Health and Safety

To achieve the JT Group Purpose, the JT Group recognizes that providing healthy, safe, and supportive working environments, both physically and mentally, is fundamental to enable all employees to perform at their full potential and to ensure stable and reliable business operations across the JT Group.
That is why we uphold the philosophy of "People come first," placing the utmost importance on safety and health and aim for zero harm that is zero work-related physical injury or mental damage in the JT Group Health and Safety Policy. We put a range of measures in place, including strengthening safety culture and awareness, ensuring appropriate risk controls, and expanding health-related support under this policy.

JT Group Health and Safety Policy

To further promote health and ensure safety at work, the JT Group has established the JT Group Health and Safety Policy approved by the Board of Directors.

Health and Safety System

We implement health and safety initiatives under the responsibility of the JT CEO and enhance group governance under a system supervised by the Board of Directors.
Each business within the JT Group must maintain a Health and Safety Policy aligned with the Group’s Policy. These policies must be committed to preventing injuries and illnesses, complying with legal requirements, involving workers in safety matters, and driving continuous improvement. They must address key risks, outline prioritized action plans, be reviewed regularly, communicate to all employees and contractors, and make available to relevant stakeholders.
In addition, as part of the appropriate implementation and ongoing maintenance and improvement of this system, we confirm compliance with health and safety-related laws, regulations, and management systems through measures such as internal audits.

Health and Safety Initiatives

The JT Group is committed to achieving zero work-related accidents by implementing preventive measures tailored to the specific risks of each operation. Risk assessments have identified driving vehicles and machinery operation as high-risk activities. In response, we are focusing on raising employee awareness and enhancing work environments to reduce these risks and promote safer practices.

At overseas locations in the tobacco business with driving vehicles, we are introducing an app that analyzes driver behavior and provides tailored individual advice. The app is currently being used by around 3,600 drivers. We assess the risk profile in their driving, and hold safe driving training for drivers who are judged to require intensive support. In addition, based on guidelines aimed at preventing accidents involving pedestrians, we are working to increase driver safety awareness and risk management capabilities, while fostering a safety culture.

On locations with machinery operation, we are involved in the formulation of targets and plans, the identification of risks through hazard prediction activities, the implementation of measures to reduce risks such as modifying machinery, and the evaluation and auditing of these initiatives.
In the tobacco business in particular, we are rolling out global standards for work safety during machine operation and maintenance, and promoting the introduction of safety tools, such as safety maps and quick risk prediction. In tandem with this, we have been using these standards and tools to raise awareness of safe behaviors and procedural compliance in daily operations as part of efforts to increase the maturity of our operational practices.
We also promote modification and design improvement of machinery by factories and machinery manufacturers based on past work-related accidents.
Moreover, in addition to complying with laws and regulations, we are working to obtain ISO 45001 certification, the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems, on a global basis. Approximately 90% of tobacco factories have obtained this certification.

The TableMark group in our processed food business has been conducting group-wide initiatives under the Zero Work-Related Accident Project, with members from across multiple companies and divisions.
In the case of work-related accidents related to driving vehicles, for example, the group collects examples of initiatives for preventing traffic accidents at sales offices throughout Japan and distributes videos aimed at raising safety awareness. In addition, each group company and location have put in place checking systems to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, such as alcohol checks and license expiry date checks.
To address work-related accidents involving machinery operation, the group is working to enhance education on safe operation including on-the-job training and to implement factory inspections by other manufacturing sites and external experts. It is also trying to strengthen connections between manufacturing sites by sharing the result of risk assessments and establishing unified rules.

The JT Group is implementing health and safety education and training at each company and location, covering aspects such as risk identification and minimization, work-related accident prevention measures, and emergency response. These initiatives aim to foster their awareness and knowledge of safety, as a foundation for its continuous maintenance and improvement.

As a result of these initiatives, in the FY2025 JT Group Employee Engagement Survey, over 80% of employees responded “I feel appropriate measures are taken at my workplace to prevent injuries and illnesses”.

For information on JTI initiatives, please refer to here.

Monitoring Indicators

Based on the JT Group Health and Safety Policy, we have set up monitoring indicators to evaluate our initiatives and continuously improve our performance, and institute measures promptly when necessary.
In addition, the Board of Directors supervises JT Group Health and Safety System based on the result of performance related to health and safety with a focus on this monitoring indicators reported at least once a year.

JT Group Monitoring Indicators on Health and Safety

For serious work-related accidents that involve fatalities and so forth, we rigorously conduct analysis of the occurrence conditions and implement recurrence prevention measures to ensure that the same accident does not occur again.

For example, in response to a serious work-related accident involving machinery operation, we conducted emergency inspections of all domestic and overseas locations where a similar accident could occur. We then analyzed the accident from every perspective, including machinery operation, safety functions, operating procedures, and training content. Based on this analysis, we added new safety control functions to the machinery and reviewed the operating procedures. We also reinforced safety awareness and behavior by re-emphasizing safety rules and the importance of rigorously following work procedures among all employees, managers, and contractors involved in machinery operation.
Furthermore, we have a system that enables rapid reporting of the occurrence of serious work-related accidents and recurrence prevention measures to our Directors, as well as the receipt of feedback as needed.

Looking ahead, we will carefully monitor the status of work-related accident occurrences in the JT Group, and continuously promote effective measures toward the achievement of zero work-related accidents.

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