In sadly confirming that the heralds behind the beloved video game franchise are not among the many Japanese individuals who have found themselves rejecting Environmental, Social, and Governance-based investment sensibilities, a newly posted job listing has revealed that The Pokémon Company International is now seeking a new Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Responsibility.
Per the listing itself, the eventual hire for this position will be tasked with facilitating and promoting The Pokémon Company International’s (TPCi) – the US subsidiary of the larger Japan-based The Pokémon Company – global culture of innovation, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”
“This role will partner with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Responsibility (DEISR) Team to build diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and Social Responsibility (SR) initiatives and programs to influence employee engagement, talent acquisition, talent management, charitable community engagement and marketplace opportunities across our global team to engage and retain talent and foster relationships in local and global communities,” further explained TPCi, making the most of their ‘corporate speak’ dictionary. “This role will ensure that the core elements of TPCi culture are well-defined and ever-present to employees, highlighting engagement as an essential component to support a positive, diverse, inclusive, innovative, and high-achieving environment. This position will report to the Vice President and Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer (CDO), lead the DEISR team, and will partner with stakeholders across the organization and operate as an internal business consultant.”
In addition to these standard position duties, the eventual hire will also find themselves responsible for “driv[ing] alignment of DEI goals with business strategy for both internal employees, external fans and the communities we serve” – in other words, making sure that DEI remains a focus of not just TPCi’s own operations, but their approach to interacting with players and fans.
Admittedly – and unfortunately – such a position is not uncommon in the modern corporate landscape.
It’s not even the first such position within TPCi, as evidenced by the job listing’s specification that the desired Director would be reporting to the company’s overall Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer.
However, what makes this particular listing newsworthy is the fact that, given how it was ostensibly posted with some level of approval from The Pokémon Company proper, it indicates that those in charge of the franchise, as noted above, have yet to join Japanese investors in chasing ESG-related funding sources – many, if not all of which put the concept of DEI at the center of their application requirements.
As reported by Bloomberg based on information from research firm Morningstar, “investors pulled a total of 660 billion yen ($4.5 billion) from funds last year”, a total which amounted to “more than four times the outflows of 150 billion yen in 2022.”
“The outflow of capital from ESG funds has hammered the industry’s growth,” they added. “According to a Morningstar report, there were no new ESG products launched between October and December of last year.”
The next proper Pokémon title set for release, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, is currently set to release for the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2025.