Tag: JT

  • JT Again Recognized for Corporate Sustainability

    JT Again Recognized for Corporate Sustainability

    For the sixth year in a row, Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) has been recognized for its leadership in corporate sustainability by the global environmental non-profit organization CDP. With nearly 25,000 companies participating in the 2024 environmental disclosure program, JT was one of the select few to make the “A list,” based on the way it approached climate change.

    As part of its materiality and sustainability core, JT says it believes that as nature, society, and people’s lives are intertwined, sustaining our ways of living and the activities of corporate entities will depend on the sustainability of the environment and societies in which we live. “On this basis, we have looked at our past environmental initiatives. We did so from the perspective of the ecosystem, considering the aspect of biodiversity as well as the impact that our business may have on the ecosystem.”

    “We are honored that the JT Group has been recognized on CDP’s A List for the sixth consecutive year,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Hisato Imokawa. “This inclusion reflects our ongoing efforts to preserve ecosystems and enhance our transparency in sharing information. To fulfill the JT Group purpose of “Fulfilling Moments, Enriching Life,” we will continue to pursue our vision of sustainability and maintain the trust of our stakeholders by enhancing our efforts that are distinctive of the JT Group in collaboration with our suppliers.”

    CDP is a global non-profit that “runs the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system for companies, capital markets, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts.”

  • JT Not Adjusting Russian Business

    JT Not Adjusting Russian Business

    In a statement issued to This Week in Asia, a Japan Tobacco (JT) official said: “As announced in early 2022, the JT Group has suspended all new investments and marketing activities in Russia. At present, the group continues its manufacturing and sales operations in the country in full compliance with all applicable regulations, including but not limited to economic sanctions and export controls. We continue to closely monitor legislative developments as well as the situation on the ground and review our options.”

    JT announcing that it was not pulling out of the lucrative Russian market makes news as the Ukrainian government continues its efforts to get some of the world’s largest companies to exit its combative neighbor. A Ukrainian report said JT contributed $182.3 million in taxes to the Russian government in 2023, fourth among taxpaying companies behind only Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International ($491 million), China’s Chery Automobile, and Philip Morris, the world’s leading tobacco company.

    International companies that did not exit the Russian market immediately after the invasion of Ukraine began but later pulled out from bad press include Heineken, Citigroup, and Kraft-Heinz.

    JT, which is still one-third owned by the government, faces minimal criticism in Japanese media and as a result, the public – which is strongly supportive of Ukraine – is offering few objections.

    “There has been no comment from the government, no pushback from the public, and nothing in the media,” said James Brown, a professor of international relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple University who specializes in Russian affairs. “So the sense at [JT] headquarters appears to be ‘why should we walk away from it?’

    “The position in Japan was that if being there was not explicitly sanctioned, then it was fine to carry on. And that meant it was not a problem for the company, which was open about what it was doing.”

    In May 2024, Japan Tobacco CEO Masamichi Terabatake made that stance clear when he told the Financial Times that the company’s supply chains had been adjusted to meet international sanctions and that it would remain active in Russia to protect investors’ interests.

    “If worse comes to worst, there is even the risk of a shareholder lawsuit if we were to discontinue a business that we are able to continue,” he said.

  • Japan Tobacco Appoints Executive Members

    Japan Tobacco Appoints Executive Members

    Image: Andrii Yalanskyi

    Japan Tobacco has appointed new executive members to the board of directors.

    Koji Shimayoshi has been appointed as executive vice president (effective Jan. 1, 2024) and representative director (effective March 22, 2024). Shimayoshi is currently executive vice president of JT International. He joined JT in April 1993.

    Shimayoshi will take the place of Kiyohide Hirowatari, who will become a member of the board, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Hirowatari will resign as member of the board upon conclusion of the 39th annual general meeting of shareholders scheduled for March 22, 2024.

    Hiroko Yamashina and Kenji Asakura have been appointed members of the board, effective March 22, 2024. Yamashina is currently a member of the audit and supervisory board, and Asakura is currently representative director and chairman of Nagase and Co. Ltd. Main Kohda will resign as member of the board, effective March 22, 2024. Emiko Takeishi will also join the audit and supervisory board as a member.

    Igo Dzaja will take on the role of senior vice president of marketing and tobacco business for Japan, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Kazuyuki Inui will take on the role of senior vice president of sales and tobacco business for Japan, effective Jan. 1, 2024. The following executive directors will resign effective Dec. 31, 2023: Eiichi Kiyokawa, Chigusa Ogawa and Shuici Hirosue.

  • JT Reports Strong Results for 2022

    JT Reports Strong Results for 2022

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Japan Tobacco reported revenue of ¥2.66 trillion ($19.97 billion) in 2022, up 14.3 percent over the previous fiscal year.

    Operating profit increased by 31 percent to ¥653.6 billion. Profit increased by 30.8 percent to ¥442.7 billion.

    For full-year 2023, revenue is forecast to decrease by 1.1 percent to ¥2,629 billion. Operating profit is forecast to decrease by 6.4 percent to ¥612 billion. Profit attributable to owners of the parent company is forecast to decrease by 0.6 percent to ¥440 billion.

    Masamichi Terabatake

    “The JT Group reported another strong performance in 2022, driven by solid pricing and sustained market share gains in the tobacco business, overcoming the global challenges,” said Masamichi Terabatake, president and CEO of the JT Group, in a statement. “We continued to make progress in the reduced-risk products category, with Ploom X increasing share in the HTS (heated-tobacco sticks) segment in Japan and the launch of Ploom X in London.”