Corporate Ethics
In addition to ensuring respect for human rights and compliance with laws and international regulations, we have established the istyle Group Code of Ethics presented below to set out the rules that we must follow as we work to contribute to the sustainable development of society through business activities conducted based on high ethical standards.
- Compliance with laws and regulations
- istyle complies with laws and regulations in all corporate activities and conducts its business in a sensible manner consistent with social ethics.
- Respect for human rights
- istyle respects the human rights of all people including users, business partners, and employees. We are also committed to eliminating discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, social status, gender, age, and disability.
- Providing healthy working environments for employees
- istyle respects the diversity of its workforce, and the personalities and individuality of each of its employees, and ensures fair treatment for all. We are also committed to the elimination of all forms of harassment and are working to create safe and comfortable working environments where all employees can demonstrate their capabilities and vitality.
- Earn the trust of users, customers, and consumers
- istyle is committed to providing products and services that meet the needs of users, customers, and consumers, and providing accurate information about these products and services. We also carefully protect and manage customer information and other such data. As well, we strive to earn the trust of users, customers, and consumers, by taking the feedback we receive from them seriously and responding to such feedback appropriately.
- Mutual growth and development with business partners
- istyle seeks to achieve mutual growth and development with business partners by forming working relationships based on fair rules and trust-based partnerships built through clear communication.
- Co-existing harmoniously with society
- istyle aims to achieve harmonious co-existence with society through activities that help facilitate sound societal development and contribute to making people's daily lives safer and more comfortable and secure, while also working to reduce our environmental impact and proactively participating in, and cooperating with, initiatives to address environmental issues.
- Gaining the understanding and support of investors and finance providers
- istyle strives to gain the understanding and support of capital investors and business finance providers by engaging in fair and highly transparent corporate management.
- Sound relationship with politics and government
- istyle maintains a sound and transparent relationship with politics and government, eliminating any collusion and ensuring fairness in all business activities.
- Zero tolerance for anti-social forces
- istyle is resolute in its zero tolerance stance toward anti-social forces and organizations that threaten social order and public safety, and entirely rejects any form of relationship with such forces.
Organizational structure
The Company has established a Compliance Committee, comprised of the chief executive officer, corporate auditor, and others, as a body that engages in compliance promotion activities and deliberates on the handling of serious compliance and human rights violations. The Legal Affairs Department's Compliance Group also routinely provides compliance-related education to employees and works to strengthen the management structure.
Organizational Chart
Preventing corruption
To ensure fair business operation and fulfillment of the Company's corporate social responsibility, istyle engages in thorough preventive management in accordance with the Company's internal code of ethics in order to eliminate unethical behavior leading to any of the following forms of corruption.
- Corruption such as bribery, embezzlement, and money laundering
- Conflict-of-interest transactions by employees taking advantage of their position or authority within the Company
- Giving and receiving of undue monetary payments or goods, hospitality, etc.
Initiatives involving business partners
istyle is a company whose growth has been supported by many business partners. The Company seeks mutual growth and development by forming partnerships based on trust. To build positive partnerships we strictly manage transactions with business partners to prevent issues such as harassment and violations of laws and regulations. We also gather information about potential business partners before and after conducting transactions with them to ensure that they have no relationship with anti-social forces. In the event that a relationship with anti-social forces is discovered after the commencement of transactions with another party, we will take resolute action including canceling any business contracts concluded with the party concerned.
Whistle-blowing system
If employees discover compliance issues such as illegal activities or violation of Company rules, they can notify the Compliance Committee internally or the Company's external legal advisors. If an investigation is deemed to be necessary, the relevant department will be investigated. Should a violation be confirmed, the matter will be deliberated on by the Compliance Committee and remedial action will be taken. A whistle-blowing system is in place to ensure that the privacy of whistle-blowers is protected and that their interests are not harmed.
Employee education
All employees receive regular training on laws and regulations that are highly relevant to our business, such as the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act and the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, as well as training on insider trading and other such issues. Employees are also informed using case studies of harassment and violations of laws and regulations through e-learning and the company intranet system in order to raise employee awareness.
Protection of intellectual property
istyle understands the importance of the management of intellectual property relating to its core assets (data, user reviews, etc.), in maintaining its competitive advantage. To this end, the Company closely manages the acquisition, maintenance, and disposal of these assets based on a defined work flow. The Company also strives to improve employee understanding of intellectual property-related issues through education programs in order to prevent the infringement of rights and assets held by third parties.