*This article was originally written in Japanese and has been translated by a machine translation tool for your convenience. Please forgive any errors in translation. You can find the original Japanese article [here].

At SmartNews, we have a unique way of recognizing the daily actions of our employees who truly embody our Core Values: we celebrate one person each month at our Global All-Hands meeting through a program called the SmartNews Igniter.

Think of it: moments like a colleague stepping across team boundaries to offer support, or someone showing courage by taking an ambitious first step. These are the spontaneous instances in our daily work where the true spirit of "SmartNews-ness" shines through, inspiring us all.

The SmartNews Igniter program is our internal initiative to highlight these very moments. Colleagues nominate each other, and once a month, one individual is selected to shine a spotlight on these impactful actions. The three Core Values are: "For the Common Good," "Outcome Obsession," and "Nothing is Somebody Else's Problem."

Our SmartNews Core Values are the foundation of what we do—the essential principles that guide our decisions and actions every single day.

This award was created from a desire to make our Core Values—the values we cherish at SmartNews—tangible and shared through our day-to-day work and actions.

We are driven by our mission: "Delivering the world's quality information to the people who need it."

To fulfill this mission, what values must we uphold? And what actions create a positive ripple effect throughout the company? The SmartNews Igniter isn't about simply stating our values; it's about communicating them organically, one employee's action at a time.

The stories of the selected employees are shared at the company-wide Global All-Hands and displayed on posters around the office.

• "That's the kind of attitude I want to prioritize."

• "I'm so glad I get to work with this person."

As sentiments like these spread, our culture is seamlessly shared and nurtured.

For the monthly SmartNews Igniter, our CEO personally reviews all employee nominations before making the final selection. This commitment to seriously considering the intent and value behind each action is central to the program.

The true spirit of any system isn't the rules themselves, but the shared feeling and intention behind them—in this case, the intention to celebrate people. The SmartNews Igniter is a cultural movement that illuminates the actions of each individual, gradually shaping what it means to be "SmartNews-like."

Our culture grows slowly but surely, one "behavior" at a time. Going forward, Inside SmartNews plans to feature some of our past SmartNews Igniter recipients. Stay tuned!