stores for MARUI GROUP. You could even say that I wrote the map
for MARUI GROUP. The digital maps we have today let you experience various spaces
without grabbing a compass or even leaving your home. I am now working to combine
the ideas of the young digital natives who grew up in this world with my ability to invent
spaces in order to create new value.

T __Tatsuo Niitsu

M __Mayuki Igayama

Executive Officer
President and Representative Director, MOVING CO., LTD.

I have always loved sports, though I have never been very good at them. I have beenplaying sports since I was a kid, starting by playing baseball with my friends andmoving on to basketball, tennis, skiing, and eventually golf. Even now, I will often
spend entire days off playing some kind of sport. As a side effect of this hobby, I havecome to love the feeling of sore muscles and being worn out. But I really hate getting
sunburned. I have been a dedicated user of SPF 50 sunscreen since I was in my 20s.
I used to be the type of person who would get so caught up in my work that I had todo everything by myself. A health incident in my 40s, however, forced me to realize thelimits of individuals and awakened me to the power of co-creation. I am now caught up
in co-creation for realizing MARUI GROUP’s vision.

I have always been someone who gets completely absorbed in things. When I got
hooked on bicycle races, I watched every race held overseas on cable TV. This spray
I have with me is my own special blend of mint oil that I use to drive away bugs when
I go traveling, my current obsession. My tendency to get absorbed in things is also an
asset to my work. If something bothers me, I will keep at it until I am satisfied. If it everlooks like I am “spacing out,” it is because I am lost in thought. If I were to try to assess
myself objectively, I would say that I cannot help but take an interest in the unique characteristics of every individual. I hope to practice co-creation in which everyone involved
can get absorbed in both unique talents and business models.

J __Junko Tsuda

T __Takeshi Ebihara

I love to tour various regions to indulge in their local culinary specialties. If you tell mea place has a unique culinary tradition or distinctive ingredients, I will dash to thelocation. I love food so much that I will sometimes, though admittedly rarely, take day
trips to Mie Prefecture when clams are in season. I have been this way for more than
20 years. I also love enjoying drinks that have embraced the local culinary culture. It isa lot of fun to drink and chat with the regulars of an establishment. By being amongpeople with different backgrounds and values, I have the opportunity to talk about
and understand our differences and also to experience that feeling of joy when wefind common ground. I look forward to co-creating with anyone willing to join me.

I have been a fan of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team since I was a kid. Even right now, I
am curious about what the latest scores and standings are. I was on a baseball teamwhen I was a kid, and this experience taught me the joy of winning as a team, utilizing
our individual strengths while covering for our weaknesses. I found this experience mostworthwhile. However, I always hated when people bunted. I was more interested in scoring big in each inning. This attitude carried over to my work. To date, I have been involvedin numerous systems-related initiatives that were only successfully completed thanks tothe support of our various partners. Going forward, I hope to take full advantage of ourstore and EPOS card infrastructure to score big in co-creation with stakeholders.

Executive Officer
Director and General Manager, Sales Promotion Department, Epos Card Co., Ltd.

104

Executive Officer
Director and General Manager, E-Commerce Business Department, MARUI CO., LTD.
Director, MOVING CO., LTD.
Director, okos Co., Ltd.

Executive Officer and CIO (Chief Information Officer)
President and Representative Director, M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD.

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A T R I
Officer Skill Matrix

CliftonStrengths®

Investments instart-up companies

New businessdevelopment

106

FintechDirector, Executive Officer, and CWO(Chief Well-being Officer)

Retailing

Reiko Kojima©2021 Gallup, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction and replication is prohibited. Gallup®,
StrengthsFinder®, CliftonStrengthsFinder®, and the names of the 34 CliftonStrengths® aretrademarks of Gallup, Inc.

Digitaltransformation

Director, Managing Executive Officer,
and CFOFor information on CliftonStrengths®, please refer to the following website.
https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253715/34-cliftonstrengths-themes.aspx

Well-being

Hirotsugu Kato

Sustainability

External Director
Chairman, Sustainability Committee

Innovation

Peter David Pedersen

Risk management

External Director
Chairman, Strategy Committee

For information on officer backgrounds, please refer to the following website.
https://www.0101maruigroup.co.jp/en/ci/officer/

Unique Skills
Corporate
governanceYasunori Nakagami

Finances

External Director

Human resource
management

Etsuko Okajima

Management
strategy
formulation

President and Representative
Director, Representative Executive
Officer

Shared Skills
Corporate
management

Domain of Overall
Strengths:
Top 5
CliftonStrengths®

Hiroshi Aoi

LX

See page 91 for a discussion by the members of the new Board of Directors regarding therevision of the officer skill matrix.

Basis for Skills

1. Futuristic
2. Ideation
3. Learner
4. Belief
5. Individualization

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director (April 2005 to present)
CManagement strategy formulation: Involvement in corporate planning since prior to becoming president and representative director and in formulation of medium-term management plans collectively encompassing period spanning from 2014 to 2026 as president and representative director
Finances: Oversight of capital policies as president and representative director
Risk management: Chairman of the Compliance Promotion Board responsible for Groupwide risk management (October 2005 to present)Innovation: Leadership of business model innovation and evolution through measures including transition to fixed-term rental contracts, development of stores that do not sell,
and redefinition of credit card business as fintech businessSustainability/Well-being: Promotion of Groupwide ESG initiatives, including 2019 establishment and disclosure of MARUI GROUP’s 2050 Vision; participation in World Economic
Forum’s Global Future Council on Japan and other sustainability- and well-being-related committees
Digital transformation: Definition of vision for stores for post-digital era and promotion of stores that do not sell, housing tenants like D2C brands and content and subscription
service providers
Retailing/Fintech: Oversight of retailing and fintech businesses as president and representative director
New business development: Leadership of launch of several new business projects through direct oversightInvestments in start-up companies: Involvement in decisions to conduct investments totaling ¥13.4 billion in 31 start-up companies (as of September 30, 2021)

1. Activator
2. Communication
3. Maximizer
4. Individualization
5. Achiever orporate management: Experience as representative and CEO of GLOBIS Management Bank (July 2005 to May 2007) and president & CEO of ProNova Inc. (June 2007 toCpresent)
Management strategy formulation/Human resource management: Extensive track record as a management consulting expert specializing in management team enhancement
and leader cultivation; involvement in cultivation of future leaders at MARUI GROUP
Finances/Corporate governance: Extensive knowledge regarding finances and corporate governance gained from serving as an outside director at various companies
Innovation: Discussions with managers and support for corporate innovation as part of main businessSustainability: Support for promoting diversity at various companies as part of main business, leadership in promoting empowerment of female employees at MARUI GROUP
Well-being: Leadership exercised in discussions regarding improving corporate value through well-being as first chairperson of a Japanese well-being initiative committee established in 2021
New business development: Establishment of ProNova Inc. in June 2007
Investments in start-up companies: Insight regarding start-up companies gained as advisory board member of committee seeing participation by leaders in start-up company
management

1. Strategic
2. Activator
3. Ideation
4. Futuristic
5. Command orporate management: Experience as representative director and CEO of Asuka Corporate Advisory Co., Ltd. (March 2005 to July 2013) and representative director and CEO ofC
Misaki Capital Inc. (October 2013 to present)
Management strategy formulation: Two decades of experience providing management consulting services to a wide range of industries
Finances/Risk management: Insight regarding finances and investment-related risk management gained through years of involvement in investingCorporate governance: Insight related to corporate governance gained as chairman of the Independent Directors Committee of the Japan Association of Corporate Directors(February 2018 to present)Innovation: Establishment of unique investment style by advocating new concept of being an engaged shareholder that works together with companies and their management
New business development: Establishment of Misaki Capital Inc. in October 2013

1. Strategic
2. Input
3. Futuristic
4. Responsibility
5. Connectedness

 orporate management: Experience as CEO of E-Square Inc. (September 2000 to October 2011), representative director of Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability (January 2015
C
to present)
Management strategy formulation: Guidance of strategy formulation for collaboration with new companies and managers focused on environmental initiatives and Lifestyles of
Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) and for related projects in self-established companies and NPOs
Human resource management: Cultivation of future leaders as representative director of Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability
Innovation: Advancement of numerous innovative sustainability initiatives, including introducing Japan to the concept of LOHAS, together with companies, universities, andgovernment agencies
Sustainability/Well-being: Co-founding of CSR and environmental consulting firm E-Square Inc. as start of more than 20-year career as sustainability specialist
New business development: Founding of E-Square Inc., Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability, and various other companies

1. Harmony
2. Analytical
3. Responsibility
4. Consistency
5. Individualization

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of D2C & Co. Inc. (January 2020 to present)
CManagement strategy formulation/Corporate governance: Leadership of formulation of medium-term management plans and establishment and evolution of corporate governance systems as general manager of the Corporate Planning Division (April 2013 to March 2017)
Finances: Background centered on finance and accounting divisions dating back to joining MARUI GROUP and experience as CFO (April 2019 to present)
Risk management: Member of the Compliance Promotion Board responsible for Groupwide risk management (October 2015 to present)Innovation: Spearheading of capital measures including promotion of targeted balance sheet from perspective of investors since 2016
Sustainability: Promotion of sustainability initiatives and proactive disclosure as officer in charge of sustainability and ESG promotion (October 2016 to present)Digital transformation: Leadership of Groupwide digital strategies as CDO (October 2017 to March 2019) and senior managing director of M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (April 2018 toMarch 2019)
New business development: Leadership in establishing tsumiki Co., Ltd., a company providing cumulative investment services through EPOS cards
Investments in start-up companies: Involvement in decisions to conduct investments totaling ¥13.4 billion in 31 start-up companies (as of September 30, 2021)

1. Maximizer
2. Learner
3. Arranger
4. Achiever
5. Self-Assurance uman resource management: Leadership in promoting wellness management contributing to improved corporate value as company physician (April 2011 to present)H
Risk management: Promotion of workplace risk management measures including those for prevention of overworking and mental health issues with occupational health andsafety consultant qualifications
Innovation: Promotion of development of highly creative organizations by going beyond scope of duties as company physician to plan Companywide project team and programs
targeting senior management
Sustainability/Well-being: Promotion of wellness management and well-being management through Companywide project team as general manager of Wellbeing Promotion
Department (formerly Health Management Division, April 2014 to present) and CWO (May 2021 to present)

107

CliftonStrengths®

Masahiro Aono
Senior Executive Officer

Hajime Sasaki
Senior Executive Officer

108

Investments instart-up companies

Managing Executive Officer

New businessdevelopment

Yoshinori Saito

FintechSenior Managing Executive Officer
and CHRO (Chief Human Resources
Officer)

Retailing

Tomoo Ishii

Digitaltransformation

Senior Managing Executive Officer
and CSO (Chief Security Officer)

Well-being

Masao Nakamura

Sustainability

External Audit & Supervisory Board
MemberInnovation

Yoko Suzuki

Risk management

External Audit & Supervisory Board
MemberUnique Skills
Corporate
governance

Takehiko Takagi

Finances

Audit & Supervisory Board Member(Full time)

Human resource
management

Nariaki Fuse

Management
strategy
formulation

Audit & Supervisory Board Member(Full time)

Corporate
management

Domain of Overall
Strengths:
Top 5
CliftonStrengths®

Hitoshi Kawai

Shared Skills

Basis for Skills

1. Ideation
2. Responsibility
3. Deliberative
4. Strategic
5. Arranger

 anagement strategy formulation: Insight into management strategies gained from experience as general manager of the Corporate Planning Division of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan
M
Stanley Securities Co., Ltd. (January 2013 to September 2014)
Finances: Robust practical experience and insight regarding finances and accounting gained from working at a bankCorporate governance: Practical corporate governance insight related to business partners gained from working at a bank
Risk management: Insight regarding financial and accounting risks gained from working at a bank

1. Arranger
2. Responsibility
3. Analytical
4. Harmony
5. Achiever orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (April 2013 to March 2018)
C
Corporate governance: Leadership of Groupwide IT governance and investment plans as president and representative director of M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD.
Risk management: Insight regarding information security risks gained through more than 30 years of experience in core systems engineering, development, and operation
Digital transformation: Involvement in formulating systems development frameworks supporting expansion of fintech business as president and representative director of
M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD.

1. Harmony
2. Responsibility
3. Analytical
4. Arranger
5. Deliberative

 inances: Specialized insight and robust experience regarding taxation and accounting gained in positions as chief of Kanazawa Regional Taxation Bureau and president ofF
National Tax College
Corporate governance/Risk management: Qualifications as certified public tax accountant; auditing of taxation and other management risks based on robust experience ascorporate auditor at other companies

1. Positivity
2. Includer
3. Achiever
4. Communication
5. Strategic

 orporate governance/Risk management: Highly specialized insight as attorney; extensive knowledge on corporate legal affairs and legal compliance audits founded on robustCexperience and insight gained as outside director, corporate auditor, etc., at other companies
Retailing: Insight on retailing from perspective of corporate auditor gained in positions as an outside corporate auditor at retailing companies

1. Individualization
2. Arranger
3. Maximizer
4. Woo5. Communication

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of MOVING CO., LTD. (April 2010 to March 2011); president and representative director ofC
MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2011 to March 2016); president and representative director of AIM CREATE CO., LTD. (April 2016 to March 2019); and president and representative directorof MARUI HOME SERVICE Co., Ltd. (April 2021 to present)
Management strategy formulation/Finances/Corporate governance: Experience as general manager of the Corporate Planning Division (March 2008 to March 2011) and officer incharge of corporate planning (April 2019 to present)
Risk management: Oversight of Groupwide risk management as CSO (April 2021 to present)Innovation: Promotion of retailing business structural reforms through transition to fixed-term rental contracts
Retailing: Experience as officer in charge of retailing business (April 2015 to September 2017 and April 2020 to March 2021) and president and representative director of
MARUI CO., LTD.
Fintech: Experience as officer in charge of fintech business (October 2017 to March 2020)

1. Analytical
2. Significance
3. Responsibility
4. Restorative
5. Relator

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of MARUI FACILITIES Co., Ltd. (formerly CSC Service Co., Ltd., October 2008 to March 2013) andC
president and representative director of MOVING CO., LTD. (April 2017 to March 2019)
Human resource management: Experience as general manager of the Personnel Division (April 2013 to March 2016), officer in charge of personnel (April 2016 to present), and
CHRO (May 2021 to present)Corporate governance/Risk management: Experience as general manager of the Group Compliance Division (October 2005 to September 2007), general manager of the General
Affairs Division (October 2007 to March 2013), and officer in charge of general affairs (April 2013 to present)
Sustainability: Experience as officer in charge of CSR promotion (September 2007 to March 2013)
Well-being: Experience as CHO (formerly Chief Operating Officer of Healthcare Promotion, April 2015 to May 2021) and officer in charge of wellness promotion(formerly officer in charge of healthcare promotion, April 2015 to present)
Retailing: Experience as deputy store manager in charge of general affairs at Tachikawa Marui (January to December 1999)

1. Consistency
2. Harmony
3. Analytical
4. Significance
5. Relator

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of Epos Card Co., Ltd. (April 2016 to present)
CManagement strategy formulation: Establishment of medium-term management plans for the fintech business, collectively encompassing period spanning from 2016 to 2026 aspresident and representative director of Epos Card Co., Ltd.
Finances: Experience as general manager of the Financial Department (July 2008 to March 2011)
Risk management: Insight regarding fintech-specific risks like delinquent debt and information security gained as president and representative director of Epos Card Co., Ltd.
Innovation: Promotion of unique strategy of maximizing share of household finances through expansion of rent guarantee services, etc.
Retailing: Experience as general manager of the Direct Marketing Department (April 2011 to March 2012) and the Demand Survey Department of MARUI CO., LTD.
(April 2012 to March 2013)
Fintech: Experience as president and representative director of Epos Card Co., Ltd., and officer in charge of fintech business (April 2020 to present)

1. Positivity
2. Maximizer
3. Ideation
4. Intellection
5. Woo
1. Maximizer
2. Strategic
3. Ideation
4. Adaptability
5. Relator

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD. (July 2020 to present)
CManagement strategy formulation: Establishment of medium-term management plan for the retailing business encompassing period spanning from 2021 to 2026 as president
and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD.
Risk management: Member of the Compliance Promotion Board responsible for Groupwide risk management (April 2016 to March 2017 and October 2019 to present)Innovation: Promotion of retailing business structure reforms through transition to fixed-term rental contracts
Retailing: Experience as president and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD., and officer in charge of retailing business (April 2021 to present) orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2016 to March 2019), and president and representative director ofC
Epos Card Co., Ltd. (April 2019 to present)
Management strategy formulation: Establishment of medium-term management plan for the retailing business encompassing period spanning from 2016 to 2020 as president
and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD.
Risk management: Member of the Compliance Promotion Board responsible for Groupwide risk management (October 2014 to present)Innovation/Retailing: Robust retailing experience as president and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD.; promotion of retailing business structure reforms through transition
to fixed-term rental contracts
Sustainability: Promotion of sustainability in the construction field through collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd., conducted as president and representative director of
AIM CREATE CO., LTD.
Retailing: Experience as officer in charge of retailing and store operation business (April 2015 to March 2016) and president and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD.
Fintech: Experience as director and general manager of the Card Planning Division (October 2007 to September 2009) and director of Epos Card Co., Ltd.
(April 2015 to March 2016)109

CliftonStrengths®

Tatsuo Niitsu
Executive Officer

Takeshi Ebihara
Executive Officer and CIO(Chief Information Officer)

110

Investments instart-up companies

Executive Officer

New businessdevelopment

Miyuki Kawara

FintechExecutive Officer

Retailing

Junko Tsuda

Digitaltransformation

Executive Officer

Well-being

Mayuki Igayama

Sustainability

Executive Officer

Innovation

Yuko Ito

Risk management

Executive Officer

Unique Skills
Corporate
governanceYoshiaki Kogure

Finances

Executive Officer

Human resource
management

Masahisa Aoki

Management
strategy
formulation

Senior Executive Officer and CDO(Chief Digital Officer)

Corporate
management

Domain of Overall
Strengths:
Top 5
CliftonStrengths®

Akikazu Aida

Shared Skills

Basis for Skills

1. Woo2. Achiever
3. Communication
4. Positivity
5. Analytical orporate management/Finances/Corporate governance: Experience as general manager of the Corporate Planning Division (April 2017 to present)CRisk management: Member of the Compliance Promotion Board responsible for Groupwide risk management (April 2019 to present)Innovation: Promotion of increased investments in non-tangible assets for creating new businesses and transition to intellectual creation company as general manager of the
Corporate Planning Division and officer in charge of co-creative investment (October 2021 to present)Digital transformation: Oversight of digital transformation strategies as general manager of the Customer Success Division (October 2018 to present) and CDO(April 2021 to present)
Retailing: Experience as deputy store manager of Yurakucho Marui (April 2013 to March 2014) and of Hakata Marui (April 2016 to March 2017)
New business development/Investments in start-up companies: Experience as director of D2C & Co. Inc. (January 2020 to present); director of okos Co., Ltd.
(May 2021 to present); and officer in charge of co-creative investment

1. Positivity
2. Maximizer
3. Harmony
4. Individualization
5. Includer

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2019 to June 2020)
C
Risk management: Member of the Compliance Promotion Board responsible for Groupwide risk management (April 2019 to present)Innovation/New business development: Proposal of anime business; pioneering of MARUI GROUP’s development of new businesses; and growth of anime business and contribution to transformation of retailing business as general manager of Anime Business Department (April 2016 to March 2019) and officer in charge of the anime business(April 2018 to March 2020)
Sustainability: Promotion of reuse and recycling initiatives as chief manager in charge of apparel recycling project (April 2010 to March 2011)
Retailing: Experience as store manager of Shinjuku Marui Annex (April to September 2015) and president and representative director of MARUI CO., LTD.
New business development: Experience as general manager of Co-Creative Investment Department (July 2020 to September 2021) and director of D2C & Co. Inc.
(July 2020 to September 2021)

1. Achiever
2. Responsibility
3. Harmony
4. Arranger
5. Consistency

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of MARUI FACILITIES Co., Ltd. (April 2013 to March 2021)
CManagement strategy formulation: Experience as general manager of the Corporate Planning Division (April 2011 to March 2013)
Human resource management: Experience as general manager of the Personnel Division (July 2008 to September 2009)
Finances: Experience as general manager of the Group Financial Department (March 2006 to July 2008)
Risk management: Audits of risks as officer in charge of audit (April 2021 to present) and a corporate auditor at Group companies (April 2021 to present)
Sustainability: Leadership of initiatives for sourcing 100% of electricity from renewable energy as president and representative director of MARUI FACILITIES Co., Ltd.
Retailing: Experience as general manager of the Voi Business Department of MARUI CO., LTD. (October 2009 to March 2011)

1. Discipline
2. Analytical
3. Deliberative
4. Focus
5. ResponsibilityInnovation: Leadership of Groupwide design management through open innovation with nendo inc. as general manager of the Group Design Center (April 2018 to present)
Sustainability: Promotion of sustainability in the construction field through collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd., conducted as director of AIM CREATE CO., LTD.
(April 2012 to present)
Retailing: Experience as director of MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2019 to present)

1. Analytical
2. Ideation
3. Achiever
4. Arranger
5. Responsibility

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of MOVING CO., LTD. (April 2019 to present)CRisk management: Member of the Compliance Promotion Board responsible for Groupwide risk management (April 2016 to March 2017 and April 2019 to present)
Retailing: Experience as director and general manager of the Direct Marketing Department (April 2014 to March 2016) and director and general manager of the Omni-Channel
Retailing Division of MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2016 to March 2019)

1. Maximizer
2. Positivity
3. Arranger
4. Ideation
5. Woo etailing: Experience as director and store manager of Marui Family Shiki (April 2015 to March 2017) and director and store manager of Marui Family Mizonokuchi ofR
MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2018 to March 2019)
Fintech: Experience as director and general manager of the Cardholder Service Department (April 2019 to September 2020) and director and general manager of the Sales
Promotion Department of Epos Card Co., Ltd. (October 2020 to present)

1. Positivity
2. Maximizer
3. Individualization
4. Achiever
5. Responsibility

 ustainability: Experience as general manager of the CSR Promotion Department (April 2012 to March 2015)
S
Retailing: Experience as director and store manager of Marui Family Mizonokuchi (April 2019 to March 2021) and director and store manager of Kitasenju Marui of
MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2021 to present)
Fintech: Experience as director and general manager of the Collaboration Card Business Department (April 2015 to March 2016) and director and general manager of the Sales
Promotion Department of Epos Card Co., Ltd. (April 2016 to March 2018)

1. Individualization
2. Ideation
3. Arranger
4. Maximizer
5. Futuristic

 igital transformation: Promotion of collaboration with artificial intelligence technology companies as director of okos Co., Ltd. (April 2021 to present)DRetailing: Experience as director and general manager of Sales Planning Division (April 2019 to March 2021), and director and general manager of the E-Commerce Business
Department of MARUI CO., LTD. (April 2021 to present)
Fintech: Experience as director of Epos Card Co., Ltd. (April 2016 to March 2019)
New business development: Robust experience in new business development gained as leader of multiple new business projects

1. Harmony
2. Responsibility
3. Positivity
4. Includer
5. Restorative

 orporate management: Experience as president and representative director of M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (April 2021 to present)CRisk management: Oversight of information security risk management as CIO (April 2021 to present) and president and representative director of M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD.
Digital transformation: Experience as director and general manager of the Digital Transformation Promotion Department of M & C SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (April 2019 to March 2021)
and CDO (April 2019 to March 2021)
Fintech: Experience as general manager of the Systems Department (April 2014 to March 2018) and director of Epos Card Co., Ltd. (April 2018 to March 2021)

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RATINGS, AWARDS, AND RECOGNITIONMARUI GROUP established the IR Department in October 2015 and then the ESG Promotion Department
in October 2016 to enhance communication with institutional investors and information disclosure.
We have also identified the promotion of diversity and wellness (healthcare) management as key measures
under the medium-term management plan with the aim of improving corporate value.

More detailed information on these and other awards andrecognition can be found on the Company’s corporate website.
www.0101maruigroup.co.jp/en/ci/award/index.html

Global Socially Responsible Investment Indexes

MARUI GROUP has been selected for inclusion in the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index for the third consecutive year, also claiming
the No. 1 spot in the retailing industry, and has also been included in the
Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index for four consecutive years.

In RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook 2021, a compilation of companies
displaying excellence in terms of ESG initiatives and information disclosure,
MARUI GROUP was included in the Gold Class, building on its record ofinclusion in the Bronze Class in 2019 and the Silver Class in 2020.

MARUI GROUP has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series,*1 a series
of indexes arranged by FTSE Russell that comprise companies meeting
evaluation standards pertaining to ESG factors, for five consecutive years.

MARUI GROUP was included in the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes,*2 an ESG stockindex with high global recognition.

MARUI GROUP was selected for inclusion in the SOMPO
Sustainability Index for four consecutive years. This index
is compiled by Sompo Asset Management Co., Ltd., andused in its SOMPO Sustainable Investment Fund, whichprioritizes ESG ratings by investigation firms.

112

Four ESG Indexes Utilized by theGovernment Pension Investment FundMARUI GROUP has been included in the FTSE Blossom Japan Index for
five consecutive years. This ESG index is meant to reflect the performanceof Japanese companies that meet various ESG-related requirements, andindustry is therefore not considered when selecting companies for inclusion.

MARUI GROUP’s new greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, which were established in September 2019,
have received certification from Science Based Targets,indicating that these targets are effective for keeping
global warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

MARUI GROUP was chosen for inclusion in the Nadeshiko
Brand for the fourth consecutive year based on theevaluation of its efforts in supporting two-income households by helping both men and women succeed. These
efforts include official Groupwide initiatives and thepromotion of inclusion in the workplace.

In 2020, MARUI GROUP CO., LTD., was included in the
Climate A-List, which represents the highest evaluation
offered by CDP, for the third consecutive year in reflectionof its endorsement of the recommendations of the TCFD
and other initiatives to address climate change andpractice information disclosure of a level that is high evenviewed from a global perspective.

The Eruboshi certification system is a program throughwhich companies engaged in superior activities based on
the Act on the Promotion of Female Participation andCareer Advancement in the Workplace are recognized by
the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. In 2020,MARUI GROUP was presented with a three-star rating.

STOXX Climate Change Leaders Index
MARUI GROUP was selected for inclusion in the STOXX Climate Change
Leaders Index in 2019 and 2020. This index is one of a series of low-carbon
indexes developed in 2016 and the world’s first index to focus on inclusion ofcompanies featured on CDP’s Climate A-List.

MARUI GROUP was awarded with the highest rating ofgold in the PRIDE INDEX for the fifth consecutive year.
Our receipt of this recognition was based on our schemeof providing regular LGBTQ sensitivity training in video
format and our communication of initiatives related toindividuals and connections through the Inclusion Rally
section of MARUI GROUP’s community site.

MARUI GROUP was included in the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index*2
for the fifth consecutive year. This ESG index comprises Japanese companies with relatively high MSCI ESG Ratings in each industry selected fromamong the top 700 companies in terms of market capitalization after
excluding those companies with the lowest MSCI ESG Rating of CCC.

MARUI GROUP received the highest rank of A in theDevelopment Bank of Japan Inc.’s DBJ Environmentally
Rated Loan Program based on the high evaluation of its
various initiatives for accomplishing its 2050 Vision.

CWO Dr. Reiko Kojima received the inclusion award in the2021 Forbes JAPAN WOMEN AWARD, a program sponsored by Forbes JAPAN designed to recognize women
forging their own path as well as companies fostering
female leaders and professionals.

For five consecutive years, MARUI GROUP has been included in the MSCIJapan Empowering Women Index,*2 an ESG index for Japanese stocks
consisting of companies that exhibit gender diversity excellence in eachindustry, based on the Global Industry Classification Standard, selected fromamong the top 700 companies in terms of market capitalization.

ESG Finance Awards Japan is a program developed by
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment for the purpose ofevaluating and recognizing companies engaging in ESG
finance and environmental sustainability management
initiatives. In 2021, MARUI GROUP was the only retailer toreceive a bronze award in the environmentally sustainable
company category of this award program.

MARUI GROUP was ranked 1st in the retail category in the2021 Awards for Excellence in Corporate Disclosure
presented by the Securities Analysts Association ofJapan. This ranking was a reflection of the Company’sefforts to enhance and promote non-financial disclosureof ESG and other information and to practice engagement
for improving corporate value.

For the fourth consecutive year, MARUI GROUP was included in the S&P/JPX
Carbon Efficient Index, which comprises companies included in the Tokyo
Stock Price Index selected through a process that entails overweighting or
underweighting companies in reflection of their disclosure of environmental
information and their carbon efficiency (carbon emissions per unit of revenue).

JPX-Nikkei Index 400
MARUI GROUP was included in the JPX-Nikkei Index 400, a stock price index
composed of companies with high appeal for investors that meet requirements of global investment standards, such as efficient use of capital andinvestor-focused management perspectives.

MARUI GROUP received an award of excellence in thespecial renewable energy proliferation category of theGreen Purchasing Award program out of reflection of its
contributions to the expansion of green purchasing
markets through initiatives such as the introduction ofrenewable energy and the issuance of the first green
bonds to be offered by a Japanese retailer.

Recognition as Excellent Integrated Report
MARUI GROUP’s co-creation management reports have been recognized as
excellent integrated reports for five consecutive years by institutions towhich the Government Pension Investment Fund outsources the management of domestic securities. Reasons for the selection of Co-Creation
Management Report 2020 include the high evaluation of its outstanding
disclosure regarding stakeholders.

MARUI GROUP was included in the Health & Productivity
Stock Selection for the fourth consecutive year in 2021,
recognizing it as a company that is strategically addressing employee health and productivity management issues
based on a management perspective. The Company was
rated highly for its wellness management initiatives.

*1 FTSE Russell (the trading name of FTSE International Limited and Frank Russell Company) confirms thatMARUI GROUP CO., LTD. has been independently assessed according to the FTSE4Good criteria, and has
satisfied the requirements to become a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series. Created by the global
index provider FTSE Russell, the FTSE4Good Index Series is designed to measure the performance ofcompanies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The FTSE4Good
indices are used by a wide variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds
and other products.
*2 THE INCLUSION OF MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. IN ANY MSCI INDEX, AND THE USE OF MSCI LOGOS,
TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS OR INDEX NAMES HEREIN, DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SPONSORSHIP,
ENDORSEMENT OR PROMOTION OF MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. BY MSCI OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES. THE
MSCI INDEXES ARE THE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF MSCI. MSCI AND THE MSCI INDEX NAMES AND LOGOSARE TRADEMARKS OR SERVICE MARKS OF MSCI OR ITS AFFILIATES.

113