United to Inspire Inclusion

The ACCJ Kansai Chapter marks a decade of driving business through diversity

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) Kansai Chapter celebrated a milestone in its advocacy efforts on November 21 at the 10th anniversary Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Summit, which took place at Oriental Hotel Kobe.

Host Mie Kitano, co-chair of the Kansai Diversity and Inclusion Committee, welcomed the 130 in-person and 30 virtual guests. She shared how, over the past decade, many positive changes have been achieved, but stressed that there still a long way to go on the journey to true D&I.

“This year’s theme, United to Inspire Inclusion, emphasizes the importance of unity and collaboration in driving meaningful change,” she said. Highlighting the critical role of inclusion in creating an prosperous future for all, she encouraged all participants to actively engage in conversations aimed at realizing equality.

Jason R. Cubas from the US Consulate General Osaka-Kobe then delivered opening remarks.

“I’m pleased to join you for the 10th anniversary of this D&I summit under this year’s theme, United to Inspire Inclusion,” said the consul general. “This theme speaks to something essential. D&I must be woven into the fabric of our organizations and industries as core components of the larger strategies and operations.”

Noting that one of the four key pillars in the US national travel and tourism strategy is to ensure that tourism experiences are diverse, inclusive, and accessible, Cubas cited D&I as a guiding principle that can elevate entire industries by shaping how we engage the world.

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“An inclusive approach allows us to understand our colleagues, clients, and communities more deeply, and to unlock new markets and innovate in ways that would otherwise remain out of reach.”

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“In Kansai, we saw an inspiring example of this principle in action [in October], when Osaka hosted the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association for their global conference,” he shared. “It was the first time this was held in Asia, and it wasn’t just a milestone for tourism; it was a testament to how an industry’s inclusive practices can drive growth, innovation, and new opportunities.

“Across all sectors, organizations have the opportunity to integrate D&I into their strategic vision. Whether it’s the tourism industry committing to new ways to welcome people of all backgrounds or technology companies designing products accessible to everyone, D&I can and should be foundational to every facet of how we operate,” he continued. “An inclusive approach allows us to understand our colleagues, clients, and communities more deeply, and to unlock new markets and innovate in ways that would otherwise remain out of reach.”

Panel Discussion

Following Cubas’s remarks, Eli Lilly Japan K.K. President and Representative Director Simone Thomsen moderated a panel with three leaders from different industries:

• Irina Menshikova, president of Amway Japan G.K.
• Mari Nogami, president and representative director of Haleon Japan K.K.
• Victor Osumi, managing director and president-Japan of Delta Air Lines, Inc.

Thomsen, who is also the ACCJ Kansai governor, kicked off the discussion by asking each panelist to recount one success story from their company that has inspired inclusion and driven business.

Nogami, who was the first chair of the Kansai Women in Business Committee—now known as the Diversity & Inclusion Committee—shared how Haleon approaches diversity as a new company. The consumer health brand was spun off from GSK in 2022.

“As an independent company newly listed on the New York and London exchanges, having gender diversity is almost mandatory,” she explained. “The company already had made an external commitment that at least 50 percent of the board, executive leadership team, and the business unit leadership would be female. The board is already 40 percent female and the executive team is 47 percent female. That is a serious commitment. We do it not only for welfare; we do it because it really drives business.”

Next, Menshikova talked about Amway’s Women’s Inclusion Network, which champions flexible workstyles and drives the progression of female leadership. She was leading Amway’s operations in Ukraine, Russia, and Central Asia before arriving in Japan in 2022.

“This is a country with a lot of challenges in diversity and inclusion, so it’s my personal passion to drive this agenda,” she said. “Amway, as a leading company in the direct sales industry and one of the biggest private American companies which has always been focused on multicultural, multi-generational and disability [issues] gives me the opportunity to execute that agenda.”

Currently, Amway in Japan has employees from 16 countries, while 62 percent of its workforce here is female. Cultural matters, however, may prevent women from advancing their careers Menshikova noted. “So the flexible lifestyles help them to balance their personal responsibilities with their job responsibilities.

Lastly, Osumi, who is also ACCJ president, explained the importance of sourcing from partners who support diversity and described how Delta’s approach extends D&I to customers and the community.

“We collected hundreds of images that anyone can download free of charge to show how to accommodate a person with a disability,” he said. “We have more than 200,000 wheelchairs now in place and have an offering tailored especially to customers who use wheelchairs.”

The Atlanta-based company is also supporting entrepreneurship, creating almost $559 million of revenue for Black-owned businesses as well as women in business.

Challenges and Solutions

As the discussion continued, Eli Lilly’s Thomsen pointed out that D&I is a complex, ongoing journey and asked the panelists about the challenges they face and the solutions they are finding.

An example given by Osumi is how cultural differences impact perceptions of D&I among Japanese employees, and how life events such as pregnancy can lead to unintentional exclusion. The lack of women involved in discussions at the government level about D&I reform make finding solutions more challenging, he noted.

Menshikova cited hurdles for team integration created by the Covid-19 pandemic. With many employees joining remotely and lacking in-person interaction, she said, challenges in managing cultural and generational differences have arisen and linger. Adjusting communication styles to suit a diverse workforce is essential, she added.

Looking at multinational work environments, Nogami sees expectations for how female leaders should behave as an obstacle. Because Asian women may have grown up in cultures where they were told not be assertive, they may struggle to overcome this when making a point at work. She advocates for companies to have not only a mentor but career sponsors who are very serious about promoting these talents who may not be showing their real potential due to cultural expectations.

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“While D&I is an important part of an organization’s overall strategy, it takes individuals at all levels to play an active role in building an inclusive culture.”

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Targeted Learning

After the panel drilled down into more detailed aspects of D&I, participants split up into three breakout groups:

• Beyond the Quota for PWD
• Managing Uncomfortable Conversations
• Breaking Boundaries: Closing the Gender Gap and Retaining Talent for Salesforce Diversity

In Beyond the Quota for PWD, Kenji Hirano (president and representative director of Adecco Japan and director of LIXIL Advanced Showroom Corporation) joined Asahi Group Holdings’ Senior Manager of Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mizuki Hsu to promote the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities (PWD). The workshop, facilitated by Kitano, highlighted the importance of creating inclusive environments that go beyond mere compliance with quotas to foster genuine opportunities for PWDs and to uncover biases.

Managing Uncomfortable Conversations featured Lumina Learning Global Partner for Japan Elizabeth Handover guiding participants through the key skills and techniques for professional, objective communication. The session covered techniques for crafting the conversation and highlighted factors that can lead to success or failure. Handover provided highly practical advice that could immediately be applied in the workplace. The session was facilitated by committee Vice-Chair Naomi Iwasaki.

Breaking Boundaries: Closing the Gender Gap and Retaining Talent for Salesforce Diversity explored gender diversity in Japan’s sales sector. Shimako Takayama (commercial diversity, equity, and inclusion leader at Eli Lilly Japan), alongside facilitator Alison Chen (vice-chair of the ACCJ-Kansai Diversity and Inclusion Committee), discussed the trends, barriers, and strategies to foster greater inclusion and empowerment to help retain talent.

Connections

The summit concluded with a networking session, and at the end of the day, participants no doubt felt the embodiment of what Consul General Cubas said in closing his opening remarks: “While D&I is an important part of an organization’s overall strategy, it takes individuals at all levels to play an active role in building an inclusive culture. Thank you all for your commitment to this work. I hope today’s discussions inspire everyone to keep moving forward, weaving D&I into every part of what you do.”

A Culture of Inclusion

Previewing this year’s ACCJ-Kansai Diversity and Inclusion Summit Series

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Shaping workplace culture and inclusion. Leading the change. These are the themes of the 2022 ACCJ-Kansai Diversity and Inclusion Summit. Following the same format that debuted to great success in 2020, three two-hour online sessions will be held over successive weeks in October and November, each with its own keynote speaker, small-group discussions, and practical training.

The format was born of the pandemic, when organizers had to adapt the normally daylong program to a world of virtual interaction. It proved highly successful. The online format opened up access to people throughout Japan, and registrations rose from 224 for the previous year’s in-person event to 320. Similar results were repeated last year. Not only has accessibility been boosted, but the extended interactions also strengthened the summit’s impact and benefits.

With such success, the committee has decided to stick with the three-day series, and this year will host sessions on October 4 and 18, as well as November 8.

The first day will focus on gender diversity and equality, and will feature a training session with Jennifer Shinkai, an ikigai and inclusion facilitator and coach. The main session for the day will be led by Tetsuya Ando, founder of Fathering Japan, the non-profit organization he started in 2006 to focus on supporting fathers who are balancing the responsibilities of work and home.

The second day will feature a discussion of cultural diversity and inclusion with Nissan Corporate Vice President Catherine Perez, while Day 3 will explore psychological safety in sessions hosted by Google.

The series will be a wonderful opportunity to share personal and professional experiences in advancing D&I in Japan and abroad, including strategies that can be employed individually, at work, and in the community at large. Additional coverage can be found on the Digital Journal website following the sessions.

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Learn more about this year’s summit series.

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ACCJ Kansai D&I Summit

Key takeaways shared over three days of focus on workplace equality

Listen to this story:

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The 7th Annual ACCJ Kansai Diversity & Inclusion Summit took place over the course of three days—October 4, 13, and 21—in a new series format that delivered a blend of inspiration and practical information sharing. With a focus on diversity-and-inclusion (D&I) initiatives, as well as equality in the workplace, the series featured keynote and plenary speakers, a fireside chat, training sessions, and remote networking.

The first day of the summit began in earnest with a keynote speech by Jenifer Rogers, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ). Rogers noted that the ACCJ is at the forefront of D&I efforts, especially through the Women in Business Committee and its activities, which include advocating for women in the workforce.

Recently, the committee created the Women in Business Reading List on the ACCJ’s website where resources are shared to help empower women in the workforce.

Speakers at the summit shared their personal and professional experiences in advancing D&I in Japan and abroad, including strategies that can be employed individually, at work, and in the community at large. Attendees engaged deeply with the themes of the conference, via question-and-answer sessions and breakout training opportunities.

The Way of Change

In her presentation, Rogers looked back at her first experiences in Japan, and how having to “encounter adversity in order to create opportunity” helped to shape her career trajectory.

“That experience changed my life; it changed what I wanted to do with it, and the total direction of it,” she said.

Graduating high school early, Rogers relocated to Japan in 1981 and spent two years as a student at Sophia University. Before that transition, she had intended to study nursing in the United States.

However, because of those early years in Japan, she changed her studies from nursing to foreign studies and law. She also studied Japanese. After graduating from law school in the United States, in 1988 Rogers returned to Japan on a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research. Her area of study was the impact of the 1985 Equal Employment Opportunity Act on female college graduates.

Why female college graduates? Because, at the time, they were one of the groups most discriminated against in Japan, Rogers recalled. Such women had the least time to work before they had to quit their jobs to raise children.

In the late 1980s, Rogers and her peers had been excited about how the new law would be a game changer for women in the workforce. “Unfortunately, those expectations were not met.”

And yet, by the time Rogers returned to Japan for a fourth time, at the end of 2014, things had changed: D&I had become part of the agenda in business circles here. Why was that?

Societal pressures, such as the aging of society, had created a need for talent—and among the least-tapped demographics in Japan at the time were university-educated women. Japan realized it has to take advantage of that.

In addition to the United States, Rogers has practiced law in six countries. She has studied or worked in Japan for more than 16 years, her career spanning financial services and IT industries. This vast experience has allowed her to develop a global perspective, she said.

Rogers holds non-executive directorships at three companies, positions that have allowed her to share her experience as a lawyer and a business professional. In January, she was elected president of the ACCJ.

Prior to leading the chamber, she worked with not-for-profit boards and in other leadership roles—experiences that helped her to hit the ground running as a leader at the ACCJ.

Looking back at her career, Rogers sees change as the salient theme; indeed, she refers to herself as a “change junkie.” But why embrace change?

Rogers identified at least three reasons: change—whether that’s working with a new team or in a different country or culture—allows you to leave your comfort zone, learn new ideas, and have new experiences.

“I think of change as an opportunity for growth.”

Does that mean she has taken every opportunity to embrace change? No. Rogers notes that she has been thoughtful about when to adopt change, in part because change comes with risk.

That said, the status quo involves risks, too. Nothing remains the same, she shared. For instance, you may get a new boss, your division may be merged with another one, or you may lose your job due to restructuring. What is important is assessing each new opportunity considering your personal and professional circumstances to determine if it is the right change for you and your career goals.

In her case, change allowed Rogers to become a resilient leader. Without it, she would have had no imperative to grow, no motivation to improve, no opportunity to receive input from a wide range of sources, and no incentive to innovate.

“I gained so much confidence in myself after each new opportunity. There were no perfect experiences, only those that taught me a lot of new things that helped me grow.”

Rogers encouraged women not to be held back by the fear of the unknown, and to embrace change.

Throughout her career and in the same way that she embraced change, Rogers has engaged actively with D&I and experiences involving people who have different ideas, backgrounds, gender, and even biases. While diversity can cause discomfort, it can also spur innovation and growth, she noted.

“In some cultural contexts, I need to have very in-depth, one-on-one conversations with people to make sure they understand my point of view, and that I understand theirs. That happens in Japan.”

As another example, Rogers noted that in India, she had to be open to having many meetings and drawn-out debates to ensure the desired outcome for all stakeholders.

In Japan, where she often is the only woman in the boardroom, Rogers often has wondered how she can leverage her personal experiences and skills to bring about change.

There is now a call for D&I in Japan, not as nice-to-have but as a must-have, to improve productivity and competitiveness, she said. The question then becomes, “How can Japan truly accelerate its diversity and inclusion?”

For us, it starts with adapting views so that they have the greatest impact in the context of Japan. Identifying others who are open to your views, finding a mentor or sponsor who is sympathetic to your goals, and mentoring others are great ways to effect change and to learn for yourself.

Surviving Diversity

The second keynote on day one was delivered by Masaaki Ito, executive director of Japanese fast-food chain Yoshinoya Co., Ltd. Previously, Ito worked for P&G in Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, and Japan. He is currently an outside director and adviser to several companies. Ito spoke about how he has survived in a diverse corporate environment abroad and in Japan.

A graduate of Keio University, he recalled that on TOEIC, a standardized test for English proficiency, he had achieved a high score. And yet, he had not been able to speak English well, something he had thought might haunt him while living abroad.

Ito spoke about being the only Japanese on his team in Cincinnati and Geneva. But, when he transitioned to the office in Singapore, the challenge changed: there were 10 nationalities in the office. What’s more, 60 percent of his colleagues were women—a first for him in the workplace.

Looking back, Ito noted a number of things that he learned—despite the challenges—from working as part of diverse teams across many cultures. From the perspective of a marketer, it is important to have diverse views on your team, he acknowledged. A lack of diversity, conversely, is likely to lead to unintended outcomes, such as groupthink.

One way to work through differences—and to identify shared values and good ideas—is to engage in team-building activities, such as office outings, including going out for food and drinks with colleagues, he said. Referencing Aristotle, Ito noted that there are three necessary elements to human communication. One must have the ability to:

• Create trust
• Act rationally
• Display empathy

In addition, he identified three questions—beginning with who, how, and what—the understanding of which are needed to move people. The first is, “Who do you wish to be in the eyes of the listener?” When speaking, it pays to speak to others in the same way that you want them to speak to you.

The second is, “How would you like to talk to another person?” It pays to be able to find areas of agreement with others, so formulating a conversation using a “yes, and” formula is better than a “yes, but” structure. The former allows you to better understand the other person.

The third is, “What would you like to learn from the other person?” Here, it pays not to focus merely on what you want to say, but to listen. Focus on being objective and eliminating bias about the other person, and listen carefully to them.

Mastering the who, how, and what of communication allows workplace diversity to be transformed from a burden into a boon, Ito shared.

Remote Realities

Day two of the summit began with a keynote by Kyoko Yamamoto, senior vice president and head of human resources at NTT Communications Corporation. In her presentation, entitled “Workstyle Transformation as a Key Driver of D&I,” Yamamoto outlined key barriers to gender diversity in the Japanese workplace.

Speaking from personal experience, she noted long-standing and outdated organizational barriers to women’s inclusion and progress at work, such as inflexible hours and an assumption that employees will stay late at the office. There have also been expectations that work will be carried out face-to-face, as opposed to remotely.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has led to a radical transformation of the work culture in Japan, while expanding the view of what a workplace is. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, work practices have become more flexible, “remote-work natives” are now common, and companies have realized that new value can be gained from remote work. What’s more, employee happiness has increased in many respects.

Yamamoto identified four trends in this era of increasing remote work:

• Open communication and management
• Flexible rules and conditions
• The 3Cs of the office
• Digital transformation and data utilization

The first refers to a new culture of open information sharing and management, and setting up remote and interactive management systems.

Yamamoto referenced NTT’s Remote Work Handbook, a guide to telework that is available free online. The guide shares best practices on topics such as how to manage a remote meeting, onboard new employees, and update IT skills.

Flexible rules and conditions, meanwhile, seek to create a work environment that isn’t based on fixed work times and office locations. Here, a new, super-flex-time system allows greater flexibility for employees to choose their work hours and location.

And the 3Cs of the office—change, creation, and collaboration—redefine our understanding of a workplace: the office can now be a remote space for generating ideas and collaborating, but with on/off switches that allow workers to have time for themselves.

The last item, meanwhile, optimizes work via the digitalization of processes and the greater use of data—the advent of which will open new opportunities that align well with the work–life balance needs of women. In such an environment, workers are encouraged to find a balance between individual autonomy and self-management on the one hand, and teamwork on the other. They are also empowered to respect diversity and build trust via open, trust-based workflows.

Since the implementation of this new workstyle paradigm at NTT in early 2020, employee satisfaction has reached record levels. About 80 percent of workers at the company now enjoy remote work, up from less than 20 percent before the pandemic.

Staff told of increased satisfaction and productivity, career development, and a sense of unity. Meanwhile, record increases were reported in employees’ sense of pride, equality, and respect—not to mention trust. What’s more, for the first time, the level of satisfaction among women increased to match that of men. Both had around a 65-percent positive response rate in opinion polls.

Overall, the transformation of workstyles at NTT has led to major changes to its office culture in two ways. From the perspective of the company, business processes have been transformed and data-driven management is now prevalent.

From the perspective of workers, personal growth and well-being have become priorities, work has become more pleasant and diverse, and career opportunities have increased.

Change for Good

The plenary speaker on day two was Daniel Binette, senior director of the immunology business unit at Eli Lilly Japan K.K.

In his presentation, entitled “Beyond the Evidence: D&I in Action,” Binette shared data from a survey, of more than 100 companies in 15-plus countries, which shows a link between financial performance and ethnic or gender diversity in the boardroom.

Other data shows that 67 percent of prospective employees surveyed shared that they consider workplace diversity an important factor when applying to work for a company. Diverse organizations, Binette pointed out, are more likely than less-diverse ones to attract and recruit better talent.

Despite the compelling evidence showing how D&I can improve personal and business outcomes, Binette noted that some organizations have fallen behind global trends in its implementation.

Why? As we focus on diversity targets for age, race, and gender, do we lose our focus on inclusion?

When working in South Africa and Canada, Binette experienced working on highly diverse teams, as both countries have divergent populations. However, there were key differences. Diversity in the workplace in South Africa was notably stratified. While Indian and white colleagues made up older generations of workers, Black people made up most of the recent hires.

Recognizing such subtle differences informed their inclusion strategies that, for instance, aimed at reducing turnover among new hires, which at the time was no better than the industry average for South Africa.

To improve their inclusion scores, Binette and his colleagues asked themselves how they could bring together their organization’s diversity, be it in terms of age, background, culture, or language.

So how did they increase inclusion?

They set a goal: Make life better in communities where most of their Black coworkers lived, while lowering turnover and increasing productivity.

Binette’s D&I goals had four pillars:

• Increase inclusion, productivity, engagement, and retention
• Develop a strategy to build a shared common vision and to coach inclusiveness
• Provide help when wanted
• Create a barometer of discussion

Further, Binette and his team conducted roundtable discussions to find out where their organization stood on inclusion. Employees shared their views and leaders listened.

Most important, however, rather than conduct a top-down initiative, the company invited representatives from their employee base to help shape the overall strategy for inclusion.

After sharing the vision, the next 90 days were critical. Performance management was updated, clear goals around collaboration were set, and it was made clear that, while leadership would support the new strategy, it was the responsibility of all to make it a success.

Managers and employees discussed how to collaborate, and coaching was conducted by everyone. Sessions covered topics such as unconscious bias and microaggressions, remarks that may be perceived as belittling.

As implementation continued, there was a need to support managers further. So diversity training used reverse mentorship to increase interests, pairing managers with employees from vastly different backgrounds. This allowed for better understanding between managers and their colleagues.

Binette admitted that diversity training is a continuous task, but initial results were encouraging: their organization in South Africa became an industry leader in reducing turnover, the workforce was more dynamic and engaged, and prospective employees showed enthusiasm to work for the company.

He shared three key takeaways from the initiative:

• Connectedness—the importance of a shared sense of belonging—grew among employees
• Respect—having deep consideration—for others became more prevalent
• Transparency—the importance of communication among staff and with management to explain the need for the strategy—increased

Binette stressed that leaders are important in:

• Setting clear goals on inclusiveness
• Recognizing their own limits and reaching out for help
• Modeling good behavior
• Assessing progress
• Recognizing change and change-makers

Globally Diverse

Day three began with a keynote by Neal Reed, executive officer and vice president at P&G Japan G.K. In his presentation, entitled “Equality & Inclusion: from Good Intentions to Impactful Actions,” Reed emphasized one main goal: to encourage attendees “to do one thing different, starting tomorrow.”

Reed stressed three assumptions about the attendees:

• They believe that diversity is good
• They know that leaders play a key role
• They are all good people with good intentions

He said that while much progress has been made globally in the D&I space, equal opportunities are still not equally distributed. This means some people do not always feel included.

Warming to the theme of equality and inclusion (E&I), Reed challenged the audience with a question: Are you doing enough? All, not just leaders, are responsible for making a difference, even in a small way.

Reed shared a framework that has guided him in this, allowing him to move from good intentions to actions that have an impact. The framework has three elements:

• Look in the mirror and challenge yourself
• Take action where you have passion
• Help one person at a time

Looking in the mirror and challenging yourself is a reality check, where you ask whether you are doing enough. Faced with a busy life, it is easy to slip into the belief that D&I is not important.

Taking action where you have passion allows one to focus on an area in which you already have a keen interest—a field where you believe you can make the greatest difference in D&I.

Lastly, it may pay to focus on helping one person at a time, a strategy that is less intimidating than trying to solve all organizational or global challenges at once.

In a moment of self-reflection, Reed noted the following elements in his D&I—as well as E&I—journey:

• Coming from a background of privilege brings with it the responsibility to act in support of others who are less privileged
• Change comes from action, not intentions alone
• Diversity is a first step, but enabling equality has greater impact
• Insiders need to help outsiders
• Leaders need to be role models

Reed said that people have always been considered P&G’s biggest asset. The company has long thought of E&I as a business strategy built on diversity in recruitment, equality of opportunity in the workplace, and fostering an inclusive culture.

Recently in Japan, P&G launched initiatives, such as the E&I Board, members of which meet regularly to apprise themselves of their work. Then there’s Beyond Gender, an initiative that builds on previous work around gender, while bringing to the fore challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.

The company’s brands, too, have been used on a greater scale than before to highlight E&I initiatives. So ads for its household products, for instance, have been used to encourage men to do more housework, such as laundry.

Challenge Accepted

The plenary session on day three, entitled “The Possibility of ‘Knowing’,” featured para athletes Kabetani and Norimatsu, both of whom compete in wheelchair rugby and are representatives of AIG Japan Holdings K.K. The moderator was Yumiko Ishii, senior manager in the internal audit office at American Home Assurance Company, Ltd.

Kabetani and Norimatsu spoke about their experiences in the company’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), volunteer-led initiatives for the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, including for employees with disabilities.

Looking back at his early days working at AIG, Norimatsu recalled that some of his colleagues, having had little experience working with someone in a wheelchair, were not certain how—or, indeed, if—they could help.

“There were people who were not sure whether they wanted to help me by opening the door,” Norimatsu shared.

Other colleagues wanted to help but found it to be challenging, not knowing how or when to do so. But, as time went by, the distance between Norimatsu and his colleagues naturally closed and many more people began to speak to him. As a result, mutual understanding grew.

ERGs were created to help bridge such gaps, and to bring the workforce closer together. Indeed, survey results from the disability ERG show that colleagues were eager to know how they could assist team members with disabilities. As a member of the group, Norimatsu has been eager to share his experiences with others, and to learn from them, too.

“I know about wheelchairs, but I don’t know much about disabilities that do not involve the wheelchair, including those of people with mental disabilities,” he said.

Such connections, he noted, are especially important in Japan, a country where there have not been many opportunities, in the corporate environment, for people with disabilities to interact with other colleagues. Via the ERG program, both para athletes have not only bridged gaps between employees and supported AIG’s business goals, but they have also helped to inspire colleagues in unexpected ways.

Norimatsu explained: “If speaking about my disability helps someone, I want to proactively communicate [my experiences]. It might not connect directly with business, but it might indirectly produce a good effect.”

Breakout Performance

Throughout the summit, attendees engaged in breakout training sessions facilitated by Miho Takiguchi, director of talent and organization development and diversity at AstraZeneca K.K. The sessions focused on the themes of the conference.

With more than 200 attendees, this year’s summit was organized by ACCJ-Kansai Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-chairs Yuri Ichihashi, Yuka Nakamura, and Asana Otani. The summit’s master of ceremonies was Vice-chair Daniel Steiner.

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