ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it will implement a support measure for balancing cancer care and work under the Health Management Policy that ITOCHU has been promoting so that its most important management resources, namely its employees, can play an active role and fulfill their potential.

It is said now that one out of two every Japanese will develop cancer in their lifetimes. Every year, 850,000 individuals are diagnosed with cancer, with working-age adults accounting for 30% of that number. Typically, cancer needs intensive treatment for a certain period of time, with a careful, long-term follow-up.
At ITOCHU, there are some employees who are receiving treatment for cancer while continuing to work, and some who have passed away from cancer. We have determined that providing a work environment where employees continue to work without fear about cancer or yielding to it leads to positive work on the part of employees and the activation of the organization. Consequently, we have decided to introduce this measure from the standpoint of the following three items.

1. Enhancement of a system for the prevention and early detection of cancer, and supporting cancer treatment as the first priority.
2．Development of a system in which employees who are suffering from cancer can receive consultation on it without fear at work, and can receive support from all of their colleagues in a way that respects the wishes of the employee.
3．Preparation of work environment in which employees concentrate on treatment without concern while continuing to work and to play an active role with the current office as the best place to remain.

ITOCHU has to date had in place a support system for long-term illness, including an enhanced health management system, subsidies for high-cost medical care, and a flexible work/leave system. With this new measure, in addition to the existing support system, measures such as regular medical examinations in cooperation with the National Cancer Center, development of a system to facilitate the balancing of cancer treatment and work, enhancement of support for highly advanced medical treatment costs, and an increase in scholarships for children will be used to help balance cancer care and work from the three standpoint of prevention, treatment, and symbiosis.
ITOCHU aims to achieve a work environment in which every employee fighting cancer can continue working without concern while maintaining motivation and challenging work, becoming a company that is challenging but that does work worth doing, and a company that is the strongest and best in Japan.