News

Representative Director and President
Masaaki Ito

Currently, the spread of the novel coronavirus is affecting regions around the globe. We hereby express our wholehearted sympathy to all those infected with the coronavirus and those who face significant hardship and inconvenience due to the restrictions on daily life. We also wish to thank frontline medical practitioners, government officials and municipal staff and express our deep respect and sincere gratitude for their dedication in a grueling battle against the unprecedented pandemics.

To date, the Kuraray Group has maintained a basic policy of placing the utmost priority on ensuring the safety and health of its employees, their families and all other stakeholders. In line with this basic policy, we have implemented the following measures to counter the spread of the novel coronavirus.
・Business travel overseas is prohibited.
・Business travel in Japan is restricted.
・In general, employees are asked to voluntarily refrain from hosting and participating in events.
・In general, employees are asked to utilize telecommuting programs, while plants in Japan operate with the minimum staff necessary for business continuity. In addition, overseas locations are maintaining operations while taking optimal measures to secure employee safety and prevent the virus infection with an eye to circumstances in each country and region.

The Kuraray Group’s lineup includes a number of products that fulfill essential roles in a broad range of industries. We are acutely aware of our mission to supply products designed to meet society’s needs while supporting our supply chains. To accomplish this important mission, which is the responsibility of the entire Kuraray Group, we have designed thoroughgoing measures based on our business continuity plans (BCPs). These measures are currently in place to prevent incurring coronavirus infection in the course of maintaining production activities.
Looking ahead, we have renewed our commitment to living up to our corporate philosophy “providing value to society” while keeping our utmost focus on ensuring the safety and health of employees, their families and all other stakeholders. In this way, we will strive to minimize the impact of the current crisis on the operations of our customers and business partners.

In addition, although restrictions on social and economic activities are expected to be relaxed in some countries and regions, the Japanese government has announced the prolongation of the state of emergency as domestic conditions make it difficult to forecast when the spread of the virus can be contained. Moreover, some researchers suggest that there may be second and third waves of infection. Accordingly, it is anticipated that risks arising from the virus will remain high for the time being. However, we will deal decisively with the unprecedented crisis and act in collaboration with citizens around the globe to overcome the pandemic, with all Group members working as one to fulfill our roles in this endeavor.