Panasonic Energy Holds Experiential Onboarding Ceremony Set in a "Forest Campsite" - Junior Employees Plan Ceremony and Puzzle Game to Promote Understanding of the Battery Business's Social Significance
Panasonic Energy held an experiential onboarding ceremony for 139 new employees on April 1, 2026, planned by junior staff. The event, themed as a forest campsite, utilized a puzzle-solving game and a message from the president to foster new employees' "My Energy" discovery and understanding of the battery business's social significance.
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- 📰 Published: April 2, 2026 at 00:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 16:47
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Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Panasonic Energy") held an onboarding ceremony (welcome ceremony) today, April 1, 2026, for 139 new employees hired in the fiscal year 2026. For the fiscal year 2026, in a first for Panasonic Energy, the onboarding ceremony was planned through a publicly solicited project by junior employees in their first or second year. The event was significantly different from traditional onboarding ceremonies, with a venue set up to resemble a forest campsite, featuring artificial turf and tents, and participants attending in outdoor-themed attire.
As the main event, an experiential team-building game called "Darkness Mystery Solving" was conducted to deepen understanding of Panasonic Energy's business and foster team cohesion. In this game, participants navigated a dimly lit venue, solving puzzles by flashlight. Management executives also participated, and through the experience of working together on challenges among new employees who had just met, they deepened their interactions and gained a better understanding of Panasonic Energy's business background and social significance.
The welcome ceremony for fiscal year 2026 was conceptualized as "Encountering My Energy." Panasonic Energy defines each employee's dreams and driving forces in their work as "My Energy," and this event aimed to provide an opportunity for them to discover this on the milestone day of starting their professional lives. Panasonic Energy's mission is "to realize a society where the pursuit of happiness and a sustainable environment are harmoniously balanced." It addresses social issues through its energy business, centered on batteries. Symbolizing this "harmony" as a "forest," the company holds "Forest Meetings" where executives and employees camp in forests and satoyama (managed woodlands) to discuss the future vision Panasonic Energy's mission aims for. This time, the venue was laid out to evoke such a "Forest Meeting," with artificial turf covering the entire floor and tents and camping chairs installed. New employees and executives also participated in casual, camping-themed attire. This onboarding ceremony is Panasonic Energy's first attempt to be planned and operated over six months by junior employees in their first or second year, who were recruited through an open call. A key feature of this initiative is that it was planned from scratch, from the perspective of new employees, based on their past experiences attending onboarding ceremonies.
At the beginning of the ceremony, President Issei Tadano, who appeared from a tent set up in the venue, delivered a message to the new employees: "While the battery industry faces rapid external environmental changes, batteries are expanding their role in various aspects of society and are indispensable products for the future. In your professional lives ahead, you may face doubts and difficulties. What will support you at such times is your own 'My Energy' – what you work for, what kind of future you want to be involved in. I hope this special day will be a starting point for each of you to find your 'My Energy' and step into the future with your colleagues."
Participating new employees also shared their impressions: "I imagined a much more formal event when I heard 'onboarding ceremony,' but it was actually held in a forest-themed venue, and I could participate in casual clothes. In a good way, it was completely different from what I imagined." Another commented, "There was also an experiential program like a puzzle-solving game, and as we thought and acted together with my colleagues (of the same entry year), my tension naturally eased. I felt welcomed as a colleague, cooperating with executives who were also participating in the game."
As the main event, an experiential team-building game called "Darkness Mystery Solving" was conducted to deepen understanding of Panasonic Energy's business and foster team cohesion. In this game, participants navigated a dimly lit venue, solving puzzles by flashlight. Management executives also participated, and through the experience of working together on challenges among new employees who had just met, they deepened their interactions and gained a better understanding of Panasonic Energy's business background and social significance.
The welcome ceremony for fiscal year 2026 was conceptualized as "Encountering My Energy." Panasonic Energy defines each employee's dreams and driving forces in their work as "My Energy," and this event aimed to provide an opportunity for them to discover this on the milestone day of starting their professional lives. Panasonic Energy's mission is "to realize a society where the pursuit of happiness and a sustainable environment are harmoniously balanced." It addresses social issues through its energy business, centered on batteries. Symbolizing this "harmony" as a "forest," the company holds "Forest Meetings" where executives and employees camp in forests and satoyama (managed woodlands) to discuss the future vision Panasonic Energy's mission aims for. This time, the venue was laid out to evoke such a "Forest Meeting," with artificial turf covering the entire floor and tents and camping chairs installed. New employees and executives also participated in casual, camping-themed attire. This onboarding ceremony is Panasonic Energy's first attempt to be planned and operated over six months by junior employees in their first or second year, who were recruited through an open call. A key feature of this initiative is that it was planned from scratch, from the perspective of new employees, based on their past experiences attending onboarding ceremonies.
At the beginning of the ceremony, President Issei Tadano, who appeared from a tent set up in the venue, delivered a message to the new employees: "While the battery industry faces rapid external environmental changes, batteries are expanding their role in various aspects of society and are indispensable products for the future. In your professional lives ahead, you may face doubts and difficulties. What will support you at such times is your own 'My Energy' – what you work for, what kind of future you want to be involved in. I hope this special day will be a starting point for each of you to find your 'My Energy' and step into the future with your colleagues."
Participating new employees also shared their impressions: "I imagined a much more formal event when I heard 'onboarding ceremony,' but it was actually held in a forest-themed venue, and I could participate in casual clothes. In a good way, it was completely different from what I imagined." Another commented, "There was also an experiential program like a puzzle-solving game, and as we thought and acted together with my colleagues (of the same entry year), my tension naturally eased. I felt welcomed as a colleague, cooperating with executives who were also participating in the game."