OREANDA-NEWS. May 23, 2012. Olympus Corporation announced today that the members of its new management team have pledged their "Commitment to Compliance" in an official declaration signed by the company's new president, Hiroyuki Sasa.

The Commitment reflects Olympus management's sincere regret for the company's past misconduct and the resulting undermining of stakeholder confidence, and its new perception of compliance as a key measure for preventing such problems in the future. It declares that compliance will be put into practice with a strong sense of corporate ethics through policies and methods now being developed to reform internal systems under the new management. The Commitment, one of the policies for enhanced compliance systems, is as follows:


Olympus Corporation sincerely regrets that its past misconduct has caused people and society enormous difficulties and undermined stakeholder confidence. With this in mind, and in keeping with the company's Social IN* philosophy, the new management team hereby declares its commitment, as follows:


To regain stakeholder trust and to enhance corporate value, Olympus' management is committed to complying with all laws and regulations and respecting social norms at all times.


In the effort to achieve sustainable growth, the management reaffirms the importance of laws, regulations and social norms, and fostering a corporate culture in which each employee, as a member of the Olympus Group, considers what is right and then acts in accordance with the company's guiding principles.

If this commitment is violated in any way, the cause shall be investigated, any past action bearing responsibility shall be brought to light and preventive measures shall be implemented.

By transforming our organization, we aim to create new value for society, to improve communication with all stakeholders and to increase the transparency of our decision making.

We reaffirm our basic mission of creating value for society through technology, quality and service, and we pledge that all employees of the Olympus Group will make a concerted effort to contribute to healthier and more fulfilling lives for people.

Please refer to the following description regarding the company's expanded internal whistle-blowing system and new Compliance Committee charged with reviewing compliance systems at Olympus.
New Compliance Measures Established to Date by Olympus Corporation

Expanded Internal Whistle-blowing System

The company has expanded its Compliance Helpline internal whistle-blowing system in Japan in accordance with the nation's Whistleblower Protection Act. In addition to an existing in-house helpline, an external helpline was opened on May 18, staffed by an independent attorney at law with no vested interest in the company, who will accept whistle-blowing information.

New Compliance Committee

The Compliance Committee has been established to advise the board of directors on new policies and methods for enhanced compliance across the Group. The Committee comprises two external board directors, one of whom serves as chair, an external attorney at law and the newly established Chief Compliance Officer (CCO).

Masahito Kitamura, who is in charge of the Corporate Governance Office, was named CCO effective April 1. He is responsible for all aspects of in-house compliance throughout the Olympus Group.

Going Forward

The Company is now preparing a detailed report on new policies and methods for compliance enhancement.

Olympus is committed to fundamentally reforming its management systems, as well as further developing its business, to restore trust in the Company as early as possible and to create value that contributes to society more than ever.