The economic conditions in which the Hitachi Cable Group operates today show no signs of letup from the financial crisis that originated with the failure of a major US securities firm last year. The global economy is in the midst of a deep and extended recession. Having assumed the office of president at this juncture, I am sobered by the enormity of this responsibility.
The current business performance of our Group has been hit hard by the global recession, with especially marked declines in the semiconductor and automotive markets. My first task is to address this situation as quickly as possible through the sustained implementation of Emergency Performance Enhancement Measures.

The Hitachi Cable Group has restructured its businesses through the six-year medium-term management plan intended to strengthen its makeup. But rapid transformations in both the world and markets have highlighted deficiencies in our business restructuring efforts. The Hitachi Cable Group will now establish the corporate culture needed to implement a ceaseless cycle of transformation and renewal, in this way seeking to survive in a world in which markets react and interact across national and regional borders—ltimately forming a single world market—and to meet the threats facing the company today. To do this, we must focus on the following three themes.

First, we will work to cultivate what we call market acumen. Developing the market savvy needed to guide the Group is vital to overcoming present difficulties. All divisions—sales, research and development, design, and others—will hone their capacity to make judgments based on their observations of market conditions—hence market acumen—as professionals in their own fields. They will establish the direction of our business through energetic and sustained dialogue with each other.
Second, we will push for continued advances in manufacturing. The introduction of the Hitachi Cable Just-in-Time (JIT) Production System has steadily strengthened the manufacturing capabilities of the Hitachi Cable Group. We plan to establish related measures more widely and deeply within the Group to maximize results, including shortened lead times and lower inventories, which will then become a source of company strength.
Third, we will realize the Group corporate vision: Empowering Energy & Communication*1. To survive and thrive in a single world market, we must achieve peak performance in every aspect possible, including sales power, market acumen, manufacturing technology capabilities, product quality, and research and development capabilities, as well corporate social responsibilities (CSR). My goal is to make Hitachi Cable a company capable of producing communication-centric products: one by one, in large numbers, and continuously. I believe that by doing so we will be recognized as a firm that is focused on communications, which will bear fruit for the Hitachi Cable Brand.

Guided by these themes, the Hitachi Cable Group is firmly resolved to do its utmost to improve business performance and achieve new growth. We ask for your continued support and cooperation in these efforts.

*1	"Empowering Energy & Communication" is registered trademark of Hitachi Cable, Ltd.