Promoting Compliance

Everyone in the Group understands that maintaining relationships of trust with stakeholders is the foundation of our sustainable growth together with the communities that we serve. To reinforce this concept, we created a Group Corporate Philosophy, along with a Corporate Code of Conduct, designed for putting the spirit of our philosophy into practice. Moreover, an Internal Control and Compliance Committee chaired by the president executive officer strives to raise awareness of compliance so that all officers and employees obey all laws and regulations, as well as internal rules, social norms, and business ethics while performing their everyday work.

NS United Kaiun established the Whistleblowing System, both inside and outside of the Company, to accept direct reports from employees who become aware of or have suspicions of contraventions of the law, misconduct, or similar acts committed by executives or other employees in our Group. Both hotlines accept anonymous reporting. Whistleblowers are guaranteed protection from unreasonable treatment as a result of making a report, with the goal of protecting individuals who report company information that is in the public interest. Further, the Company has appointed a third-party lawyer. Additionally, a third-party organization has been newly appointed in April 2022 to serve as a hotline that offers a high level of anonymity.

Guided by Japan’s Companies Act and Regulation for Enforcement of the Companies Act, the Board of Directors has established a basic internal controls policy, while also working to ensure the reliability of financial reports in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Internal controls and compliance initiatives taken by corporations have been attracting an increasing amount of public attention. To effectively address these issues across the Company, we organize the Internal Control and Compliance Committee, appointing the president as the chairperson and each executive officer in charge of a business division as a committee member. Furthermore, every department established a system for autonomous internal controls, where they proactively identify local risks in daily operations and makes improvements to mitigate these risks.

We recognize that internal control activities help enhance the quality of our business management, and that financial reports which have high reliability give rise to trust in our Company by our stakeholders and from society. All the executives and employees of the Company will continue to work together to strengthen compliance, establish and implement an appropriate internal control system.

The NS United Kaiun Group has established this policy to ensure compliance with anti-corruption laws and regulations applicable to the countries and regions in which we conduct business activities and to practice behavior that our compatible with social ethics.

This policy was approved by the Board of Directors on January 31, 2023. Subsequent revisions or abolition of this policy will also be determined by approval of the Board of Directors.

With regards to the risks the Company faces, including corruption, each department compiles the appropriate measures, and the Board of Executive Officers and Board of Directors discuss and resolve matters where necessary. Also, reports are made to the Board of Executive Officers on the execution status of the measures and on the effectiveness.

NS United Kaiun Kaisha Group (“NSU Group”) hereby announces that we have joined the MaritimeAnti-Corruption Network (MACN*¹) as of October 7, 2024.　MACN is a global business network dedicated to working towards a corruption-free shipping industry through fair trade for the benefit of society as a whole. Established in 2011, the network has more than 200 members worldwide and works with stakeholders, including government officials, NGOs and civil society, to identify and mitigate the root causes of corruption in the shipping industry.

To date, we have not made any political contributions. However, in the event that we do make a political contribution, we will do so in light of our business performance, in compliance with the Political Funds Control Act, and in accordance with appropriate internal procedures.

We take measures to ensure executives and employees follow appropriate action and management guidelines to comply with the antitrust law, and implement a system to create and store records of details of contacts with other companies in the same industry depending on the nature of contact.

Starting in 2010, the year of the corporate merger, the Company has designated October as the month for raising compliance awareness and is engaged in several activities across the Group. The campaign aims to remind all executives and employees of the importance of this theme, implementing a range of activities to enhance their awareness as well as give them the knowledge and information needed to practice compliance.

Our Group strives to build a workplace culture that enables each individual employee to work with peace of mind. As part of the related efforts, we perform employee surveys on internal control and compliance.

The opinions of employees collected through the surveys are used to develop an environment where employees can work at ease, exercising their full potential, and to consider and promote measures to build a culture encouraging them to respond to any issue appropriately by seeking consultation or reporting.