Besides simply being a showcase for some of the most talented and athletic men and women on the planet, the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics are hoping their event this summer can also help promote significant change in corporate culture, both in Japan and around the globe.
Bloomberg’s Ayai Tomisawa and Yuki Hagiwara have reported that Toshiro Muto, the Chief Executive Officer of the Tokyo games, is encouraging all sponsor companies, sports bodies and educational institutions involved with this year’s Olympics to compile and release their plans for improved equality and inclusion before the games begin on July 23. To hold himself accountable and to show that he is not asking other companies to do something he himself isn’t willing to do, Muto will release his own corporate diversity and inclusion plans in May.
According to the Bloomberg story, while Muto didn’t call out any particular companies by name in his announcement of the new initiative, the Olympics will be sponsored by many of the biggest companies in the world, including Japanese corporate giants such as Toyota Motor Corp., Nomura Holdings Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., Canon Inc., and NEC Corp.
