Roundtable Discussion with Outside Directors
In addition to strengthening governance under the holding company structure, we are focusing also
on human resource development to realize sustainable growth. In order to explain just how the
corporate culture is evolving, we met with ASKA Pharmaceutical Holdings’ four Outside Directors and
invited them to discuss current initiatives and challenges for shaping the Company’s future.
held in July 2024
Attendees：Yasunori Yoshimura, Minoru Awabayashi, Yasuji Enokido, and Kanae Karita
Role as an Outside Director
Yoshimura: As everybody is aware, Japan is grappling with
an extremely low birthrate and aging population. The birth
rate in 2023 was 1.20. The number of births was 727
thousand in 2023 and is expected to drop below 700
thousand in the future. I believe that building a future for
women and children will be critical in resolving the issues
posed by a declining birthrate and aging population. Based
on the corporate philosophy of “Contribute toward the
improvement of people’s health and progress in society
through the development of innovative products,” ASKA
offers support for women’s health at each stage of their
lives, while also improving the quality of life of people in
general and helping build the nation’s healthcare industry. I
believe my responsibility as an Outside Director is to provide
comprehensive support as a medical professional for the
Company’s quest to become a flagship company for
women’s medicine.
Awabayashi: I expect my contribution to the Company to
lie in expanding business activities overseas and in planning
and nurturing new businesses, skills gleaned from my days
at a consulting company. As someone with no previous
association with drug discovery or the pharmaceutical and
medical fields, I intend to offer my recommendations from a
consumer’s perspective. That said, I will participate actively in
new business planning. As an Outside Director with
experience in discovering and introducing new overseas
businesses, I believe I can offer advice on methods of
intelligence-gathering, and provide business-oriented
suggestions when it comes to analyzing and drawing
conclusions from the information thus collected.
Enokido: I served for many years as a director for an
electronics manufacturer, so the pharmaceutical industry is
outside my area of expertise. In my previous role, though, I
had a long stint overseas, and during that time I developed a
global viewpoint that I hope to leverage in my new role. I
believe I can make a unique contribution, not only by
updating the Company’s governance practices to befit a
listed company, but also by providing advice on pursuing
overseas-style governance and business growth.
Karita: I feel that my responsibility lies in harnessing my
experience as a medical professional, first in promoting
diversity, and then in securing and fostering the personnel
needed by the Company over the longer term. It is
imperative to identify and nurture home-grown female
executives. We need to create an environment in which
childbirth and childrearing leave do not prove career-ending for female employees. I seek to use my experience as a
female not only in reaching out to women within the
Company, but also in voicing an opinion on building an
environment where every employee can achieve selffulfillment
and feel rewarded in their work.
Impression of the Company from an
Outside Director’s Standpoint
Yoshimura: My involvement with the Company dates back
to the Teikoku Hormone Mfg. era. Since changing to the
current name “ASKA,” the Company has adopted a focus
on women’s life stages, and I believe this to be a very salient
characteristic setting “ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.” apart
from rival pharmaceutical companies. I also believe ASKA
has been already fulfilling its responsibility to society as a
specialty pharma company to some extent. From my own
perspective, since the government itself is advocating
comprehensive support for women’s health, the Company
has demonstrated further improvement on that front and is
making a more significant contribution to society after
adopting a holding company structure.
Awabayashi: Only a year has passed since I began my
association with the Company. While I am still learning
about the Company, from my conversations with
management I believe that company executives are
exhibiting even greater leadership and vision than I observed
before my direct involvement. I will do my utmost to ensure
that this trend continues.
Enokido: ASKA has amassed an impressively large share of
sales in the obstetrics and gynecology fields in Japan, in line
with the country’s needs and the broader push to support
women’s participation and advancement in society. I am
impressed also by the manner in which the Company is
rolling out new businesses in the animal health and medical
domains. One challenge for ASKA is to build momentum in
pharmaceutical development over the longer term, and
given the limited growth prospects for the domestic market I
am also keen to see how the Company goes about creating
growth opportunities overseas.
Karita: From the meetings and briefings I have attended
thus far, I am convinced that the Company’s management
team fully appreciates the importance of corporate
governance, and has established a sound system of
governance. I plan to personally educate myself further on
this topic. I will also be encouraging the Company to build
collaborative relationships with other companies in its quest
to grow overseas operations.
Views on Enhancing Corporate Value
over the Medium to Long Term
Enokido: The Company does business in a specialist field,
which makes it difficult to raise general awareness of the
Company. The recent rise in the share price, though,
suggests that regard for the Company is building. Over the past year there has been much debate within the Company
regarding means of increasing shareholders’ value, and I
think the resulting initiatives could be contributing to
gradual improvement in the Company’s visibility. When it
comes to the share price, I think that raising corporate value
over the long term holds more significance than near-term
upswings and downswings in the share price. As employees
are the source of corporate value, I believe the Company
should persist with efforts to enhance the skills and personal
qualities of each and every employee.
Yoshimura: The Company’s share price is now some three
times higher than when the Company’s market valuation
was low, when the stock was trading below ¥1,000. That
kind of share price appreciation suggests to me that
company visibility has improved remarkably. The corporate
value has risen substantially, but that has brought with it
fresh challenges.
Awabayashi: Given the increase in non-Japanese investors,
I believe the Company should be more proactive in
disseminating information and conducting IR activities
overseas.
Karita: The Company is making solid progress in addressing
the SDGs and pursuing sustainability, but I think there is
room for improvement in the dissemination of information.
I believe the Company could gain greater traction if, for
example, it used influencers and the like as opportunities to
step up information dissemination, with employees working
as one to enhance corporate value by never being satisfied
with the status quo and always being on the lookout for
areas in need of improvement.
Various Viewpoints on Human
Resources
Awabayashi: As an Outside Director, I am extremely
impressed by the proactive manner in which the Company
externally sources talent to fill mid-level and higher positions.
When it comes to developing in-house talent, there are
frequent opportunities for management to interact with
employees at internal meetings and so forth, but I know
little of what takes place at such meetings. Given the
opportunity, I would like to participate as an observer, with
the ability to voice my opinion as necessary.
Yoshimura: From my viewpoint as a medical professional, I
think there needs to be a paradigm shift within the Company
from financial capitalism focused primarily on financial
statements, toward inclusive capitalism. I believe SDGs, ESG
investment and investment in our human capital are
particularly important, and I think there remains insufficient
awareness of how greater productivity can enhance
corporate value. While management teams are prone to
looking inward for the most part, awareness of the local
community and working women is also critical, in my view.
Enokido: Employee growth is essential to a company’s
evolution over the longer term, and I have had many
discussions on this subject with the President. While swings
in demand can alter near-term earnings momentum, over
the longer term I believe that employee growth is key to a
company’s advancement. I have learned from my overseas
postings that although company attributes differ between
countries, the key to an organization's growth will always be
its workforce. For the organization to retain its identity, I
think it crucial that the corporate philosophy be carefully
instilled overseas. I believe that this will further enhance the
Company’s appeal and its ability to lure talented individuals.
At the Company’s domestic operations, I sense that the
corporate culture is one of earnest and open communication.
If asked to identify an area of potential improvement, I
would say that the Company could do more to foster an
entrepreneurial spirit among its employees. For the Company
to achieve sustained growth, I think it is essential that its
employees welcome a challenge. This is an industry that
demands a lot of its employees, and there is certainly no
need for all to embrace challenge. That said, I would like to
see the organization evolve into one in which at least some
employees can take on big challenges.
Karita: I have had conversations with the President about
gender diversity, in which he has suggested that not many
women seek out managerial and other senior positions. I
want to see the Company create an open workplace in
which women can win promotion according to their abilities,
just like men. I believe gender diversity will gain momentum
if we can develop a highly transparent workplace in which
employees do not hesitate to communicate information to
their superiors, even when implications for the organization
are negative.
Effectiveness of the Board of Directors
Yoshimura: I think the effectiveness of the Board of
Directors hinges on the creation of the kind of highly
transparent workplace described by Ms. Karita. Providing
opportunities for women to play an active role is essential, in
my view, both to driving innovation and reforming work
styles. While the number of female directors and auditors is
increasing, I believe that further promotion of female
advancement will require a greater focus on reskilling and
organizational mobility. For example, I would like to see
more opportunities for employees to learn by being
seconded to other companies for periods of around three
years. While it could be difficult in the Company’s case as
the business centers on visiting medical institutions to
disseminate information about pharmaceuticals, going
forward I would like to see the Company introduce jobbased
employment and digital tools. In my view, the Board
of Directors needs to reacquaint itself with the important
role that diversity has to play in corporate growth and
technological innovation.
Awabayashi: While the Company looks to be making
progress in promoting gender diversity, I think
internationalization is also important. The Company has a
limited presence overseas, but many of our shareholders are
overseas investors. As such, I believe individuals with a global
viewpoint are needed on the Board of Directors. Due to the
language problem, not everyone is suited to this role.
Nonetheless, I believe the Board of Directors should include
more individuals able to speak on behalf of overseas
shareholders.
Enokido: When I first joined the Board of Directors, I felt
that there were too few female Board members considering
that the majority of the customers are women. Going
forward, though, I anticipate improvement in this respect,
as exemplified by the appointment of Ms. Karita as a
member of the Board of Directors. Given the importance of
overseas expansion, I believe the Company should also
appoint a non-Japanese director at an appropriate time.
Also, I would like to see the Management Council become a
forum supporting the frank exchange of opinions on all
manner of subjects.
Karita: As the Board of Directors is involved in reporting, chiefly on matters for resolution, I would like to see the
Management Council gather ahead of Board of Directors
meetings to conduct debate aimed at identifying issues to be
addressed. On the subject of diversity in hiring, I want to
facilitate the exchange of human resources with diverse
experiences and viewpoints, regardless of gender and
including non-Japanese, seniors, people with disabilities, and
so on. I believe initiatives in this regard would enhance the
Group’s collective strengths while also boosting organization
value and productivity.
Yoshimura: The Management Council and Board of
Directors often debate the same matters, and I sense that
the Board of Directors accepts at face value the explanations
provided by the Management Council. I see potential for
deeper discussion built on a wider range of opinions if more
matters are offered up for discussion by the Management
Council.
Yoshimura: The Management Council and Board of
Directors often debate the same matters, and I sense that
the Board of Directors accepts at face value the explanations
provided by the Management Council. I see potential for
deeper discussion built on a wider range of opinions if more
matters are offered up for discussion by the Management
Council.
Group Nomination Committee and
Group Remuneration Committee
Yoshimura: The Company has a Group Nomination
Committee and Group Remuneration Committee and I serve
as Chairman of both. I think it important that these advisory
committees have included succession planning for the future
as an agenda item. When Outside Directors and Internal
Directors are being chosen, I believe it helps greatly for
candidates to be afforded the opportunity to convey their
impressions, aspirations, and message to employees. I serve
also on the Board of Directors at other companies, but this is
my first experience of a clearly defined pay scale, and I
would describe the corporate culture as highly transparent. I
applaud the Company for appointing to the management
team individuals who will drive renewal while also upholding
the founder’s beliefs.
Enokido: As a new director it is difficult for me to make
concrete suggestions, so in the future I would like to see
director candidates presented beforehand to the Group
Nomination Committee and the Group Remuneration
Committee, giving them an opportunity to discuss candidate
training. These committees have previously debated what
constitutes an ideal leader, and I think now they need to
work out how to realize that vision.
Awabayashi: Like Mr. Enokido, I have only attended two
meetings to date. That said, I support Mr. Yoshimura’s
comments.
Karita: I was surprised to be called upon, given my singular
background. However, I do believe that the Company aspires
to take a new direction. Whereas other female directors are
lawyers and business operators, I can bring to the table my
experience in promoting diversity and public health in
academia. I am satisfied that this is sufficient, as I am also
being given every opportunity to grow through courses on
management and accounting, with the ability also to provide
feedback to the Company.
Expectations of ASKA Pharmaceutical
Holdings and Perception of Company
Strengths
Yoshimura: My hope is that ASKA grows into a company
imbued with the philosophy of co-innovation and cocreation,
in which diverse stakeholders collaborate in
creating the future. As a flagship company in the use of
cutting-edge drug discovery to contribute to the health of
Japanese people, society, and women’s health in particular,
I believe ASKA also should promote initiatives in Sexual and
Reproductive Health and Rights, a subject currently
garnering attention around the globe. I think ASKA should
be considering what it can do as a pharmaceutical
company to create a society in which individuals have the
right to shape their own lives, by such means as promoting
the Sexual and Reproductive Rights that currently are
lacking in Japan.
Awabayashi: If you don’t take risks, you don’t find
opportunities. I believe it is the role of management to take
risks within a scope that can be controlled. I think the
current management team fulfills this role, and also excels in
terms of leadership. In my experience of establishing new
businesses, I often found it difficult to convince Outside
Directors that our company should take risks. I want to be
the kind of Outside Director that actively supports the
management team with a firm grasp on what is important.
Enokido: As a company active in a field of great social
significance, I believe the Company still has abundant
potential for growth. With its focuses on the advancement
of women and animal welfare, I think ASKA Pharmaceutical
Holdings is a company that is ahead of the broader social
trend. Although the Company already sets great store by the
development of human resources, a key focal point for
shareholders and institutional investors, I would like to see
the Company strive even harder to establish a reputation as
a rewarding workplace.
Karita: I agree with what the others have said. Additionally, I
think one of the Company’s strong points is a scale that
facilitates the Group’s maneuverability. By continuing to
pursue diversity and personnel exchanges, I am confident
that the Company will be able to adapt quickly to market
changes through new businesses and business models.
- Please also see the Integrated Report “Roundtable Discussion with Outside Directors”.
Integrated Report