Human Resources Strategy
1. The Aozora Group’s Human Resources Strategy
Under its management philosophy of “contributing to the development of society through the creation of new value-added financial services,” the Group provides high-quality financial services by leveraging its expertise and robust proposal capabilities despite its compact size with approximately 2,500 employees. We strongly believe that human capital that can take on challenging assignments is the source of enhancing the Group’s corporate value. For this reason, the goal of our human resources strategy, and, in turn, a key feature of our management strategy, is to enhance the value of human capital, as a small group of elite professionals.
Mid-term Plan “Aozora 2027” outlines the vision for our human resources strategy as “fostering” the “growth” of Aozora’s employees who “create added value,” thereby ensuring that all stakeholders are “fulfilled.” In order to realize our vision, human resources that take on challenging assignments and deliver solutions from a customer-oriented perspective, and an organization that swiftly makes decisions and moves cohesively toward the realization of its management philosophy in a way that motivates this talent are both indispensable. Through the implementation of a human resources strategy closely integrated with our management philosophy and business strategy, we will work diligently to develop this kind of talent and build such an organization, aiming for greater corporate value over the medium to long term.
Based on the belief that “human capital” is the source of enhancement of corporate value, the Aozora Group is committed to bolstering its investment in human capital, focusing not only on extrinsic rewards, but also intrinsic rewards.
Despite a business environment characterized by high labor mobility, past investments in human capital have helped maintain employee retention rates at a high level, contributing to an earnings recovery from FY2024.
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- Extrinsic rewards:
- Maintain a competitive compensation system (pay-scale increases implemented for five consecutive years), introduce a stock compensation program for employees
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- Intrinsic rewards:
- Improve employee engagement and well-being by fostering a rewarding and safe working environment
In order to bridge the gap between the vision of our human resources strategy and reality, we outlined four basic policies for investment in human capital under the Mid-term Plan as shown in the table below. These basic policies are designed to help ensure that our investment in human capital leads to the creation of added value. In specific terms, while raising the overall level of human resources through an expansion in the number of personnel who “create added value,” we reassign personnel to priority areas, including the Strategic Investments Business, seeking to support priority businesses through organizational cohesion and reward value-creating talent by ensuring that compensation is matched to the level of contribution. The measures aligned to these basic policies implemented in FY2025 have already produced results. (Please refer to “Core KPIs, etc.” in the table below).
Aozora will continue to invest in human capital in line with these four basic policies, regardless of changes in the economic environment.
Human Capital Investment That Leads to Creating Added Value
- Based on employee surveys
- Consolidated basis; excludes those who are supporting the Strategic Investments Unit
Human Resource Development
We understand that realizing the Group’s management strategies requires human resources that take on challenging assignments and deliver solutions from a customer-oriented perspective. In that context, the Bank initiated steps to revise and restructure its human resources development programs in FY2025 to foster independence and encourage each individual to take on challenges, moving away from the year-based standardized programs. Moreover, we have introduced a new talent management system to better visualize the skills and experience of employees. We will seek to more effectively develop human resources in order to increase the number of employees who are able to excel.
Development of Strategic Investments Business Professionals
We recognize that the most pressing challenge at present is to develop the human resources necessary to spearhead the Strategic Investments Business, an area of business focus. In FY2025, we launched the Strategic Investments Seminar, a small-group, intensive training initiative through which officers with extensive experience in Strategic Investments Business act as lecturers. CEO Oomi has taken on the role of seminar director since FY2026 and is sharing his thirty-year experience in structured finance with future generations. In addition to imparting knowledge, this seminar helps participants gain practical skills. For similar reasons, Aozora also offers several other Strategic Investments Business human resources development programs in collaboration with third-party organizations. As one example of particular note, young talent who have acquired one year of front-line experience in investments with a primary focus on engagement as part of the Mushashugyo*1 program at Asuka Corporate Advisory Co., Ltd. arrive ready to act on their own on the front lines of business.
Human Resources Development Programs
The majority of the Bank’s training programs are developed in-house.
- A secondment program where participants work one to two years at a corporation or a Group company
- Content revised to place greater emphasis on organizational development and talent development to strengthen management capabilities
- Previously independent training programs by groups have been integrated into a structured curriculum
Comments from a Participant of the Strategic Investments Seminar
Recruitment of Human Resources Capable of Creating Added Value
We recognize human resources sustainability and diversity through reinforced and entrenched human capital as one of our challenges, and therefore we are strengthening our recruitment strategy.
The Bank has long focused on mid-career hiring, where people with a broad range of experience and values are joining Aozora ready to contribute. In recent years, we have focused on recruiting people with high potential, particularly experts in the financing areas. In FY2025, we strengthened alumni hiring (rehiring of former employees) and referral hiring (hires through employees’ referrals), and introduced direct recruiting. As a result, these efforts brought the mid-career hiring ratio to 39%.
As far as new graduate recruitment is concerned, we hire people with diverse backgrounds by expanding our sourcing routes to include international students and graduates of overseas universities.
In order to retain specialized human resources, we are working to collect and analyze information through retention interviews and questionnaires for retirees, as well as to improve the balance between evaluations and rewards, striving to become an organization of choice.
For more information about the hiring ratios and average annual compensation, please refer to “Non-financial Information Index” on page 28 of the Annual Report 2026 (Financial and Corporate Data Section).
To ensure the growth of its Strategic Investments Business as a key focus area, reassigning personnel and increasing the number of specialized human resources are of the utmost importance. To address this, we are promoting the following initiatives.
Strategic Investments Business Personnel Ratio Targets March 31, 2028 24%
Initiatives to Reassign Personnel to the Strategic Investments Business
- Leverage the experts with experience in structured finance
- Provide high-potential young employees with opportunities to gain on-the-job experience
- Optimize personnel allocation using the talent management system and other tools
- Reorganize the business groups into three units to enhance internal talent mobility
Enhancement Initiatives
- Personnel shift to front offices, strengthening of rotations, and revitalization of job posting system
- Strengthening of specialized human resources recruitment
- Strengthening of the balance of rewards for retention and recruitment of specialized human resources
The Group seeks individuals who adopt a customer-oriented perspective and are capable of taking on and resolving challenging assignments. To remain the top choice for these individuals, Aozora’s basic policy is to reward them fairly by ensuring competitive compensation levels and properly evaluating their contributions to added value creation. Under this policy, our Mid-term Plan raised “fair evaluation and allocation of rewards” aiming to realize a virtuous cycle consisting of greater employee engagement and corporate value through continued investments in human capital.
Decision-making Policy for Employee Compensation
|
Reward structure |
Basic salary, bonuses, retirement benefits (retirement bonus, defined-benefit pension), employee benefits |
|---|---|
|
Compensation level |
Maintain competitive compensation levels |
Fair Compensation Allocation
Improvement in Employee Engagement
To enhance corporate value, it is vital to improve individual job satisfaction and engagement, as well as enhance the quality of human capital. Aozora therefore conducts an annual employee survey to identify issues in improving engagement and to reflect these in specific initiatives. As a result of the past initiatives, we saw a steady rise in the engagement score, but the survey provided two important insights for future growth.
The first is to create a workplace environment in which employees can work with a sense of unity and that increases “job satisfaction” while maintaining “workplace comfort,” which is already at a high level. The second is to ensure that each employee takes on challenges without fear of change, and to further instill a culture that praises these endeavors as an organization.
In addition, the following three issues were identified.
- Proactive practice of the management philosophy (on a day-to-day operation level)
- Assistance for growth of young and mid-level employees who will take responsibility for future generations, and the incorporation of their feedback
- Nurturing a sense of unity and solidarity that crosses generations, units, and job categories
To address these issues, we are implementing initiatives such as those listed on the right. We will further enhance employee engagement through these initiatives in an effort to become a company in which employees take pride, as well as one that offers job satisfaction and attracts people willing to take on challenging assignments.
Initiatives to Improve Employee Engagement
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Annual employee survey:
Survey results are discussed among executive officers and incorporated into human resources systems, Mid-term Plan, and business measures -
Monthly use of Wevox engagement measurement tool:
Enables visualization and analysis to support workplace-driven organizational development and enhance management capabilities
Initiatives to Strengthen Organizational Unity
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Ongoing town hall meetings (once per year):
Direct dialogue between management and employees to instill the management philosophy -
Launch of branding project:
Stronger corporate branding for internal and external use centered on the idea of “Creating Possibilities,” beginning with the transformation of branding for internal use into an opportunity to improve job satisfaction and the sense of unity among employees
Enhancing Employee Well-being
We believe that in order to realize Aozora Group’s management philosophy, “contribute to the development of society through the creation of new value-added financial services,” it is vital that we establish an environment in which our employees who drive this mission can work with peace of mind over the long term.
The well-being*1 of our employees forms the foundation for this vision and is equally essential for the enhancement of our corporate value. To enhance employee well-being, we are committed to promoting both “KENKO Investment for Health”*2 and financial wellness initiatives that support employees’ physical, mental, and financial stability.
KENKO Investment for Health Initiatives
The results of our efforts to promote KENKO Investment for Health initiatives indicate that Aozora is a relatively healthy organization, with participation rates in regular health checkups and health screenings remaining at a high level as well as an employee presenteeism*3 score below the national average. Aozora has now been certified as an Outstanding Organization of KENKO Investment for Health*4 for six consecutive years.
- Well-being refers to a state in which each employee is not only physically and mentally healthy, but also socially secure and fulfilled.
- “KENKO Investment for Health®” is a registered trademark of the Nonprofit Organization Kenkokeiei.
- Presenteeism refers to a state in which employees are physically present at work but unable to perform their business duties due to health issues. It is considered a major source of costs and losses for a company. Results are based on the employee survey using the University of Tokyo’sSingle-Item Presenteeism Question (SPQ), and the average value is taken from the SPQ.
- Recognition system relating to the KENKO Investment for Health program run by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Enhancing Employees’ Financial Wellness
Recognizing that the long-term economic stability of each and every employee is a key priority, we are working to establish systems to achieve this goal. By enhancing employee engagement, we will not only be supporting the lives of our employees and their families through the expansion of these systems, but also be driving the sustainable growth of the Aozora Group, ultimately achieving the fulfillment of all of our stakeholders.
List of Programs and Measures to Enhance Financial Wellness
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
The Aozora Group positions the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a core component of our management strategy for achieving sustainable growth and greater corporate value. In this era of rapid change, incorporating diverse perspectives and values into management decision-making not only fosters new value creation but also enhances an organization’s risk resilience and adaptability, ultimately leading to increased organizational strength. We believe that by creating an environment in which a diverse workforce can fully leverage their respective capabilities we will increase our overall level of employee engagement. This in turn will serve as a driving force in further enhancing our corporate value. To that end, we are focusing on supporting women’s empowerment, recruiting experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds, including non-Japanese, and creating an environment in which employees with disabilities can work with peace of mind.
Human Resource and Working Environment Development Policies
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Policies |
Actions |
|---|---|
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Hiring and appointing people not just based upon ability, but also emphasizing diversity |
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Support female employees’ career development |
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Create a working environment where all employees can play an active role |
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Creating Opportunities for Female Employees
A key strength of the Group lies in an environment in which all employees can build sustainable careers regardless of their gender. As a result, Aozora’s female employees have longer average tenures than their male counterparts, and many women are playing active roles in a wide range of divisions.
Our ongoing efforts to support women’s empowerment have led to steady progress in ensuring diversity in our management. The ratio of female executive officers has reached 25%, and the number of women playing central management roles is increasing. In addition, as a result of initiatives designed to develop our next-generation of leaders, which we launched in FY2023, the ratio of female managers has exceeded 15%.
Ensuring diversity at the decision-making level is essential for enhancing corporate value, as it increases organizational risk resilience and reduces the loss of human capital. The next challenge is to establish this positive development as a sustainable business practice. We will accelerate our talent management initiatives to develop the next generation of female managers and their candidates as well as the ongoing appointment of women to all decision-making levels, including management, with the aim to further increase the ratio of female managers.
The Group’s gender pay gap stands at 67.9%. The primary reason for this disparity is the low ratio of women in managerial positions. Other contributing factors include the relatively small number of women working in focus areas such as the Strategic Investments Business as well as a tendency that long-tenured female employees remain in specific job categories or career ranks such as back-office operations. Following the career course integration implemented in FY2020, there is no difference in performance evaluation or pay between men and women within the same career course or rank.
To resolve these challenges, Aozora will continue to provide fair opportunities to fully leverage the capabilities of our female employees, drive strategic talent development and placement, and promote a broader shift in organizational awareness, thereby increasing their promotion to managers as well as to senior-level positions over the medium to long term. Through these efforts, we believe, the gender pay gap will steadily narrow over time.
Goals and Progress
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Categories |
Current ratios |
|---|---|
|
Female |
15.2% |
|
Female deputy |
44.1% |
|
Non-Japanese |
2.6% |
|
Mid-career |
60.5% |
|
Male employees taking |
102% |
|
Target ratios |
|---|
|
20% |
|
40% |
|
3% |
|
40% |
|
100% |
Female Leader Development:
Initiative on Cross-industry Exchange Program
Examples of Initiatives to Promote Women’s Empowerment
- FY2020: Integrated career courses (abolished “ippan shoku” and integrated employees into professional career categories)
- FY2021: Set a target ratio for female deputy managers
- FY2023: Launched the internal female leadership development program
- FY2024: Launched external cross-industry exchange programs for female managers
- FY2025: Launched new external cross-industry exchange programs for female employees
Creating an Environment Where Diverse Talents Can Thrive
Aozora aims to become an organization chosen not only by its customers but also by all stakeholders, including shareholders and employees. For that reason, we are committed to building a workplace where all employees can thrive by respecting diversity and providing fair opportunities to everyone. We continue to support a balance between childcare and work regardless of gender. As a result, the childcare leave utilization rate has reached 100% for male employees as well.
Examples of Initiatives Supporting Work-Childcare Balance
- Introduced Fathers’ Post-Natal Childcare Leave Program in FY2022 ⇒ In FY2024, the program was revised to require eligible employees to take at least five days of childcare leave annually
- Held Summer Vacation Kids Day and Family Day Events
With a view toward establishing DEI as its organizational culture, the Aozora Group launched Aozora Ally in 2022 and has since been continuing to push forward initiatives that support employees with diverse backgrounds, including persons with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals. In FY2025, we worked to foster a workplace culture of mutual acceptance of diversity by putting in place more comfortable working systems for everyone. One example of this was the revision of our personnel regulations to include same-gender partners in the leave system such as congratulations or condolence leave.