Compliance

  The Yamaha Group aims to achieve a high level of compliance management not only by conforming with laws and regulations, but also through adherence to social norms and corporate ethics.

  The Yamaha Group began in earnest to implement compliance activities in Japan in 2003 with the establishment of the Compliance Committee, chaired initially by the Company's chairman and thereafter by the president and representative director. At the same time, steps were taken to put in place the Compliance Code of Conduct.

  Revisions were made to the Compliance Code of Conduct in fiscal 2006, including additions regarding the prohibition of forced and child labor, and other information essential for Group companies with overseas business interests in order to contribute to the establishment of a structure suitable for global business development. Codes of conduct that reflect the individual local governing laws and regulations have been formulated for 29 of 30 of the Group's overseas companies. We are currently creating a code for the remaining one company.

  Taking into consideration revisions to various laws and regulations as well as changes in social conditions over the most recent five years since 2006, the Group updated its Japanese version of the Code of Conduct for Compliance in April 2011. As a part of this update, detailed explanations were included covering such items as revisions to consumer, antitrust, and labor legislation, both the severity and expectation in which companies are held by society and the increase in internal reporting and whistle-blowing. In fiscal 2012, the Group plans to revise the Codes of Conduct for each country reflecting any changes that may have occurred, based on revisions to the Japanese version. The Yamaha Group continues to promote activities guided by a uniform philosophy and code.

  In June 2010, the Company reorganized its Corporate Governance Committees with compliance activities now steered by the newly established Risk Management Committee through its Working Group for Compliance. A secretariat for this Subcommittee has been established in the General Administration Division . While collaborating closely with the administrative general managers of each workplace, the Yamaha Group is promoting Group-wide cross-sectional compliance.

For details on Compliance Initiatives, see:
http://jp.yamaha.com/about_yamaha/compliance/
(Japanese only)

  In order to spread awareness of the revised Code of Conduct, the secretariat first held briefings 30 times for approximately 800 managers responsible for each division and company. These managers then acted as facilitators at workplace briefings to pass on the information. Around 10,000 people took part in the briefings at respective workplaces between May and December 2011, which covered almost all domestic Group company employees.

The Yamaha Group has designated October as the month to bolster compliance every year in line with Keidanren's Corporate Ethics Promotion Month, and is working on initiatives to heighten awareness of compliance. In fiscal 2011, we introduced posters related to compliance and held training sessions for management to boost ability to resolve compliance-related problems, using lawyers as instructors. Approximately 150 line managers with staff working under them took part in the training.

  Yamaha set up and started operating a hotline in April 2003 to provide consultation and take internal reports related to compliance-related matters. From April 2011 to the end of March 2012, the hotline was contacted on 57 occasions, representing an increase of 15 over the previous fiscal year. Over the nine-year period since the hotline was established, it has received a cumulative total of 443 calls.

The Status of Calls to the Compliance Hotline