Customer Responsibility: Policy

MC engages in responsible advertising and marketing in line with the Three Corporate Principles, which represent MC’s core philosophy, as well as the Corporate Standards of Conduct, the Social Charter, and the Code of Conduct. Through its corporate communications activities, MC works to enhance brand value by sharing accurate information with the public while also receiving feedback from external stakeholders with humility and incorporating that feedback into business activities.

To present a consistent corporate image and to carry out advertising and promotional activities with appropriate messaging, content, and media, MC has developed internal rules, guidelines, and manuals. These materials outline specific considerations and define approval and reporting procedures, along with other key requirements. MC also takes adequate precautions with respect to slanderous or discriminatory expressions, religious and political content, environmental matters, third-party privacy, confidentiality, disclosure, and intellectual property rights. Manuals have also been created for MC's subsidiaries and affiliates to ensure consistency throughout the organization.

MC engages in responsible marketing that respects third parties and their reputations. We use clear and easy-to-understand information and language, and we work to avoid any potential misunderstandings with customers. This is achieved by complying with marketing-related laws and regulations (such as the Japanese Unfair Competition Prevention Act), establishing and following internal rules, and providing training.

MC operates in a variety of business areas, but the food products business is most directly connected to consumers. Our product portfolio includes processed foods, fresh foods, and beverages, and our value chains cover activities from raw material procurement and processing to product manufacturing, distribution, and retail. MC aims to respond to increasingly diverse and sophisticated consumer needs, as well as rising expectations regarding food safety and security. Because food-related businesses are closely tied to people’s daily lives, it is essential for MC’s growth that we provide products and services that deliver value to consumers. It is also important that we obtain direct feedback through our retail businesses, including MC affiliate Lawson, Inc. This consumer feedback is reflected back into raw material procurement and processing, product manufacturing, and distribution. Through this process, MC advances its businesses with a consumer-first mindset. In promoting consumer-related businesses, MC recognizes the issues listed below and is committed to initiatives that prevent incidents and mitigate their impacts:

MC conducts global business activities that involve providing consumers with food products and medical services. From upstream raw material procurement to downstream retail, we provide a stable supply of products and services that meet consumer needs and help them lead rich and varied lives. With a mission grounded in business activities closely connected to food and medicine, MC strives to ensure safety and security for consumers. In doing so, we aim to provide value that meets social expectations and to contribute to improved access to better nutrition and medical care.

Developing countries face social issues such as nutrient imbalances caused by lifestyle changes, rising obesity rates, lifestyle-related diseases, and lower nutrient intake among older adults who experience difficulty eating. In emerging countries, hunger and malnutrition caused by poverty and other conditions remain widespread. At the same time, consumers everywhere are becoming more health conscious. Each of these trends has the potential to create new markets and business opportunities, especially in emerging economies. MC recognizes these social issues and, by leveraging the strength of our value chains from raw materials to retail, as well as our technical capacities in food science, we will work to improve nutrition for groups such as older adults who are nutrient deficient. We will also develop and provide nutritious products that meet consumer needs. In addition, we will strive to maintain stable product supply chains to prevent consumers from being adversely affected by supply disruptions.

MC is engaged in healthcare-related businesses through its S.L.C. Group. In Japan, one pressing issue is the strain on public finances due to worsening conditions for medical institutions and rising social insurance costs, trends that reflect the aging population and increasing medical expenditures. Meanwhile, in emerging countries, many people face limited access to high-quality medical services because healthcare environments and systems remain underdeveloped. Drawing on the knowledge and networks developed through our long-standing healthcare-related businesses, MC is working to address a wide range of healthcare issues around the world, with the aim of realizing a society with improved access to better medical care.

Lawson, Inc., an MC affiliated company, maintains non-alcohol sales areas, works to prevent underage drinking and drunk driving, and promotes awareness of the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. These measures aim to reduce the health risks associated with alcohol use and other lifestyle-related factors.

Lawson offers a wide variety of products and services, which require adherence to relevant laws and risk-management practices. Lawson’s Basic Policy for Improvement of Internal Control Systems is designed to support healthy, continuous growth in light of these business characteristics. Japanese consumer laws such as the Food Labeling Act, the Food Sanitation Act, and the Health Promotion Act are considered essential for maintaining product safety, security, and consumer trust. Lawson complies with these laws by attaching labels to its original lunchboxes and prepared foods that include the product name, expiration date, ingredients, and other required information.
Lawson also considers laws such as the Intellectual Property Act in order to strengthen its label-checking systems and avoid violations of others’ intellectual property rights (trademark rights, copyrights, etc.) when creating promotional materials.
Furthermore, Lawson publishes related information on its website.

Lawson conducts annual compliance and risk-management training for all employees to strengthen ethical awareness and crisis-response capability. Compliance-related content is also included in onboarding training for new employees, training for newly appointed managers, job-category training, and management-level training. Lawson regularly updates training content in response to changes in the risk environment so that employees across all roles and job categories can share issues and contribute to operational improvement.
Furthermore, Lawson publishes information about the aforementioned on its homepage.

MC consolidated subsidiary Mitsubishi Shokuhin Co., Ltd. actively promotes the sale of non-alcoholic beverages in order to help reduce the harmful effects associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

In addition to upholding advertising guidelines, Mitsubishi Shokuhin conducts annual employee training on relevant regulations such as the Food Labeling Act and the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations.

Mitsubishi Shokuhin supports the principles of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and the Japan Food Safety Management Association (JFSM). The company incorporates the standard requirements and guidelines of these organizations into its audits to maintain and improve food safety.