Kirin Holdings Earns Gold Rating in PRIDE Index 2025 for Ninth Consecutive Year as an LGBTQ+-Friendly Workplace

TOKYO, November 17, 2025 – Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin Holdings) announced that on Friday, November 14, it received the “Gold” rating for the ninth consecutive year in the PRIDE Index*1 2025, an evaluation benchmark for corporate initiatives related to LGBTQ+ (sexual minorities including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and others). The award was jointly received with Kirin Brewery Company, Limited, Kirin Beverage Company, Limited, and Mercian Corporation. The Kirin Group’s efforts to support LGBTQ+ communities have been continuously recognized over the long term.
*1: The PRIDE Index, created in 2016 by work with Pride, a Japanese organization promoting LGBTQ+ diversity management, serves as a benchmark for evaluating corporate initiatives.

The PRIDE Index evaluates LGBTQ+ initiatives based on five categories: Policy (commitment statements), Representation (community of LGBTQ+ employees), Inspiration (awareness-raising activities), Development (HR systems and programs), and Engagement/Empowerment (social contribution and external collaboration). Companies are awarded in three tiers—Gold, Silver, and Bronze—based on their overall performance.

The Kirin Group has taken steps to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues through messages from management to all employees, human rights training, efforts to promote understanding among hiring interviewers, and the establishment of an external consultation service.

LGBTQ+-friendly Workplace Initiatives

In July 2017, Kirin Holdings revised its compliance guidelines to stipulate a code of conduct for employees stating that LGBTQ+ sexual orientation and gender identity, along with gender, age, and nationality, will not cause unfair discrimination or damage individual dignity. In 2018, we established a Human Rights Policy*2 to promote a better understanding of the various human rights issues involved in the countries in which the Kirin Group operates and declared that it will deepen its understanding of the various human rights issues involved and take appropriate action in each of the countries in which the Kirin Group does business. The Kirin Group has been making efforts to revise various internal systems, such as congratulatory and condolence leave, allowances, and company housing systems, which were previously intended for legal spouses and relatives, to allow same-sex marriages and de facto marriages to be used in the same manner as legal marriages at Group companies.
*2 Please refer to the Kirin Group Human Rights Policy and Strategy here :Human Rights Policy, Governance, etc. | Human Rights | KIRIN - Kirin Holdings Company, Limited

In 2019, we formulated our long-term management concept, “Kirin Group Vision 2027” (KV2027), which calls for us to become “a global leader in CSV, creating value across our world of Food & Beverages to Pharmaceuticals.” In January 2023, Kirin Holdings formulated the Kirin Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan to create an environment in which diverse human resources can maximize their abilities, including the LGBTQ+ community, and to accelerate innovation*4. Additionally, in June 2025, Kirin, together with Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., FANCL Corporation, jointly sponsored Tokyo Pride, hosting a booth and participating in the Pride Parade.
The Kirin Group will continue to promote initiatives that respect the human rights of all stakeholders in accordance with the Kirin Group Human Rights Policy.
*3 Creating Shared Value: combined added value for consumers as well as for society at large.
*4 "Kirin Group Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan" released on January 31, 2023 (Japanese)

About Kirin Holdings

Kirin Holdings Company, Limited is an international company that operates in the Food & Beverages domain (Food & Beverages businesses), Pharmaceuticals domain (Pharmaceuticals businesses), and Health Science domain (Health Science business), both in Japan and across the globe.

Kirin Holdings can trace its roots to Japan Brewery which was established in 1885. Japan Brewery became Kirin Brewery in 1907. Since then, the company expanded its business with fermentation and biotechnology as its core technologies, and entered the pharmaceutical business in the 1980s, all of which continue to be global growth centers. In 2007, Kirin Holdings was established as a pure holding company and is currently focusing on boosting its Health Science domain.

Under the Kirin Group Vision 2027 (KV 2027), a long-term management plan launched in 2019, the Kirin Group aims to become “A global leader in CSV* creating value across our world of Food & Beverages to Pharmaceuticals.” Going forward, the Kirin Group will continue to leverage its strengths to create both social and economic value through its businesses, with the aim of achieving sustainable growth in corporate value.

* Creating Shared Value. Combined added value for consumers as well as for society at large.