Executives
As of March 27, 2024
Directors
| President and Representative Director | Hitoshi Kawahara |
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Brief History
| April 1984 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| April 2006 | Manager, Resin Sales Department, EVAL Division |
| April 2010 | Manager, Planning and Administration Department, Resin Company |
| April 2013 | Assistant General Manager, Poval Film Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| April 2014 | General Manager, Poval Film Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| January 2016 | Vice President of Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
| March 2016 | Executive Officer |
| January 2018 | President of Vinyl Acetate Resin Company |
| March 2018 | Senior Executive Officer |
| March 2019 | Director |
| January 2021 | President and Representative Director (Current position) |
| Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer | Keiji Taga | Officer Responsible for Corporate Management Planning Office, Officer Responsible for Corporate Sustainability Division, Officer Responsible for DX-IT Division, and Officer Responsible for Accounting and Finance Division |
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Brief History
| April 1984 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| April 2012 | Deputy General Manager, Purchasing and Logistics Division |
| April 2014 | General Manager, Medical Division, Functional Materials Company |
| March 2017 | Executive Officer |
| January 2018 | Officer Responsible for Corporate Management Planning Office (Current position) and Officer Responsible for CSR Division |
| March 2018 | Managing Executive Officer |
| April 2018 | General Manager, Corporate Management Planning Office |
| March 2019 | Director |
| January 2020 | Officer Responsible for Administrative Unit |
| January 2022 | Officer Responsible for Corporate Sustainability Division (Current position), Officer Responsible for Global Digital Transformation Office, and Officer Responsible for Accounting and Finance Division(Current position) |
| January 2023 | Officer Responsible for DX-IT Division(Current position) |
| January 2024 | Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| Chairman and Director | Masaaki Ito | Chairperson, Saijo Central Hospital |
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Brief History
| April 1980 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| August 2002 | President, Nantong Kuraray Garment Co., Ltd. |
| April 2004 | Manager of Corporate Management Planning Division, Kuraray Trading Co., Ltd. |
| April 2007 | Manager of Kuralon and K-II Production and Technology Development Department, Okayama Plant |
| April 2010 | General Manager of Methacrylate Division, Chemicals Company |
| June 2012 | Executive Officer |
| April 2013 | Vice President of Functional Materials Company and General Manager of Methacrylate Division, Functional Materials Company |
| June 2013 | Managing Executive Officer |
| April 2014 | Officer Responsible for Corporate Management Planning Division and CSR Division, General Manager of Corporate Management Planning Division |
| June 2014 | Director |
| January 2015 | Representative Director and President |
| January 2021 | Chairman and Director (Current position) |
| April 2021 | Chairperson, Saijo Central Hospital (Current position) |
| Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer | Yoshimasa Sano | President, Fibers and Textiles Company Officer Responsible for Osaka Office |
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Brief History
| April 1980 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| July 2001 | Manager of Sales Department, Fine Chemicals Division |
| April 2007 | Manager of Chemicals Marketing & Sales Department, Isoprene Chemicals Division, Chemicals and Medical Products Company |
| April 2010 | General Manager of Elastomer Division, Chemicals Company |
| June 2012 | Executive Officer |
| April 2014 | General Manager of Methacrylate Division, Functional Materials Company |
| January 2016 | Vice President, Functional Materials Company |
| March 2016 | Director and Managing Executive Officer |
| January 2017 | General Manager of Carbon Materials Division, Functional Materials Company |
| January 2018 | President, Functional Materials Company |
| January 2020 | President, Fibers and Textiles Company (Current position) |
| January 2020 | Responsible for Osaka Office (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| Director and Managing Executive Officer | Matthias Gutweiler | President, Kuraray Europe GmbH |
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Brief History
| December 2001 | Joined Kuraray Specialities Europe |
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| January 2009 | Executive Officer, Kuraray Co., Ltd., President, Kuraray Europe GmbH (Current position) |
| April 2013 | General Manager of PVB Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| March 2018 | Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director (Current position) |
| Director and Managing Executive Officer | Nobuhiko Takai | President, Functional Materials Company |
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Brief History
| April 1984 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| April 2005 | Manager of Global Operation Department, Poval Resin Company, Specialty Resin and Film Sector |
| April 2009 | Manager of Business Planning Department, Poval Resin Division, Specialty Resin and Film Company |
| April 2012 | Deputy General Manager of Genestar Division, Chemicals Company |
| April 2014 | General Manager of Genestar Division, Isoprene Company |
| March 2016 | Executive Officer |
| January 2019 | Vice President, Functional Materials Company, General Manager of Carbon Material Division, Functional Materials Company |
| March 2019 | Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| January 2020 | President, Functional Materials Company (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director (Current position) |
| Director and Managing Executive Officer | Tomoyuki Watanabe | President, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company President, Vinyl Acetate Film Company Officer Responsible for Electronics Materials Promotion Division |
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Brief History
| April 1988 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| June 2006 | Manager, EVAL Research and Development Department, Kurashiki Plant |
| March 2009 | Manager, KURARISTER Production Department, Kurashiki Plant |
| April 2010 | President, EVAL Europe N.V. |
| January 2015 | General Manager, Poval Resin Division, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company, General Manager, International Business Planning Division, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company |
| January 2016 | Vice President, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company |
| March 2018 | Executive Officer |
| January 2021 | President, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company (Current position) |
| January 2023 | Officer Responsible for Electronics Materials Promotion Division (Current position) |
| March 2023 | Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| January 2024 | President, Vinyl Acetate Film Company (Current position) |
| March 2024 | Director (Current position) |
| Director | Keiko Murata1 | Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Metropolitan University Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Rissho University |
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Brief History
| April 1986 | Entered Economic Planning Agency of Japan (EPA) |
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| August 2005 | Director for Overseas Economies, Directorate General for Economic Research, Cabinet Office |
| August 2006 | Director for International Affairs, Secretariat of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office |
| July 2008 | Professor, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
| May 2015 | Advisor to the President, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
| July 2017 | Trustee, Nippon Life Insurance Company (Current position) |
| April 2018 | Professor, Graduate School of Management, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
| March 2020 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| April 2022 | Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Metropolitan University (Current position) Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Rissho University (Current position) |
| Director | Satoshi Tanaka1 | Independent Director, IHH Healthcare Berhad Representative Director Executive Vice President & Executive Officer , Sekisui House, Ltd. |
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Brief History
| April 1981 | Joined Mitsui & Co. |
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| April 2011 | Managing Officer, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2013 | Executive Managing Officer, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2015 | Senior Executive Managing Officer, COO of Asia Pacific Business Unit, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2017 | Executive Vice President and CAO; CIO; CPO, MITSUI & CO., LTD. |
| June 2017 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2019 | Director, Mitsui & Co. |
| June 2019 | Counselor, Mitsui & Co. |
| March 2020 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| April 2020 | Outside Director, Sekisui House, Ltd. |
| January 2021 | Independent Director, IHH Healthcare Berhad (Current position) |
| April 2021 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President & Executive Officer, Sekisui House, Ltd.(Current position) |
| Director | Kiyoto Ido1 | Director（Outside）, Japan Investment Adviser Co., Ltd. |
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Brief History
| April 1973 | Entered the Ministry of Finance (MOF) |
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| March 1980 | Consul, Consulate-General of Japan, Frankfurt in Germany |
| July 1989 | Deputy General Manager, Finance Dept., Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C. |
| July 1998 | Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, MOF Deputy Director-General, International Bureau, MOF |
| June 1999 | Minister, Embassy of Japan, Washington, D.C |
| July 2002 | Deputy Director-General, International Bureau, MOF |
| July 2004 | Director-General, International Bureau, MOF |
| August 2006 | Executive Director, Bank of Japan |
| April 2011 | Vice Chairman, Institute for International Economic Studies (Current position) |
| June 2014 | Outside Member of the Board of Directors, Nidec Corporation |
| March 2021 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) Director（Outside）, Japan Investment Adviser Co., Ltd.(Current position) |
| Director | Naoko Mikami1 | Outside Director, Showa Sangyo Co., Ltd. Outside Director, Earth Corporation |
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Brief History
| April 1983 | Joined Ajinomoto Co., Inc. |
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| April 2007 | Visiting Professor, Musashino University |
| January 2010 | Joined C’BON COSMETICS Co., Ltd. |
| April 2010 | Plant Manager, Tochigi Factory, C’BON COSMETICS Co., Ltd. |
| June 2011 | Executive Officer, C’BON COSMETICS Co., Ltd. |
| June 2012 | Director and Executive Officer, C’BON COSMETICS Co., Ltd. |
| June 2017 | Director and Managing Executive Officer, C’BON COSMETICS Co., Ltd. |
| June 2019 | Representative Director and Vice President, C’BON COSMETICS Co.,Ltd. |
| June 2021 | Outside Director, Showa Sangyo Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| March 2022 | Outside Director, Earth Corporation (Current position) |
| March 2024 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
Members of Audit & Supervisory Board
| Full-time Member of Audit & Supervisory Board | Hiroaya Hayase |
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Brief History
| April 1980 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| April 2007 | Manager of Technology Planning and Administration Department, Technology Division |
| April 2008 | Deputy General Manager of Technology Division |
| April 2010 | General Manager of Technology Division, Technology and Development Unit |
| April 2012 | General Manager of Poval Resin Division, Resin Company |
| June 2012 | Executive Officer |
| April 2013 | General Manager of Poval Resin Division and General Manager of Production and Technology Management Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| April 2014 | General Manager of International Business Planning Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| June 2014 | Managing Executive Officer |
| January 2015 | President, Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
| March 2015 | Director |
| January 2016 | President, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company |
| March 2016 | Senior Managing Executive Officer |
| March 2020 | Representative Director |
| January 2021 | Executive Supervisor, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company Executive Supervisor, Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
| January 2022 | President, Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
| January 2024 | Director and Executive Officer, Assistant to the President |
| March 2024 | Member of Audit & Supervisory Board (Current position) |
| Full-time Member of Audit & Supervisory Board | Naoya Uehara |
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Brief History
| Apr 1982 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| Apr 2009 | Senior Manager, Corporate Control Department |
| Apr 2013 | Vice General Manager, Corporate Management Planning Division |
| Jun 2014 | Vice General Manager, GLS Division, Kuraray America, Inc. |
| Jan 2018 | Vice President, Kuraray Europe GmbH |
| Mar 2020 | Executive Officer, Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
| Jan 2021 | Assistant to the President |
| Mar 2021 | Member of Audit & Supervisory Board (Current position) |
| Member of Audit & Supervisory Board | Mitsuhiro Nagahama 2 | Outside Director, Azbil Co., Ltd. Outside Director, NSK Ltd. |
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Brief History
| Apr 1976 | Entered The Fuji Bank Limited (the present Mizuho Bank, Ltd.) |
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| Apr 2002 | General Manager, Americas Non-Japanese Corporate Banking Division No. 2, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. |
| Mar 2003 | Executive Officer and General Manager, Otemachi Corporate Banking Division No. 6 and No. 7, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. |
| Apr 2005 | Managing Executive Officer in charge of corporate banking, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. |
| Mar 2006 | Managing Executive Officer, Head of the Americas, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. |
| Apr 2010 | Deputy President, Head of the Americas, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. |
| Apr 2013 | Chairman of the Board, Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. Chairman of the Board, Mizuho Securities USA Inc. |
| Apr 2015 | Senior Advisor, Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. |
| Jun 2015 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Azbil Co., Ltd. |
| Mar 2018 | Member of Audit & Supervisory Board, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| Mar 2019 | Outside Director, Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. |
| Jun 2019 | Outside Director, Azbil Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| Jun 2020 | Outside Director, NSK Ltd. (Current position) |
| Member of Audit & Supervisory Board | Tomomi Yatsu 2 | Representative, Yatsu Law & Accounting Office Outside Director, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. |
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Brief History
| Apr 1983 | Entered Tokyo Electron Ltd. |
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| Oct 1986 | Entered Tohmatsu Awoki & Sanwa (the present Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC) |
| Sep 1990 | Registered as a Certified Public Accountant |
| Oct 2001 | Registered with Tokyo Bar Association Entered Shin-Tokyo Sohgoh Law Office (later merged with Bingham Sakai Mimura Aizawa-Foreign Law Joint Enterprise) |
| Jun 2009 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Calbee, Inc. |
| Jun 2010 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Taiko Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. |
| Mar 2012 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, KOKUYO Co., Ltd. |
| Mar 2015 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. |
| Apr 2015 | Partner, TMI Associates |
| Jun 2016 | Outside Director, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. (Current position) |
| Jun 2017 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, IHI Corporation |
| Mar 2019 | Member of Audit & Supervisory Board, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| Mar 2021 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| Apr 2022 | Representative, Yatsu Law & Accounting Office (Current position) |
| Member of Audit & Supervisory Board | Kenji Komatsu 2 | Chairman and Representative Director, Longreach Business Partners Inc. |
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Brief History
| Apr 1978 | Entered Mitsubishi Corporation |
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| Feb 1996 | Entered GE International Inc. |
| Jul 2005 | Representative Director and President, Ecolab Inc. (the present Ecolab GK) |
| Apr 2007 | Ecolab Inc. Senior Vice President |
| Dec 2010 | Senior Executive Officer, SANDEN CORPORATION |
| Nov 2011 | Entered Bain Capital Asia, LLC |
| Mar 2013 | Director, President and CEO, BELLSYSTEM24, Inc. |
| Mar 2016 | Director and Chairman, BELLSYSTEM24 Holdings, Inc. |
| Jun 2016 | Advisor, COACH A Co., Ltd. |
| Dec 2018 | Advisor, API Consultants CO., LTD. |
| Mar 2019 | Member of Audit & Supervisory Board, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| May 2020 | Executive Vice President, FUJITSU COMPONENT LIMITED (the present FCL COMPONENTS LIMITED) |
| Oct 2022 | Director, FCL COMPONENTS LIMITED |
| Jan 2023 | Chairman and Representative Director, Longreach Business Partners Inc. (Current position) |
Executive Officers
| Managing Executive Officer | Akira Omura | Officer Responsible for Technology Division, Officer Responsible for Plants in Japan, and Officer Responsible for Environment and Industrial Safety Management Center |
|---|---|---|
| Managing Executive Officer | Toshihiro Omatsu | Officer Responsible for Innovation Networking Center, Officer Responsible for Research and Development Division, and Officer Responsible for IP Management Center |
| Managing Executive Officer | Satoru Fujinami | Officer Responsible for General Affairs and HR Division, Officer Responsible for Confidential Information Management, and Officer Responsible for Purchasing and Logistics Division |
| Managing Executive Officer | Yoji Ikemori | President of Isoprene Company and General Manager of Genestar Division |
| Executive Officer | Stephen Cox | General Manager of Advanced Interlayer Solutions Division |
| Executive Officer | Koichi Takano | General Manager of Purchasing and Logistics Division |
| Executive Officer | Takaharu Kawahara | President, Kuraray America, Inc. |
| Executive Officer | Fuyuo Ueyama | General Manager of Poval Film Division |
| Executive Officer | Stevan R. Schott | General Manager of Environmental Solutions Division and Calgon Carbon Corporation President |
| Executive Officer | Kazushige Sakamoto | General Manager of Okayama Plant |
| Executive Officer | Koichi Daifuku | General Manager of Electronics Materials Promotion Division |
| Executive Officer | Junichi Fujiwara | General Manager of Corporate Management Planning Office |
| Executive Officer | Hideo Ohi | General Manager of Corporate Auditing Division |
| Executive Officer | Hiroyuki Shimo | General Manager of EVAL Division |
| Executive Officer | Yoshinobu Nakamura | General Manager of Methacrylate Division |
| Executive Officer | Akiko Ide | General Manager of Corporate Sustainability Division |
| Executive Officer | Nobuyoshi Takai | General Manager of Fibers and Industrial Materials Division |
| Executive Officer | Christian Herrmanns | General Manager of MonoSol Division and MonoSol President |
| Executive Officer | Stanley Fukuyama | General Manager of DX-IT Division |
| Executive Officer | Satoshi Yamaguchi | General Manager of Medical Division and President of Kuraray Noritake Dental |
| Executive Officer | Noriaki Namba | General Manager of Accounting and Finance Division |
1. Directors Keiko Murata, Satoshi Tanaka, Kiyoto Ido and Naoko Mikami are Outside Directors.
2. Members of Audit & Supervisory Board Mitsuhiro Nagahama, Tomomi Yatsu, and Kenji Komatsu are outside Members of Audit & Supervisory Board.