Bilingual version of management standard for human capital management published
Japanese Standards Association Press Release: October 29, 2025 Bilingual version of management standard on human capital management published Revised to change “Guidelines” to “Requirements and Recommendations” The Japanese Standards Association (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Hiroshi Asahi) published the Japanese translation (English/Japanese version) of “ISO 30414:2025 Human resource management – Human capital reporting and disclosure requirements and recommendations” on Wednesday, October 15, 2025. In recent years, investors have begun to require disclosure of human capital information in order to assess a company’s medium- to long-term growth potential. This is to see whether the company is recruiting, developing, and retaining personnel who can create added value for the company’s growth. In response to this, ISO 30414 was established as a standard to serve as guidelines for disclosing human capital. -What is human capital? This is the concept of viewing employees as capital. Specifically, it refers to the skills, abilities, and qualifications that employees possess. Investment in human capital is defined as contributing to productivity and economic activity. -ESG investment- ESG stands for “Environment,” “Social,” and “Governance.” ESG investment refers to investing in companies that prioritize the above three factors and is gaining attention as an essential element for the sustainable growth of companies. Human resources are considered to be related to “S (society).” -Why “ISO 30414” is attracting attention- In August 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the federal government agency that oversees and monitors securities exchanges in the United States, made it mandatory for publicly traded companies to disclose information about their human capital. Following this trend, interest in ISO 30414, a guideline for disclosing information about human capital, has been growing in Japan as well. ▼Standard information
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recommendations for human capital reporting and disclosure 《English》 Price including tax: ¥41,591, A4 size, 67 pages 《English-Japanese version》 Price including tax: ¥74,855, A4 size, 144 pages *Prices of specifications may change. Thank you for your understanding. Order here ISO 30414:2025 is the second edition (revised version) of the International Guidelines for Human Capital Disclosure (first edition) published in 2018, and was published in August 2025. The most notable feature of this revised version is that it goes a step beyond mere “guidelines (recommended)” and explicitly positions some indicators as “requirements (mandatory indicators).” -ISO Key Features of 30414:2025: 1. Setting of “Required Indicators” This is the most significant change. Under the previous guidelines, companies were free to choose which indicators to disclose. However, in the 2025 edition, 14 of the 69 indicators have been designated as “Required Indicators,” requiring disclosure regardless of company size. This clarifies the hurdles to achieving compliance with standards and certification. 2. Expansion of indicators and reflection of contemporary themes Reflecting changes in social conditions and the business environment, the number of indicators has been increased from 58 to 69. In particular, the following areas have been strengthened or added: Sustainability: “Human Rights,” “Labor Relations,” “Ethics” Employee Happiness: “Health and Well-Being” Technological Innovation: Skills for the AI Era and Data Privacy Perspectives 3. Emphasis on Privacy and Data Security The focus has been strengthened to not only “measure” but also “protect” human capital data. Guidelines for protecting privacy and data security when handling employee data have been clarified. 4. Expanding the target organizations and improving practicality Consideration for small and medium-sized enterprises: Guidance and case studies for small and medium-sized enterprises have been expanded, making it easier for more organizations, not just large corporations, to adopt the program. Expanded scope: Disclosure guidance has been expanded to include not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) and the public sector, in addition to for-profit organizations. Clarified definitions: The calculation methods for each metric have been more precisely defined to improve comparability and transparency. Recommendation for consolidated disclosure: It is now recommended to disclose human capital not only on a stand-alone basis, but also on a group-wide (consolidated) basis. (Responsible Department: Customer Service Department, Sales Service Team, E-MAIL: csd@jsa.or.jp)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/4052/474/4052-474-7eb2bfa5c14293a73240db85d2b5ce01-567×189.png ●About the Japanese Standards Association (JSA) Group The JSA Group is a group centered around the Japanese Standards Association (JSA), a general incorporated foundation established in December 1945 for the purpose of developing, disseminating, and raising awareness of standardization and management technologies. As Japan’s comprehensive standardization organization, our group is engaged in a wide range of activities, including the development of JIS, international standards (ISO and IEC standards), and JSA standards; the issuance and sale of JIS standard sheets; the distribution of international and overseas standards; the provision of a variety of seminars; the audit and registration of various management systems, including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001; certification of various services; the registration of qualifications such as management system auditors; and quality control certification (QC certification).
