2026/01/28Press release
PADECO Co., Ltd. Receives the Tokyo Future Work Award 2025
Encouragement Prize Recognized for Its Mission
as an International Development Consulting Firm and Its Commitment to Workstyle Reform
PADECO Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) —a comprehensive consulting firm specializing in international development, with its Head Office in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and its President & CEO, Tomoyuki Shigenaga —has been awarded the Tokyo Future Work Award 2025 – Encouragement Prize under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Future Workstyle Promotion Initiative.
This award recognizes companies that implement innovative initiatives to promote diverse and flexible workstyles. PADECO was recognized for establishing a unique paid leave promotion system and for fostering a flexible organizational culture that ensures that the system is actively and sustainably utilized.
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About the Tokyo Future Work Award
The Tokyo Future Work Award is part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Future Workstyle Promotion Initiative. It recognizes companies registered as Tokyo Sustainable Work Companies that have implemented outstanding workstyle reform initiatives.
Companies are evaluated based on criteria such as the diversity and flexibility of its work styles, contributions to productivity improvement, and the degree to which these initiatives are embedded within the organization. Based on this evaluation, the Grand Prize, Excellence Prize, and Encouragement Prize are awarded.
The program has been implemented continuously over multiple years and aims to promote awareness and encourage practical action across society by widely disseminating best practices in workstyle reform among companies in Tokyo.
Details including the list companies winning the award are at:
https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/information/press/2026/01/2026012134
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Supporting the People Who Drive International Development
Since its founding in 1983, PADECO has operated as a comprehensive consulting firm in the field of international cooperation and development, implementing more than 1,600 projects in over 136 countries worldwide in areas such as policy formulation, infrastructure development, and human resource development. The Company is committed to addressing social challenges across all areas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), guided by its corporate mission of “creating a better society for current and future generations.”
These initiatives are supported by each employee, who bring diverse expertise and backgrounds. PADECO places great importance on ensuring that professionals who collaborate across countries, regions, time zones, and cultures can remain physically and mentally healthy and continue to thrive over the long term, and has positioned workstyle reform as a key management priority.
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Key Initiatives Recognized
- A Unique System That Actively Promotes Paid Leave
The Company has introduced a special three-day leave available to employees who take five days of paid vacation, designing the system to ensure that leave-taking goes beyond a formality and leads to actual behavioral change.
- Flexible System Operation Not Overly Constrained by Regulations
With regard to shortened working hours, the Company does not impose uniform restrictions such as limiting eligibility to employees with preschool-aged children, but instead responds flexibly to each employee’s individual circumstances. Through this approach, PADECO is fostering an environment that enables career continuity regardless of age or life stage.
- Establishing Workstyles that Embrace Diversity
PADECO has implemented flexible working hours and telework, enabling employees to work from various locations domestically and internationally. This approach supports diverse talents, including foreign nationals and members of overseas offices—in working together toward shared goals.
- A Flat Organizational Culture that Supports Psychological Safety
Through initiatives such as dialogue sessions between the President and employees and an internal proposal system, PADECO fosters a culture in which opinions can be freely exchanged regardless of position or age. Beyond formal systems, flexible practices are embedded as part of the Company’s culture through everyday communication.
As a result of the proposal system, PADECO has established a “Career Design Room,” where employees participate in training and workshops led by certified career consultants to collaboratively deepen their future career planning.
- Proactive External Engagement Outreach
In addition to its internal initiatives, PADECO actively engages in external outreach, including the implementation of the first-ever certification program in the field of international cooperation and the dissemination of information that conveys on-the-ground perspectives from development consultants.
- Balancing Workstyle Reform and Business Growth
Through these combined initiatives, PADECO has achieved outcomes such as reduced employee turnover and improved business performance, and has been recognized as a best-practice example demonstrating how workstyle reform can contribute to sustainable corporate growth.
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Comments from the President & CEO
Regarding the award, President & CEO Tomoyuki Shigenaga stated:
Our work addresses social challenges around the world and requires us to pursue results over a long-term horizon. At the core of these efforts are the expertise and experience of each employee, as well as creativity demonstrated in the field.
That is why we believe it is essential to provide an environment where individuals can continue to perform at their best—while managing their own life stages and circumstances—rather than relying on unsustainable workstyles.
When it comes to workstyle reform, attention often focuses on the novelty or number of systems introduced. However, what we have valued most is not simply creating systems but ensuring that they are naturally used in everyday practice and flexibly operated through ongoing dialogue in the workplace.
Being recognized for this aspect affirms that the efforts we have built together are becoming part of our organizational culture.
We will continue to view workstyle reform not as an end in itself, but as the foundation for fulfilling our social mission in international development, enabling diverse talents to thrive over the long term.
PADECO will continue to position workstyle reform not merely as a welfare measure, but as an important management strategy to enhance the quality and sustainability of its international development operations. In PADECO Vision 2030, which outlines the Company’s desired future state for 2030, PADECO sets forth the goal of “working joyfully from anywhere in the world and continuing to contribute to international development through rich and creative ideas.”
By creating an environment in which individuals with diverse talents can continue to take on challenges with confidence, the Company aims to deliver more flexible and creative solutions to the increasingly complex and sophisticated challenges facing the international community.
PADECO views the receipt of the Tokyo Future Work Award 2025 – Encouragement Prize as recognition of its stance that, as a company addressing social challenges, its own workstyles must also be sustainable. Going forward, PADECO will continue to return value to society through projects in Japan and around the world.
Company Name: PADECO Co., Ltd.
Representative: Tomoyuki Shigenaga, President & CEO
Website: https://www.padeco.co.jp/
Established: January 7, 1983
Capital: 100,000,000 yen
Business Area: International development consulting
PADECO Co., Ltd.
DigiComm
Management Strategy Division
email:digicomm-admin@padeco.co.jp