Work Environment
At LY Corporation, we aim to create a workplace where everyone can work together and bring out their best as a team.
When each person performs at their full potential, it drives us to deliver products that truly inspire our users.
We maintain flexible work styles while encouraging communication and collaboration across the company, enabling us to stay agile and adapt quickly to change.
We also foster a culture that actively embraces diversity, so both the organization and individuals can continue to grow.
We keep updating the way we work to match the needs of society and our employees, aiming to create an environment where everyone can thrive in their own way.
LY Corporation Working Style
We have introduced the “LY Corporation Working Style,” which combines office work and remote work.
By maintaining flexible work styles, we aim to create an environment that enables active, high-quality communication and helps us deliver products that truly inspire our users.
Our offices are designed to encourage natural conversations and unexpected encounters. A variety of spaces are available, such as height-adjustable and standing desks, focus booths, online meeting booths, and communication spaces designed to encourage creative discussions.
For remote work, employees can work from home, satellite offices, or other suitable locations if the necessary conditions are met. Work must be conducted in a private room with a stable internet connection (a lockable room is recommended), and the types of information handled are restricted.
Details about office assignment and attendance requirements may vary by department, and will be explained during the selection process.
Commuting Allowance
Actual commuting expenses are reimbursed (up to JPY 150,000/month) based on the number of days worked at the assigned office.
LY Corporation Working Style Allowance
A monthly allowance of JPY 11,000 is provided to help maintain a high-performance work environment. (Available only for permanent and contract employees.)
Full Flextime
A flextime system with no core hours is in place, allowing you to decide your own start and finish times within a specific time frame.
As long as you meet your prescribed working hours（*1） every month, you can decide your start and finish times as well as your daily work schedule.（*2）
*1 Prescribed monthly working hours = 7.75 hours × the number of business days for the month
*2 Some departments may require set working hours or shift work.
Leave
Along with regular paid leave, various leave programs are provided for different life stages and situations, so employees can take time off in ways that align with their needs and values.
Happy Friday (substitute public holidays)
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday, employees will be granted special leave on the preceding workday.
Accumulated Paid Leave
Under this system, you can save up to 30 days' worth of any expired annual paid leave that you have not yet used. Feel free to use it when you are injured or ill, needing to take care of your child or nurse a family member, when attending a school event, or for any other reason.
Sabbatical Leave
Use this as an opportunity to take time off and think about your career, experience, working style and personal growth. Sabbatical leave can be taken for 2–3 months and is available to permanent employees who have worked here for at least ten years.
Special Paid Leave
Various types of special paid leave are available, including for celebratory and condolence occasions, maternity, childcare, nursing care, and legally defined infectious diseases. For details, please see the Benefits and DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) sections of this page.
Benefits
We make every effort to ensure that our employees remain safe and healthy while they work.
In addition to a variety of social insurance programs, we also provide peace of mind through emergency support systems such as comprehensive welfare group term insurance and group long-term disability (GLTD) (some programs may only be available for permanent employees).
Programs Supporting Communication
Subsidy for Social Gatherings
Costs for social gatherings within departments or among employees are subsidized within a set number of times and budget.
This subsidy is intended to support activities that promote communication with colleagues you work with, whether in small teams, across entire departments, or within project units.
Club Activities
Anyone can join the many clubs active at the company. Clubs get a subsidy every six months based on their member numbers and activities.
Supporting Good Health
Subsidy for Health Checkups
We pay the full cost of medical checkups required by law for employees as well as several other examinations. The company will also foot the cost if you need a follow-up visit (up to JPY 20,000/year).
Special Paid Leave for Infectious Diseases
Should you fall ill with one of the infectious diseases listed by the company (e.g. influenza, COVID-19), you can use special paid leave for a certain number of days.
Support for Balancing Treatment and Work
We support employees who require ongoing treatment, such as for cancer, to balance treatment and work with peace of mind. Various forms of support are available, including consultation services with occupational physicians and health staff, e-learning programs for all employees, and a guidebook on balancing treatment and work.
Supporting Life Plans
Optional Defined Contribution (DC) Pension Plan
Under this plan, you can contribute/invest part of your bonus alongside the contribution paid by company. The amount of pension you get from this in future depends on how your investment performs.
As the role of defined contribution pensions grows in an aging society with fewer children, this plan is in place to support employees in enjoying a fulfilling retirement.
- Available only for permanent employees.
Employee Savings Program
Decide an amount you want taken out of your bonus or monthly salary and we will deposit it at a supporting financial institution. Build up your savings through regular contributions, and the company will also add an incentive. Choose from three types of savings programs: general, property, and pension.
- Available only for permanent employees.
Cumulative Stock Investment Program
Another of our employee benefits, this program can help you with your long-term asset building goals. You can decide on a set amount of money to use each month from your salary and make ongoing purchases and investments in LY Corporation stocks. The company also offers an incentive.
- Available only for permanent employees.
Group Long-Term Disability (GLTD)
If an illness or injury prevents you from returning to work even after your exemption period ends, you can continue receiving 60% of your standard monthly salary under GLTD up until the month you turn 60. As health insurance societies will provide two-thirds of your pay for only up to 18 months when you miss work or take a leave of absence, GLTD can continue supporting you even after these insurance payments end.
- Available only for permanent employees.
Comprehensive Welfare Group Term Insurance (A Livelihood Security Program for Surviving Families)
We are enrolled in the SoftBank Group's group term insurance system to stand ready if something unexpected happens to an employee. LY Corporation pays the full premium and will give the insurance payout (a total of JPY 10M) to the bereaved family if the worst should happen. We will also provide additional financial support for your children (JPY 5M for each child of elementary school age or younger, and JPY 2.5M for middle school and high school-aged).
- Available only for permanent employees.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I)
At LY Corporation, our fundamental approach to DE&I is to create an environment where every individual can fully demonstrate their abilities regardless of their attributes or life stage. We value mutual understanding and respect for each person’s background, individuality, and culture, and we actively implement various systems and initiatives to support this.
Work-Life Support for Childcare and Nursing Care
This working arrangement offers more choice to employees with childcare and nursing responsibilities, allowing them to work worry-free while caring for their family at the same time. You can choose from either shortened (five hours of work a day) or staggered working hours (a flexible window of 1.5 hours each day). If you have children, you can use this system up until they finish middle school. If you are raising a child of elementary school age or younger in your home or taking care of a family member, you can apply for another day off (unpaid) once a week in addition to the weekends. Sick childcare leave (paid) is also available if your children are in elementary school or younger: five days of leave a year for one child, or 10 days if you have two or more children.
Childbirth and Childcare Support
You can take seven days of unpaid leave—which we call pre-delivery maternity leave—before you go on the statutory maternity leave of 42 days leading up to delivery. Five days of paid leave for expecting mothers is also available when you give birth. If your partner is the one who is pregnant, you can take three days of paid leave when your child is born. We offer childcare leave for parents—even if you have been with the company less than a year—up until the day before your child turns one, although this can also be extended to the age of two years at most.
Babysitting Support
When you find yourself needing a babysitter in order to work, this program will subsidize half of the costs of a babysitter or provide you with discounts on services that send a babysitter to your home.
F Leave
This paid leave (one day a month) is available for women-specific health conditions, physical or mental health concerns, or infertility treatment.
Pregnancy Support
If you are having trouble juggling between work and your infertility treatments, this support system lets you take time off or a leave of absence while keeping your employment. Available to employees of all genders who are undergoing infertility treatments, you can take up to 10 days of paid leave or alternatively, take a leave of absence for up to a year (unpaid and only available to employees who have worked at the company for more than a year). With the second choice, you are also free to divide your leave into a maximum of three chunks over the one year starting from your first day of absence. We also offer financial support of up to JPY 100,000 per year for the costs of infertility treatments you or your partner are undergoing, with no limit on how many times you can use the program.
Support for Nursing Care
Nursing care leave is available if you need it—giving you five days of paid leave a year if you are looking after a person requiring long-term care or support, or ten days if you are caring for more than one. You can use this leave even if you have been at the company for less than six months. You can also take a nursing care leave of absence if you need a longer time off (unpaid, up to one year).
Same-Sex Partners and Common-Law Marriages
We recognize same-sex partners and registered common-law marriages as spouses. You can take days off, a leave of absence (for marriage, mourning, nursing care, or childcare), get financial support for a relocation within Japan or overseas (when living apart from your family or being relocated), and receive congratulatory/condolence money from the company (celebrating a marriage or birth, or for bereaved family after a loss).
Special Leave for Employees with Disabilities
This system aims to make it easier for you to take the steps you need to maintain your health and perform at your best. After registering your disability certificate with the company, you can take six days of paid leave a year whenever you need to visit the doctors, stay at hospital, or when you find working to be significantly tougher.
For details, please see the Those with Disabilities page.
Facilitating Growth
In the fast-evolving and innovative internet industry, we believe that people who can adapt to change, take initiative, and grow while playing an active role are the key to creating new value. That’s why we place importance on building a foundation that helps every employee fully develop their potential.
We provide opportunities to take on challenges, and by recognizing both your achievements and your contributions to products, teams, and the company, we create an environment where you can maximize your impact.
With clear and balanced evaluations, we boost individual motivation for self-development, revitalize the entire organization, and support the sustainable growth of our people and our products.
Training Programs
We focus on education related to generative AI, offering a wide range of practical training programs. In addition to e-learning, seminars and hands-on sessions are available to help employees apply generative AI in their work—improving efficiency and creating new value.
Language Courses
Language courses in English, Korean, and Japanese are provided for employees who need them for their work, with all costs covered by the company.
You can study at your own level and gain practical skills that can be applied directly to your job.
Management Training
Training programs that systematize the essentials for maximizing organizational performance are offered for managers. Managers can select courses based on organizational or personal development needs, gaining practical learning that can be applied directly to their daily work.
LY Corporation Job Challenge
To help employees take the lead in shaping their own careers, we run a year-round internal job-posting program offering positions within LY Corporation and its group companies. After a certain period of employment, you can apply for open positions on your own initiative—without requiring your supervisor’s approval—and if you pass the selection process, the transfer will take place. By encouraging new challenges in a different environment, this program supports employee growth.
Doctoral Studies Support Program
This is a program to support employees who aim to earn a doctoral degree while continuing their work. We provide an environment where you can experience in practical research and theoretical studies related to big data, capitalizing on LY Corporation's strengths. The program is available to full-time employees with a minimum of two years of service. Those who pass the screening process will receive scholarships (up to 1 million yen per half year) for doctoral programs in science and engineering fields, and are eligible for one day of special paid leave per week. Through this initiative, we strive to promote both employee growth and the advancement of our company's technological capabilities.
AI Utilization
At LY Corporation, all employees are required to leverage generative AI in their daily work. By applying AI to research, document preparation, meetings, and other tasks, we are dramatically enhancing productivity and driving continuous innovation.
AI is deeply integrated into everyday operations, allowing employees to use the time saved for new ideas and bold challenges. This creates an environment where the quality of work continues to improve.
Improvement of Work Environment
All employees have access to ChatGPT Enterprise, and we also provide an in-house conversational AI assistant service powered by OpenAI’s API. These initiatives ensure a secure environment where diverse generative AI tools can be utilized safely.
Building Utilization Foundations (Development Environment)
To provide employees with the flexibility to choose from a variety of generative AI platforms as their technical foundation, we have adopted a multi-vendor strategy by partnering with the most suitable providers.
In addition to a comprehensive agreement covering all APIs offered by OpenAI, L.L.C., large language models available on Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services are also accessible
Learning Opportunities
With the goal of enabling all employees—not only those in technical roles—to become proficient in AI, we provide a wide range of learning opportunities.
These include mandatory e-learning programs covering risk management and prompt engineering for the safe and effective use of AI, the launch of a portal site to share knowledge across the company, and the regular organization of study groups and seminars. Through these initiatives, we promote company-wide adoption of AI.
Awards
To promote the use of AI and the sharing of use cases, we host an internal award program called LY Corporation ChatAI CHALLENGE.
Employees can also take part in the generative AI contest organized by the SoftBank Group, providing opportunities to showcase their own AI initiatives and ideas and to take on new challenges proactively. Many of the award-winning ideas from these contests have already been applied to our services and business operations.
Ethical Policy
Based on our Basic Policy on AI Ethics, we are committed to protecting user privacy and ensuring proper information management while promoting the responsible use of AI. To support these efforts, we have also established a dedicated AI ethics governance division.