For the purpose of training the next executive talents necessary for the continued development of our business, we have implemented this program for employees selected from candidates who can implement a growth strategy by dividing them into four levels, from general employees to senior managers.
The common theme of this program is "learning the perspectives and ideas of management," and the curriculum is set up by level. In the training for general employees, leadership development is conducted for employees in their 30s before they become managers. For the senior manager level, we provide training aimed at fostering awareness of being future executive candidates, and they also take part in discussion-based opinion exchange meetings with executives from other companies that transcend industries. We established requirements for the next generation of business leaders for each level and provide training to acquire a management mindset and management skills based on the requirements while fostering company-wide management viewpoints. With regard to next generation executive talent, we regularly review personnel requirements and potential candidates for such talent, and we also plan to review our selection training program in the future.

We provide training to develop global talent who are essential for achieving our vision of becoming "Global Specialty Pharma." This program targets employees who are nominated by their department head as talent who can succeed as future global leaders. After their skill gaps are identified, we provide language programs and the Global Skill Improvement Program (GSIP) based on their identified skill gaps. GSIP participants spend approximately one year acquiring the ability to adapt to their surrounding environment, cross-cultural communication skills, leadership, logical thinking, and global business skills. We measure the results of GSIP by having GSIP participants take a BISA Test* by GLOBUS, which measures their communication skills in global business.
Including 18 employees who participated in FY2025, 212 employees (Period 1 to Period 8) participated in GSIP by the end of FY2025. Of these, the number of employees who scored 700 or above (the level required to be eligible for overseas assignment) in the BISA test was 15 before the program, and 140 after the program. We assign GSIP participants to appropriate positions, including overseas assignments, while taking into account their own career vision and how it best matches the company’s tasks. Of the 212 employees who took part in GSIP, 53 have been assigned to overseas posts, and GSIP also contributes to the development of employees assigned overseas.

• BISA test: An abbreviation of Business Interaction Simulation and Assessment test.

In order to use new technologies such as AI, we have actively been working on training talents with digital transformation (DX) and IT skills. Based on the fact that we have largely achieved the original training targets by FY2024, starting in FY2025, we upgraded our training programs to focus more directly on practical applications. We have also launched a new program aimed at practically enhancing the driving force behind digital and IT projects and further promoting the use of digital technologies within our business departments.
To enhance the driving force behind our digital and IT projects, we have introduced new, hands-on training programs for the project promotion leaders and members of each department, and participants have expressed high levels of satisfaction and a strong desire to apply what they’ve learned in their daily work. Additionally, to further promote the use of digital technologies within business departments, we hold workshops and hands-on training sessions tailored to the specific needs and challenges of those business departments.
Furthermore, with the aim of promoting the practical use of generative AI and data analysis tools and improving security literacy, we are working to establish a company-wide information dissemination platform and are moving forward with efforts to create an environment where all employees can safely utilize digital technologies.

Innovation is crucial for a pharmaceutical company to continue to deliver novel drugs to patients and we dedicated the most training to innovation talents. We launched the Ono Innovation Platform (OIP) in June 2021 as a place to generate innovation in a multifaceted and intensive manner in addition to conventional development measures. At OIP, we develop innovative talents through programs, such as the Innovation Cafe, a training program to learn the mindset and skills needed for taking on challenges; Voyage to Venture (V2V), which sends employees to venture companies on secondment to acquire an overwhelming sense of ownership through cross-border experiences; and HOPE, a business competition in which employees challenge new businesses based on their own awareness of issues. All employees are eligible to participate in OIP, and we are working to create an organizational culture that fosters innovative talent in all departments.

〈Opportunities for learning: Innovation Cafe〉

Our training program, Innovation Cafe, is a variety of seminars and workshops designed to give employees the opportunity to encounter new perspectives and ideas and expand their own potential. In FY2025, we implemented a total of three programs focused on themes such as practical learning for creating new businesses, as well as approaches to understanding diseases from a social-structural perspective through dialogue with patients and fieldwork. 235 people participated in these programs. We will continue to provide employees with opportunities to think about “what we can do” to address the unresolved “pain” of patients and society in all forms, not just limited to pharmaceutical products.

〈Opportunities for experience: V2V, outsight〉

The secondment program for venture companies, V2V, was established based on the idea that it is important to acquire an overwhelming sense of ownership, capability to take action, and resilience by experience in overcoming tough situations to develop talents who can create innovation. Employees are seconded to venture companies for one year and up to five persons per year. A total of 22 employees have participated in the program so far, including 4 in FY2025. They are expected to gain experience in venture companies in business fields different than our business field, healthcare business, and to be able to create innovation when returning to their worksite compared to before secondment.
We have participated in an online cross-border program, "outsight," where participants propose solutions to the management issues of venture companies and earnestly discuss them since FY2022. A total of 58 employees have participated in the program so far, including 14 in FY2025. We expect participants to acquire the mindset and skills to take on unknown challenges by facing realistic issues from different industries several times. We also aim to hone their problem-solving skills by putting them into practice and cultivating a spirit of challenge and courage through external study.

〈Opportunities for taking on challenges: HOPE〉

In the course of selecting a theme for "HOPE," a business competition to challenge new businesses, participants are not only judged on their ideas but also receive support to acquire the skills and mindsets necessary for the development of new businesses. HOPE aims not only to create an environment in which participants can grow to become innovators and create new businesses, but also to provide them with opportunities for self-realization and the ability to spearhead change. Proposers of themes adopted through HOPE are transferred to departments that promote new projects, where they examine ways to commercialize those themes. Some of the themes selected in the past have progressed to the verification phase and are now taking concrete steps toward commercialization. In this manner, HOPE is fostering innovative talent while at the same time helping to create new businesses.

Orientation for Newly Hired Employees and Third-Year Employee Training

In the orientation for newly hired employees, participants spend two weeks learning about the Mission Statement, basic business etiquette and rules, and the division of roles and collaboration within a team, with the aim of providing newly hired employees with the common knowledge, skills, and mindset they will need to be successful after being assigned to their respective job sites. We also incorporate global training and diversity training in order to broaden the vision of employees, after which they undergo education specialized for the divisions they are separately assigned to.
In the training for the newly hired employees of the sales department, which takes half a year after they enter the company, they acquire knowledge of medicine, pharmacology, the medical system and knowledge on diseases that have to do with our products, all of which are necessary for MRs (Medical Representatives), and take practical output-focused training. In addition to becoming MRs, who are required by the medical field, we provide opportunities for them to accompany senior MRs in on-site training, learn about the duties of MRs and the rules used in the medical field, and hear directly from doctors and wholesalers. As for the MR accreditation test, with the aim of having all our examinees pass, we support them with a carefully operated backup system not only during the training period but also after assignment to a specific post, which allows us to maintain a top-class pass rate in the industry.
The third-year employee training is designed to help third-year employees realize the necessity of changing their mentality―more specifically, moving one step forward from being independent to being autonomous― and to promote their voluntary actions and proposals as well as more active involvement in training junior colleagues. This training focuses on improving communication skills and other abilities necessary to perform their assigned job functions.

Training Programs for Promoted Employees

In the training for those who are promoted to higher grades, they will understand the roles required of leaders, and foster the awareness and attitude of proactively engaging in team management. In addition, the training helps participants acquire the skills to identify and resolve problems and understand what is necessary to become an influencer.
In the training for new managers and specialists who are core employees, participants learn about the roles expected of them as core employees of our company and the knowledge required for those roles, including team building, operational management, the personnel evaluation system, and labor management.
These training sessions for those promoted are held with members who go beyond the framework of their level or department, which has led to enhanced awareness of cross-functional collaboration. Furthermore, we hold briefing sessions for participants’ supervisors both before and after the training with the objective of increasing the effectiveness of the training by appropriately motivating participants before the training and ensuring a smooth transition to OJT after the training sessions.

In line with our Mission Statement as a common guidance that all employees can share for realizing our corporate philosophy, “Dedicated to the Fight against Disease and Pain,” we aim to ensure that each individual employee acts with a certain understanding of how patients and their families feel about and confront the illness and treatment. These activities are aimed at having employees gain a deeper understanding of the true needs of patients, and identifying the significance of the company’s existence and the challenges each employee faces. This contributes to creating a sense of oneness as an organization and promotes involvement from employees, and it is considered as one of the most important measures at our company.

Workshop to Heighten Knowledge and Deepen Understanding of Our Mission Statement

This workshop aims to ensure that all employees embrace our Mission Statement and act accordingly. In the workshop, the CEO talks about the background to the establishment of our Mission Statement and the history of ONO’s bold endeavors which lie behind it over 300 years. By having all employees formulate their own Mission Statement, the company links the Mission Statement to each employee’s work, encouraging them to voluntarily put it into practice.

Activities for Understanding Patient Experiences

It is important for employees of a pharmaceutical company to be aware of what it means to be a member of medical staff and to have the patient perspective. We have provided educational video materials and training on basic knowledge with the aim of acquiring the patient perspective by understanding the value of the patient experience in various situations.

Patient Lecture Meetings

The opportunity to have direct contact with patients is very important for employees of pharmaceutical companies that are responsible for the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of ethical drugs. At a lecture by patients, the patients will give a speech on how they managed their feelings when a disease was diagnosed along with the disease symptoms, the impact on the quality of their daily lives, the effects and adverse effects of the drug, and how they live every day with their disease. We consider that when we listen to patients' opinions directly, we understand patients' feelings and it leads to behaviors based on the patient perspective in our daily operations. In FY2025, we spoke to family members of patients with stomach cancer, nurses, and other healthcare professionals through our “Patient voice sharing meetings.”

Self-Development Learning (Correspondence Courses/Online Foreign Language Conversation/Support for Qualification Tests)

For employees who are self-motivated and have a strong awareness of growth, we provide opportunities for self-development learning and provide partial financial support. Through correspondence education, we have over 500 courses such as leadership and management, accounting, finance, and English conversation, and we arrange an environment on a steady basis for those proactive learners with a wide range of fields. In addition, we promote learning by aiding online foreign language conversation classes and qualification tests.

Diversity Management Training

We promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) so that our employees, who hold a diverse range of values, can perform to the best of their abilities. In addition to establishing policies and creating a supportive environment, we are working to enhance the management skills of our managers so that they can effectively incorporate these principles into their daily management practices and bring out the strengths of each individual.
Specifically, we provide e-learning to all newly appointed managers and line managers who have team members using our support programs for balancing work and childcare, with the aim of deepening their understanding of these programs and our work practices, and encouraging communication with team members regarding work styles related to balancing work and childcare. In addition, with the aim of equipping managers with the knowledge and skills necessary to practice diversity management that respects individual differences, we conducted training in FY2024 for division head-level managers to help them understand unconscious bias and learn practical methods for managing it. In FY2026, we plan to conduct similar training for office manager- and section chief-level managers.

Essential education and training as an employee of a pharmaceutical company

We conduct education and training through e-learning for all employees regarding the essential matters required as employees of a pharmaceutical company, such as education on drug-induced sufferings, collection of safety information, handling of personal information, and prevention of bribery.