FY2026 Contest for Companies Advancing Older Worker Participation Names Winners
Overview
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has selected the award-winning companies for the FY2026 Contest for Companies Advancing Older Worker Participation. EverBlue Co., Ltd. of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, received the Grand Prize of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Award, and 29 companies, including companies receiving Excellence Awards, were selected as award-winning companies. The award ceremony will be held in Tokyo on October 9 (Friday).
Key points
- EverBlue Co., Ltd. of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, was selected for the Grand Prize of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Award.
- 29 companies demonstrating outstanding initiatives were selected as award-winning companies.
- The award ceremony for the winning companies will be held in Tokyo on October 9 (Friday).
Overview
The contest is held annually and jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers to promote public and corporate understanding of the importance of employing older workers and to disseminate ideas for creating workplaces where motivated older workers can continue working while fully demonstrating their abilities.
This year, examples were submitted from companies that had developed creative approaches to enable older workers to make use of their abilities and experience and work with vitality, and the entries were evaluated by judges including experts.
Impact
The contest aims to promote public and corporate understanding of employing older workers and to disseminate ideas for creating workplaces where older workers can continue working while demonstrating their abilities.
Details
The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Awards comprise one Grand Prize, two Excellence Awards, and three Special Awards. The Grand Prize went to EverBlue Co., Ltd., while the Excellence Awards went to Miyoshi Electric Co., Ltd. of Hitachi, Ibaraki, and Inamura Construction Co., Ltd. of Kagoshima, Kagoshima.
The Chairman's Awards of the Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers comprise 11 Excellence Awards, 11 Special Awards, and one Creative Award.
The award ceremony will begin at 1:00 p.m. on October 9, 2026, at KABUTO ONE HALL&CONFERENCE, located on the fourth floor of KABUTO ONE, 7-1 Nihombashi Kabutocho, Chuo City, Tokyo. It will be held in a hybrid format, with both in-person attendance and live streaming, and an archived stream is also planned for a later date. The program will include introductions to the featured initiatives and a talk session.
The Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers designates October every year as Older Worker Employment Support Month, and the award ceremony is held during this month each year.