• In April 2014, Otsuka will open the "Beanstalk Kids Center OSAKA" at Otsuka's new office building in the center of Osaka. This will be Otsuka's second day care center, after the one in Tokushima. Otsuka is also looking into opening other day care centers, both in Japan and overseas.
• Otsuka's Beanstalk Kids Center OSAKA is located in the proximity of Otsuka Group offices, allowing it to serve a large number of Otsuka employees. Locating the day care center nearby will give employees greater peace of mind and encourage greater diversity in Otsuka's workforce. The day care center is single-storey designed to provide a more natural environment to encourage healthy development.
• Given that more than 80% of children on waiting lists for day care are younger than 2, Otsuka's day care center will accept children as young as 57 days old. Although Japanese day care centers are open for 10.5 hours a day on average,^*2 Otsuka's day care center will be open for up to 12.5 hours in order to more easily accommodate the schedules of Otsuka employees.

On April 1, 2014, Otsuka Pharmaceutical (headquartered in Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo and led by Taro Iwamoto, President and CEO) will open its second "Beanstalk Kids Center OSAKA" next to Otsuka's new office building in Osaka City. (The first Otsuka "Beanstalk Kids Center" was opened in 2011 in Tokushima.)

Otsuka Pharmaceutical believes that utilizing the talents of a diverse group of individuals who are not constrained by gender or nationalities or other prejudices results in innovation and globalization that drives corporate growth. Therefore, in order to promote the efforts of a more diverse employee base, Otsuka has been introducing systems such as flexible working hours, paid caregiver leave, and telecommuting arrangements, and has opened a child care center in Tokushima in order to make it easier for employees to focus on their work with greater peace of mind.

The "Beanstalk Kids Center OSAKA" is located in the proximity of Otsuka Group offices in an urban area of Osaka, where the problem of long day care waiting lists is particularly severe.^*1 This location was selected so that Otsuka would be able to better serve the needs of a larger number of Otsuka Group employees with children. Otsuka's day care center will accept children as young as 57 days old, and will be open 12.5 hours a day, significantly longer than the average of 10.5 hours a day for other company day care centers, in order to more easily accommodate the schedules of Otsuka employees.

Otsuka's first day care center, the Tokushima Beanstalk Kids Center, has been in operation for more than 3 years, and is currently being expanded to accommodate 150 children, up from 100. It opens at 7 a.m. to meet the needs of employees who do not work close to the center. The number of applicants has increased because of the center's popularity, and it now cares for more than 3 times the number of children it did when it first opened. Otsuka will continue making every effort to improve its child care facilities in the future, including opening new centers both in Japan and overseas.

As with the day care center, Otsuka's new office building has also been designed to bring out the best from a diverse group of employees, to allow each individual the freedom to utilize his or her own unique creative instincts to come up with innovative ideas and products. Instead of the common approach of straight beams located inside windows, Otsuka's new office building employs crossed, slanted beams for increased strength. Incorporating the windows into the beams makes the office more spacious and inviting. Pillars have been placed diagonally for increased strength and incorporated into the window frames to make the workspaces larger and easier to use.

Otsuka believes that utilizing the talents of a diverse group of individuals who are not constrained by nationality, gender, or other prejudices promotes innovation and globalization, and Otsuka will therefore continue its efforts to create an employee-friendly work environment.

• *1 According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Summary of Day Care Statistics" (April 1, 2013) Of 22,741 children on waiting lists, 18,656 (82%) were younger than 3 years of age, and 18,267 (80.3%) were from the urban centers or cities of 7 prefectures.
• *2 Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's 2009 Service Industry Productivity Improvement Support Initiative (February 2010)

Day Care Center Overview

New Office Building Overview

Otsuka Pharmaceutical' Diversity Initiatives/Accomplishments