Overall Assessment
To realize its vision of “becoming a total healthcare company with a strong foundation as a specialty pharma company,” the ASKA Pharmaceutical Group has crafted a compelling value creation story that draws on its strengths. In its commitment to solving social issues through business activities, the Group engages proactively in sustainability initiatives linked to each of the SDGs. In my view, the Group has made further progress in this regard since the previous fiscal year, and continues to make steady advances in the sustainability space.
The Group’s sense of purpose is evident in its goal of becoming “the leading company in terms of supporting women’s health.” When viewed in tandem with the Health Lab Mint+ for Women’s health activities, this is a goal that clearly resonates with people both inside and outside the Company, and I think the steps taken to realize this goal will aid also in strengthening employee engagement.
In Europe and the United States, there has been some policy-level blowback of late against sustainability. Companies in those regions, though, remain committed to sustainability practices in the belief that these practices are essential for improving competitiveness and corporate value. I hope to see the ASKA Pharmaceutical Group remaining steadfast in its own convictions, continuing to address what needs to be done without being swayed by trends or information lacking substance.
Noteworthy Achievements and Expectations for the Future
A commitment to incorporating sustainability into management and pursuing it alongside business development is evident throughout ASKA Pharmaceutical Group’s integrated report. I draw particular attention to the substantial number of pages devoted to messages from the Group’s Chairman, Takashi Yamaguchi, and new President, Sohta Yamaguchi, which clearly and concisely convey their thinking as managers.
I commend the Group’s practice of regularly reviewing Company-wide material issues as seen in 2021, 2023, and 2025. The Group has raised interest in this task internally by involving a wide range of employees, resulting in grounded rather than notional discussions that most recently resulted in the number of material issues being narrowed to six.
I also applaud the Group for actively embracing the recommendations made in last year's third-party opinion, and putting in place systems for protecting human rights in its business activities and contributing to nature positivity. Indeed, the Group has incorporated these two themes into its material issues and management practices, clearly defining their strategic significance including how they are linked to corporate value.
I note that the Group has embraced the idea of impact assessment, using the opening feature article of the 2025 report to discuss the economic losses caused by health issues specific to women and for the first time putting a monetary value on ASKA Pharmaceutical’s contribution to reducing such losses both via symptom relief through its pharmaceuticals and the effect of initiatives aimed at raising disease awareness. This represents an ambitious attempt to quantify and visualize the value generated by the Group for society. The Group deserves kudos for taking on this challenge, as efforts to quantify value creation from a social perspective remain less common than those from an environmental perspective. As both domestic and international investors are exhibiting increased interest in the social impact of corporate activities, I encourage the Group to seize this opportunity for strengthening dialogue not only with investors but also other stakeholders.
I would like to see the Group further hone the experience and know-how gleaned through this impact assessment in order to expand its scope, affording a broader approach to quantifying and visualizing the Group’s diverse means of value creation. I believe this would lend further persuasiveness to the ASKA Pharmaceutical’s value creation story. I think it would also assist the Group in reviewing strategies and reconsidering methods for implementing those strategies, for example, by identifying the improvements required to create even greater value rather than limiting the discussion to past achievements.
Areas Requiring Further Initiatives
While applauding the Group for continuing to review and reorganize its material issues, I remain unclear as to how much this process relies on dialogue and engagement with stakeholders, as there is no mention of this in the integrated report. I recommend that the Company draw on regular dialogue with a variety of stakeholders—not only investors, but also consumer and civil society organizations, labor unions, and others—when conducting future reviews of its material issues, also disclosing details of that engagement process.
I believe it is important for the Company to reflect both on what has been achieved and what still needs addressing, and to communicate this in a transparent manner. When it comes to the employment rate for people with disabilities, for example, it is not enough merely to disclose related goals and achievements. In my view, it is also necessary to identify the challenges faced and the manner in which these are being addressed. I would like to see future integrated reports include the thinking behind such goals and future efforts to address the associated challenges. I would like to know, for example, if the Group will be satisfied by simply reaching the statutory employment rate for people with disabilities.
The ASKA Pharmaceutical Group has taken a big step forward by incorporating business and human rights initiatives and pursuit of nature positivity into management and putting the appropriate systems in place. In my view, though, the integrated report still lacks detail on the specifics of these initiatives, including priority themes. For example, it is all very well to state that the Group practices information disclosure in accordance with the Taskforece on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) recommendations. In future, I call on the Company to provide more in-depth disclosure concerning the issues being addressed, and the manner of doing so. When it comes to business and human rights, it similarly is not enough simply to establish a framework for human rights due diligence. I believe efforts must be made to demonstrate true respect for human rights by tackling priority themes across the entire value chain and promoting dialogue with, and information disclosure to, stakeholders and rights holders. I encourage ASKA Pharmaceutical to take a global approach to business and human rights and nature positivity, as I expect these to become particularly important issues in Southeast Asia, the focal point of future Group business strategy.