Executives
Directors
| Chairman and Director | Masaaki Ito |
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Brief History
| April 1980 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| August 2002 | President, Nantong Kuraray Garment Co., Ltd. |
| April 2004 | Manager of Corporate Management Planning Division, Kuraray Trading Co., Ltd. |
| April 2007 | Manager of Kuralon and K-II Production and Technology Development Department, Okayama Plant |
| April 2010 | General Manager of Methacrylate Division, Chemicals Company |
| June 2012 | Executive Officer |
| April 2013 | Vice President, Functional Materials Company; and General Manager of Methacrylate Division, Functional Materials Company |
| June 2013 | Managing Executive Officer |
| April 2014 | Officer Responsible for Corporate Management Planning Division; Officer Responsible for CSR Division; and General Manager of Corporate Management Planning Division |
| June 2014 | Director |
| January 2015 | Representative Director and President |
| January 2021 | Chairman and Director (Current position) |
| President and Representative Director | Hitoshi Kawahara |
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Brief History
| April 1984 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| April 2006 | Manager, Resin Sales Department, EVAL Division |
| April 2010 | Manager, Planning and Administration Department, Resin Company |
| April 2013 | Assistant General Manager, Poval Film Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| April 2014 | General Manager, Poval Film Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| January 2016 | Vice President of Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
| March 2016 | Executive Officer |
| January 2018 | President of Vinyl Acetate Resin Company |
| March 2018 | Senior Executive Officer |
| March 2019 | Director |
| January 2021 | President and Representative Director (Current position) |
| Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer | Hiroaya Hayase | Executive Supervisor, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company Executive Supervisor, Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
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Brief History
| April 1980 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| April 2007 | Manager of Technology Planning and Administration Department, Technology Division |
| April 2008 | Deputy General Manager of Technology Division |
| April 2010 | General Manager of Technology Division, Technology and Development Unit |
| April 2012 | General Manager of Poval Resin Division, Resin Company |
| June 2012 | Executive Officer |
| April 2013 | General Manager of Poval Resin Division, Vinyl Acetate Company; and General Manager of Production and Technology Management Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| April 2014 | General Manager of International Business Planning Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| June 2014 | Managing Executive Officer |
| January 2015 | President, Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
| March 2015 | Director |
| January 2016 | President, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company |
| March 2016 | Senior Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Representative Director (Current position) |
| January 2021 | Executive Supervisor, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company (Current position) Executive Supervisor, Vinyl Acetate Film Company (Current position) |
| Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer | Yoshimasa Sano | President, Fibers and Textiles Company; and Officer Responsible for Osaka Office |
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Brief History
| April 1980 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| July 2001 | Manager of Sales Department, Fine Chemicals Division |
| April 2007 | Manager of Chemicals Marketing & Sales Department, Isoprene Chemicals Division, Chemicals and Medical Products Company |
| April 2010 | General Manager of Elastomer Division, Chemicals Company |
| June 2012 | Executive Officer |
| April 2014 | General Manager of Methacrylate Division, Functional Materials Company |
| January 2016 | Vice President, Functional Materials Company |
| March 2016 | Director and Managing Executive Officer |
| January 2017 | General Manager of Carbon Materials Division, Functional Materials Company |
| January 2018 | President, Functional Materials Company |
| January 2020 | President, Fibers and Textiles Company (Current position) |
| January 2020 | Responsible for Osaka Office (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| Director and Managing Executive Officer | Kenichi Abe | President, Isoprene Company |
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Brief History
| April 1980 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| June 2000 | Assistant Manager of Polymer Marketing and Sales Department, Chemicals Division |
| April 2001 | Manager of Elastomer Sales Department, Elastomer Division |
| April 2006 | Manager of Planning and Administration Department, Chemicals Company |
| April 2008 | Deputy General Manager of Isoprene Chemicals Division, Chemicals and Medical Products Company |
| April 2009 | General Manager of Elastomer Division, Chemicals and Medical Products Company |
| April 2010 | President, Kuraray America, Inc. |
| April 2012 | General Manager of Corporate Management Planning Division |
| June 2012 | Executive Officer |
| April 2013 | General Manager of New Business Development Division |
| January 2016 | President, Isoprene Company (Current position) |
| March 2016 | Director and Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| January 2018 | General Manager of Elastomer Division, Isoprene Company |
| Director and Managing Executive Officer | Keiji Taga | Officer Responsible for Corporate Management Planning Office; Officer Responsible for CSR Division; Officer Responsible for Administrative Unit; and General Manager of Corporate Management Planning Office |
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Brief History
| April 1984 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| April 2012 | Deputy General Manager, Purchasing and Logistics Division |
| April 2014 | General Manager, Medical Division, Functional Materials Company |
| March 2017 | Executive Officer |
| January 2018 | Officer Responsible for Corporate Management Planning Office and CSR Division (Current position) |
| March 2018 | Senior Executive Officer (Current position) |
| April 2018 | General Manager, Corporate Management Planning Office (Current position) |
| March 2019 | Director (Current position) |
| January 2020 | Officer Responsible for Administrative Unit (Current position) |
| Director and Managing Executive Officer | Matthias Gutweiler | President, Kuraray Europe GmbH |
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Brief History
| December 2001 | Joined Kuraray Specialities Europe |
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| January 2009 | President, Kuraray Europe GmbH (Current position), Executive Officer |
| April 2013 | General Manager of PVB Division, Vinyl Acetate Company |
| March 2018 | Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director (Current position) |
| Director and Managing Executive Officer | Nobuhiko Takai | President, Functional Materials Company |
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Brief History
| April 1987 | Joined Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
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| April 2005 | Manager of Global Operation Department, Poval Resin Company, Specialty Resin and Film Sector |
| April 2009 | Manager of Business Planning Department, Poval Resin Division, Specialty Resin and Film Company |
| April 2012 | Deputy General Manager of Genestar Division, Chemicals Company |
| April 2014 | General Manager of Genestar Division, Isoprene Company |
| March 2016 | Executive Officer |
| January 2019 | Vice President, Functional Materials Company, General Manager of Carbon Material Division, Functional Materials Company |
| March 2019 | Managing Executive Officer (Current position) |
| January 2020 | President, Functional Materials Company (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director (Current position) |
| Director | Jun Hamano1 | Chairman, Ohara Memorial Institute for Science of Labour Representative Director and Vice Chairman, Ohara Memorial Healthcare Foundation |
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Brief History
| April 1974 | Entered Economic Planning Agency of Japan (EPA) |
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| July 1999 | Director, Minister’s Secretariat Division, EPA |
| January 2001 | Director, Personnel Division, Minister’s Secretariat, Cabinet Office |
| January 2002 | Deputy Director General for Economic and Fiscal Management, Cabinet Office |
| July 2004 | Director General for Economic and Fiscal Management, Cabinet Office |
| July 2006 | Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, Cabinet Office |
| July 2008 | Deputy Vice-Minister, Cabinet Office |
| July 2009 | Vice-Minister, Cabinet Office |
| January 2012 | Advisor, Cabinet Office |
| April 2013 | Executive Advisor, Dentsu Inc. |
| June 2014 | Director, Ohara Memorial Healthcare Foundation |
| June 2015 | Chairman, Ohara Memorial Institute for Science of Labour (Current position) |
| March 2016 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| April 2020 | Representative Director and Vice Chairman, Ohara Memorial Healthcare Foundation (Current position) |
| Director | Keiko Murata1 | Professor, Graduate School of Management, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
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Brief History
| April 1986 | Entered Economic Planning Agency of Japan (EPA) |
|---|---|
| August 2005 | Director for Overseas Economies, Directorate General for Economic Research, Cabinet Office |
| August 2006 | Director for International Affairs, Secretariat of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office |
| July 2008 | Professor, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
| May 2015 | Advisor to the President, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
| July 2017 | Trustee, Nippon Life Insurance Company (Current position) |
| April 2018 | Professor, Graduate School of Management, Tokyo Metropolitan University (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| Director | Satoshi Tanaka1 | Counselor, Mitsui & Co. |
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Brief History
| April 1981 | Joined Mitsui & Co. |
|---|---|
| April 2011 | Managing Officer, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2013 | Executive Managing Officer, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2015 | Senior Executive Managing Officer, COO of Asia Pacific Business Unit, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2017 | Executive Vice President, Mitsui & Co. |
| June 2017 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Mitsui & Co. |
| April 2019 | Director, Mitsui & Co. |
| June 2019 | Counselor, Mitsui & Co. (Current position) |
| March 2020 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
| June 2020 | Outside Director, Sekisui House, Ltd. (Current position) |
| January 2021 | Independent Director, IHH Healthcare Berhad (Current position) |
| Director | Kiyoto Ido1 | Vice Chairman, Institute for International Economic Studies |
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Brief History
| April 1973 | Entered the Ministry of Finance (MOF) |
|---|---|
| March 1980 | Consul, Consulate-General of Japan, Frankfurt in Germany |
| July 1989 | Deputy General Manager, Finance Dept., Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C. |
| July 1998 | Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, MOF Deputy Director-General, International Bureau, MOF |
| June 1999 | Minister, Embassy of Japan, Washington, D.C |
| July 2002 | Deputy Director-General, International Bureau, MOF |
| July 2004 | Director-General, International Bureau, MOF |
| August 2006 | Executive Director, Bank of Japan |
| April 2011 | Vice Chairman, Institute for International Economic Studies (Current position) |
| June 2014 | Outside Board Member, Nidec Corporation |
| March 2021 | Director, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Current position) |
Corporate Auditors
| Standing Corporate Auditor | Kazuhiro Nakayama |
|---|---|
| Standing Corporate Auditor | Naoya Uehara |
| Corporate Auditor | Mitsuhiro Nagahama2 |
| Corporate Auditor | Tomomi Yatsu2 |
| Corporate Auditor | Kenji Komatsu2 |
Executive Officers
| Senior Managing Executive Officer | Hitoshi Toyoura | President, Kuraray America, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Managing Executive Officer | Tsugunori Kashimura | Officer, Research and Development Division, Officer, Environmental Business Development and Promotion Division |
| Managing Executive Officer | Akira Omura | Officer Responsible for Technology Division; Officer Responsible for Plants in Japan; Officer Responsible for Environmental and Industrial Safety Management Center |
| Managing Executive Officer | Toshihiro Omatsu | Vice President, Isoprene Company; and General Manager of Isoprene Chemicals Division |
| Managing Executive Officer | Toshinori Tsugaru | General Manager of Kurashiki Plant |
| Executive Officer | P. Scott Bening | General Manager of MonoSol Division; and President, MonoSol, LLC. |
| Executive Officer | Stephen Cox | General Manager of PVB Division |
| Executive Officer | Koichi Takano | General Manager of Purchasing and Logistics Division |
| Executive Officer | Hajime Suzuki | Vice President, Kuraray America, Inc. |
| Executive Officer | Takaharu Kawahara | General Manager of Technology Division |
| Executive Officer | Fuyuo Ueyama | Vice President, Calgon Carbon Corporation |
| Executive Officer | Tomoyuki Watanabe | President, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company, General Manager of Poval Resin Division |
| Executive Officer | Stevan R. Schott | General Manager of Environmental Solutions Division, Calgon Carbon Corporation President |
| Executive Officer | Yoji Ikemori | General Manager of Genestar Division |
| Executive Officer | Satoru Fujinami | Assistant to Officer, CSR Division, Assistant to Officer, Administrative Unit, General Manager of General Affairs and HR Division |
| Executive Officer | Kazushige Sakamoto | General Manager of Okayama Plant |
| Executive Officer | Koichi Daifuku | General Manager of Poval Film Division |
| Executive Officer | Junichi Fujiwara | President, Vinyl Acetate Film Company |
1. Directors Jun Hamano, Keiko Murata, Satoshi Tanaka, and Kiyoto Ido are Outside Directors.
2. Corporate Auditors Mitsuhiro Nagahama, Tomomi Yatsu, and Kenji Komatsu are outside Corporate Auditors.