Murata has established a working environment and personnel system free from discriminatory treatment on the basis of race, beliefs, gender, religion, nationality, language, disease, birthplace or other reason, in which the personality and individuality of each employee is respected. Moreover, to raise employee awareness of these issues, our graded training programs include human rights education content.

Throughout the Murata Group's offices and plants, both in Japan and overseas, child and enforced labor are strictly prohibited.

Murata's original approach to business development is underpinned by preserving the diversity of opinions and backgrounds of its highly capable workforce. Accordingly, Murata has improved its employment environment to ensure that no disparity is generated in employment, treatment and education due to gender, race, physical disability or other such factors. We thus provide a working environment where diverse employees can fully demonstrate their capabilities.

We believe that we play a role in the development of the electronics industries in each of the 16 countries worldwide in which our offices and subsidiaries are located. Based on this principle, a management structure comprising diversified personnel aggressively promotes locally based recruitment. With regard to employment of management-level staff at overseas facilities, we conduct management training to ensure solidarity with Murata's principles from those taking on new responsibilities through to senior management.

In order to respond to phased postponement of the age at which public pensions can be received in Japan and to utilize and pass on the expertise and skills of older workers, in April 2003 Murata introduced a re-employment system for employees who resigned upon reaching the mandatory retirement age in advance of the revision of the April 2006 Law for the Stabilization of Employment of the Aged. This system involves the re-employment within the Company of staff meeting certain standards who retired at the mandatory age of 60 for a maximum period of four years (five years from April 2009).

Since April 2006, Murata has begun to apply this system in its domestic subsidiaries, so as to make the system common to Murata Group companies in Japan.

While complying with relevant laws and regulations, Murata has improved its employment environment to ensure that no disparity is generated in employment, treatment and education due to gender, race, physical disability or similar factors. We thus provide workplaces where diverse employees can fully express their capabilities.

During fiscal 2007, the ratio of disabled persons to the total workforce was 1.88%, which surpasses the legally stipulated level. In the future, we will continue to promote the employment of the physically challenged under our basic policy of normalization.

Murata employs persons who can play an active role on a global basis, regardless of gender. In recent years, Murata has had a policy of actively hiring female workers in particular. In fact, female workers account for half of all new employees who joined Murata Manufacturing in fiscal 2007 as general white-collar staff.

Murata makes special efforts to support employees juggling work and family. We have established various support systems for motivated employees with maternity, child-raising or nursing commitments at home to fulfill their responsibilities and advance their careers.

In response to the Law for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation, we formulated an action plan from April 2005 that includes improving maternity leave and short-time employment systems, introducing special leave for infertility treatment and providing support to encourage paternity leave. Through such initiatives, Murata is striving to promote a balance between work and family life.

	FY2005	FY2006
Family care leave	14	9
Leave after childbirth	197	183
Childcare leave (Figure in parentheses indicates the rate of leave taken.)	182 (92%)	176 (96%)

At Murata we take an approach of evaluating personnel not by the working hours but by their job performance. Murata has therefore introduced a discretionary work system for engineers who are deemed eligible by the Company. This system leaves the methods of doing the work and distribution of work hours to the discretion of these eligible workers allowing employees to work flextime as well as work at home. Above all, this system values their creativity.

Currently, 42 engineers are utilizing the Discretionary Work System throughout the Murata Group. Eligibility is determined by the Personnel Department on the basis of the individual's ability to perform with discretionary work procedures and working hours.