Table of Contents
FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of April 2006
Commission File Number: 1-07952
KYOCERA CORPORATION
6 Takeda Tobadono-cho, Fushimi-ku,
Kyoto 612-8501, Japan
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Registration S-T Rule 101(b)(1):
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Registration S-T Rule 101(b)(7):
Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes No X
If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b); 82-
Table of Contents
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
| KYOCERA CORPORATION |
| /s/ Akihiko Toyotani |
| Akihiko Toyotani |
| General Manager of Finance Division |
Date: April 11, 2006
Table of Contents
Information furnished on this form:
EXHIBITS
| Exhibit Number |
||
| 1. | Written Oath relating to Timely Disclosure submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange |
Table of Contents
Written Oath relating to Timely Disclosure
April 7, 2006
| To: | Mr. Taizo Nishimuro |
Chairman and CEO
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.
| Address: | 6 Takeda Tobadono-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto | |||
| Company Name: | Kyocera Corporation | |||
| Title of representative: | President and Representative Director | |||
| Name: | Makoto Kawamura | |||
Kyocera Corporation hereby covenants, based on the serious understanding that the timely and appropriate disclosure of corporate information to investors constitutes the basis for the sound securities markets, that it will seriously strive to take necessary actions to make timely and appropriate disclosure of corporate information to investors, which shall include enhancement of a corporate system as described in the attached documents so that it can make prompt, accurate and fair disclosure of corporate information in an appropriate manner always taking into consideration the standpoint of the investor.
Table of Contents
Status of Internal Regulation of Timely Disclosure of Corporate Information
(Attached Document to the Written Oath relating to Timely Disclosure)
April 7, 2006
Company Name: Kyocera Corporation
(Code Number: 6971 First Section, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.)
The status of the internal system for the timely disclosure of corporate information is as follows.
| 1. | Establishment of Ethical Standards and Corporate Philosophy Forming the Basis of Timely Disclosure |
The Company believes that the establishment of a corporate philosophy which will constitute the ethical basis for executive management as well as ordinary employees is indispensable for the Company to continue to act in a socially sound and honest manner within the industry, including the making of timely and appropriate disclosure of corporate information.
The Company’s corporate philosophy, which constitutes ethical standards, has been passed along from its founder’s manner of thinking towards both management and lifestyle known as the “Kyocera Philosophy.”
The “Kyocera Philosophy” bases its fundamental judgments on precepts such as “what is the right thing to do as a human?” and includes wide, universal contents from basic management principles to the manner of pursuing daily work. The Company’s fundamental attitude, which can also be the basis of the timely disclosure of corporate information, is displayed in numerous ways including, among others, the sayings “Honesty of Purpose,” “Making Selfless Judgments,” “Adopt the Spirit of Fair Play” and so forth.
In order to implement the ethical standards embodied in the “Kyocera Philosophy” throughout the entire Group, the Company, in addition to providing study programs upon entering the Company as well as constant daily guidance in the workplace, periodically implements educational and study programs in the form of a “Kyocera Philosophy Training Program” for all personnel from executive management to ordinary employees. Moreover, similar training programs have been developed for Group companies located outside Japan. Through such programs, the “Kyocera Philosophy” achieves wide penetration as a corporate creed throughout the entire Group.
Further, in consideration of the applicability of the “Kyocera Philosophy” to various aspects of business activities, the Company establishes “Kyocera Guidelines for Ethical Employee Conduct” and requires that all Group employees conduct their daily business duties in accordance therewith. Such policies provide detailed explanations of various laws, regulations and rules, as well as internal Company rules, include provisions such as “Compliance with the Law” and “Handling Information” etc., and otherwise collectively indicate mandatory conduct for employees.
1
Table of Contents
In addition, the Company’s founder, emphasizing the importance of the role of “accounting” in corporate management, created the “Kyocera Accounting Policies” based on the “Kyocera Philosophy.” The “Double Check Principle,” the “Glass Fishbowl Management Principle” and so forth, which apply to all accounting practices, are included therein and constitute guidance for timely disclosure of corporate information in the same manner as the “Kyocera Philosophy.”
The “Kyocera Philosophy”, the “Kyocera Guidelines for Ethical Employee Conduct” and the “Kyocera Accounting Policies” have been published in the form of handbooks which are distributed to employees who utilize them as ethical standards and policies governing conduct.
As stated above, the Company has established ethical standards based on the “Kyocera Philosophy” which form the basis for internal Company standards concerning timely disclosure.
| 2. | Status of the Company’s Internal Standards etc. Concerning Timely Disclosure |
(1) Fundamental Attitudes
The Company, based on the ethical views appearing in the “Kyocera Philosophy,” believes that it is very important to enjoy a high degree of trust from its shareholders, investors and other stakeholders. For this purpose, the Company recognizes that sincere efforts to provide timely and appropriate disclosure of corporate information are indispensable and has accordingly established the following basic policies toward the disclosure of information.
“With respect to the disclosure of information, it shall be our policy to timely disclose both favorable information and unfavorable information in an equal and accurate manner.”
“With respect to the disclosure of information, it shall be our policy to timely disclose information without delay and in a fair manner, with no bias towards the domestic or foreign, and without preference towards specific persons.”
(2) The Kyocera Disclosure Committee
The Company has established an organ known as the “Kyocera Disclosure Committee” which is primarily entrusted with the role of implementing the abovementioned fundamental policies of the Company for disclosure of corporate information. This Committee investigates all disclosure documents for the purpose of assuring the appropriateness of disclosures of corporate information, reporting the results of its investigations to the President and Representative Director and the Vice Chairman and Representative Director (in charge of Finance) and being the principal independent internal organ of the Company which educates Group companies concerning rules relating to disclosure and promotes appropriate disclosure of information for the entire Group.
2
Table of Contents
This Committee is constituted of the following executive officers and general managers who respectively have responsibility for information in the indicated areas.
| (i) | Securities Ÿ General Affairs Ÿ Human Resources | (v) | Accounting Ÿ Tax | |||
| (ii) | Business Strategy | (vi) | Financial Ÿ IR | |||
| (iii) | Legal Ÿ IP Rights | (vii) | Each Group Company | |||
| (iv) | Management Control | (viii) | Internal Controls relating to Financial Report | |||
This Committee consolidates information reported in respect of the respective areas undertaken by respective committee members and creates an exhaustive collection of all management information for Kyocera Group. Further, this Committee consists mainly of the Company’s executive officers and, accordingly, this Committee can gather information with respect to important management decisions without delay.
(3) The Information Disclosure Process Focusing on the Kyocera Disclosure Committee
Materials which are required to be timely disclosed by the Company pursuant to various domestic and foreign disclosure laws, regulations and rules as well as materials intended for voluntary disclosure to the markets, etc. are usually handled by the Kyocera Disclosure Committee and its Administrative Office as follows.
(i) Information Gathering and Preparation of Disclosure Materials
Facts, decisions of the board of directors and information concerning corporate accounting generated by the Company and each Group company are collected from each department through the related departments of the Company as raw information for disclosure, and consolidated at the Administrative Office of the Disclosure Committee constituted by the officers of the departments of the Company in charge of its IR and accounting.
This Office prepares, based on such reported information and reference to various domestic and foreign laws, regulations and rules concerning timely disclosure and disclosure materials from a fair standpoint, and submits such materials to the Kyocera Disclosure Committee indicating the points to be examined.
In the process of preparation of disclosure materials by the Administrative Office of the Kyocera Disclosure Committee, all information gathered from each department is approved by the head of each department reporting such information (with respect to information of Group companies, by the president or other executive in charge thereof) and the system (the Double Check Principle) does not permit independent judgments by department heads.
3
Table of Contents
(ii) Investigation of Disclosure Materials
Members of the Kyocera Disclosure Committee investigate information submitted through the Administrative Office and undertake a review process to make determinations as to whether or not to disclose and the appropriateness of information to be disclosed by reference to independently obtained information. Each member provides notice of its investigation to the Administrative Office and if corrections are required, so indicates.
Due to the policy in connection with such investigation that judgments by the Kyocera Disclosure Committee as to whether disclosure shall be made are to be based on uniform criteria, the following “Guidelines for the Importance of Matters” have been established as such criteria.
Quantitative Criteria
Any event which would have an impact of 5% or more on net sales, income before tax or net income for a quarterly period covered by the most recently announced forecast is an “Important Event.”
Qualitative Criteria
Any event which would have a material impact upon the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern based on consideration of the special characteristics of individual businesses, internal rules and ethics, applicable general laws, regulations and rules, and generally accepted social morals etc., is an “Important Event.”
Time Criteria
Based on consideration of both quantitative and qualitative criteria, an event which will obviously have such an impact within the next twelve (12) months is an “Important Event.”
Also, this Committee clarifies the purpose of the investigation and facts and materials which will be subject to investigation for the purpose of responding to changes in the management environment in an agile manner, and it is always endeavoring to increase the effectiveness of such investigations by convening the Committee in either of the following major ways.
Regular Scheduled Convening of the Committee
To gather information on matters arising mid-term, confirm matters that must be disclosed, perceive “Important Events” (focusing on information concerning risks) expected to occur during subsequent reporting periods, and investigate disclosure materials for the purpose of studying the contents of periodic disclosure materials such as annual securities reports, semi-annual securities reports, annual reports to shareholders and investors, and Forms 20-F to be submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission etc.
4
Table of Contents
Extraordinary Convening of the Committee
A meeting of the Committee shall be convened upon the decision of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee in the event of mid-term amendments of laws, regulations and rules, or accounting standards, etc. or upon the unexpected occurrence of Important Events in order to determine whether or not to timely disclose and if so determined to investigate the contents of the disclosure.
(iii) Supplemental System for Representatives of Important Group Companies
The Kyocera Disclosure Committee may implement a supplemental system assuring the appropriateness of information from each Group company by demanding that the representatives of each of the most financially important Group companies, based on net sales and profits of all Group companies, individually certify in writing as to the accuracy of reported information.
(iv) Report of Investigation Results
After confirming that all Committee members have verified the appropriateness of the disclosure information, the Chairman of the Kyocera Disclosure Committee reports the results of such investigation to the President and Representative Director and the Vice Chairman and Representative Director (in charge of Finance). The President and Representative Director and the Vice Chairman and Representative Director (in charge of Finance) confirm the investigation procedures by the Kyocera Disclosure Committee and issue instructions for corrective actions, if necessary, to the Chairman of the Kyocera Disclosure Committee.
(v) Approval and Disclosure of Information
The President and Representative Director of the Company, following the completion of the procedures described in (i) through (iv) above, upon receipt of a report from the Chairman of the Kyocera Disclosure Committee assuring the appropriateness of information disclosure, approves such information disclosure. Thereafter, the departments executing timely disclosure after being informed of the approval of the President and Representative Director via the Administrative Office of the Kyocera Disclosure Committee implement the disclosure of such information through TDnet or EDINET etc.
As described above, the Company has established a system centered on the Kyocera Disclosure Committee as an investigation organ assuring the appropriateness of disclosed information by means of a process of gathering, preparing and disclosing corporate information. Please refer to the diagram appearing in Attachment 1 concerning the information disclosure process described in (i) through (v) above.
5
Table of Contents
(4) Internal Controls and Internal Complaint Procedures
The Company’s shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and it accordingly is subject to the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It has therefore made preparations to respond to the corporate governance and information disclosure requirements of such law. In particular, in order to meet the requirements under Section 404 of such law that the Company’s management must document and evaluate the effectiveness of “internal controls over financial reports,” the Company has established a Global Audit Division, which conducts internal audits throughout the group with respect to the accounting and operations of each group company. The Global Audit Division will periodically conduct investigations in cooperation with each group company and report the results thereof to the directors and auditors of the Company and each relevant group company. The directors and auditors who receive such reports will then issue instructions for any necessary corrective action.
The Company also has established an internal complaint system called the “Employee’s Consultation Corner”, which provides a mechanism whereby employees are able to report acts which constitute violations of, or acts which bear the risk of violating, the Kyocera Policies for Employee Conduct.
These systems have important functions in addition to heightening the effectiveness of the Company’s internal structures related to timely disclosure. In particular, they will provide further reasonable objectivity and logical foundation to the periodic audits of the Company’s financial position undertaken by its independent auditor.
End
6
Table of Contents
<Attachment 1>
The outline of the corporate system for the timely disclosure of the corporate information is as follows.
7