Risk Management Committee

We have established a Risk Management Committee, composed of Executive Directors and chaired by a director and senior managing executive officer, that heads cross-organizational risk auditing and response throughout the Group to prevent risk occurrence.

Risk identification

The management level takes control of risk identification, discusses the various risks as necessary at each meeting (with important matters brought to the Board of Directors and the Management Policy Council, formed of directors and auditors) and deals with them accordingly. We then disclose information to shareholders and other stakeholders in our annual securities report. Currently, we have identified 20 risks related to environmental issue response, disasters, brand defamation, intellectual property rights, lawsuits, compliance, mergers and acquisitions, financial exchange, information systems, management strategy impact, infectious disease outbreak, ocean plastic waste, reliance on Yakult series and the competitive environment, among other issues.

Scope of risks

The scope of risk evaluation goes beyond direct operation of Yakult to include raw materials, suppliers and consumers that form both our upstream and downstream value chain. Cross-organizational risk auditing and Group response are handled mainly by the General Affairs Department, while each department handles risk management related to its own operations. To further promote compliance in each department, business site and Group company, we hold an annual meeting with compliance personnel to provide and share important information on compliance activities.