Directly after the earthquake struck, Mazda established a taskforce headed by myself. While confirming the safety of Mazda Group employees, we assessed the extent of the damage to Group companies and suppliers and rapidly put a response plan into action. We also collected money as a relief fund for the affected areas, with donations from Mazda Group employees both in Japan and around the world. Using Mazda's existing logistic network, we collected beverages, food, and other daily necessities stored at locations of the Mazda Group and its dealerships and delivered them as aid to the devastated areas. Mazda also dispatched a medical team.

Working closely with various Group companies, Mazda deployed special vehicles from these companies to move and evacuate the vehicles of distressed Mazda customers. To ensure the safety and peace of mind of customers concerned about the effects of radiation from the damaged nuclear power facility at Fukushima, we promptly implemented measures such as radiation checks on vehicles and parts.

This array of relief efforts rallied the Group together. I personally visited dealerships across the affected areas in early April, and was deeply impressed by the strong bonds that exist among Group companies and between the Mazda Group and its customers. Those bonds are truly one of Mazda's greatest strengths.

The earthquake affected Mazda's production activities. Immediately following the earthquake, operations were suspended at Hiroshima Plant and Hofu Plant. Working closely with our suppliers, we strove to resume production quickly to minimize delay and inconvenience to our customers and deliver as many vehicles as possible, as quickly as possible. I am grateful that we succeeded in resuming normal operation in June, ahead of schedule.

We learned a number of lessons from this unprecedented crisis. While it is important to have processes and manuals in place for a variety of contingencies, when a crisis strikes it is vital to select the most effective approaches based on the true nature of the situation at hand, rather than rigidly following predetermined rules and methods.

When disasters of this magnitude strike, our first priority is to protect the lives and safety of our employees and stakeholders, while minimizing inconveniences to people in the communities neighboring where we operate. We believe this type of responsibility is one of the fundamentals of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Mazda. Guided by this principle, Mazda was prepared well in advance for earthquake response. In terms of damage prevention, we have already equipped buildings and equipment with earthquake-proofing countermeasures and have taken steps to prevent secondary damage including leakage of hazardous materials. In terms of disaster response, Mazda has implemented carefully planned measures such as evacuation training and formation of emergency contact networks.

Mazda is committed to efforts to improve these measures, making them more effective and reliable than ever. From the hard lessons of the Great East Japan Earthquake, we are fortifying our disaster preparation measures in both damage prevention and disaster response terms.

Turning our gaze outward to a global perspective, problems with energy and global warming are still pressing issues.

Mazda believes that its mission is to always deliver driving pleasure. At the same time, as an automaker we recognize that we have a solemn responsibility to society to improve our vehicles' environmental and safety performance constantly, so that our products can continue to add outstanding value to people's lives. That conviction informs the Company's Sustainable Zoom-Zoom long-term vision for technology development, announced in 2007.

At Mazda, we believe that people are our most important resource, and we aim to be a company staffed by people who enjoy their work. Many times in the past, when Mazda faced daunting challenges, it was the strength of each and every employee that saw us through. In FY2008, Mazda crystallized the collected wisdom of our preceding directors and employees, built up over more than 90 years of company history, into a set of basic principles called the Mazda Way. Since its introduction, the Mazda Way has served as a shared resource for all Mazda Group employees in Japan and overseas, fostering a Mazda approach that transcends the customs and habits of individual countries and regions. The uniting power of the Mazda Way has forged group-wide bonds of incredible strength.

The previously described SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY is an example of the results of the Mazda Way. Mazda was able to complete development of this technology because dedicated employees in diverse departments and Group companies around the globe embraced each other's challenges and set their sights on a common, ambitious goal. I am convinced that, through the Mazda Way, our employees will share globally a sense of unity, and it will drive steady growth and advancement in the years ahead.

As a company engaged in global business, Mazda is committed to contributing through its business activities to a sustainable society. We continuously implement initiatives that meet the needs of each local community. Fulfilling our responsibilities as a corporate citizen lies at the heart of our philosophy on contributing to the communities in which we do business.

In May 2010, Mazda established the Social Contribution Committee. This committee redefined the Group's existing Basic Policy for Social Contribution Effort in line with social changes. Supported by this basic policy, Mazda implements measures to contribute to society throughout Japan and around the world, based on the three pillars of "environment and safety performance," "human resources development," and "community contributions."

As an example of these efforts, in FY2010 Mazda launched a set of forest protection initiatives called Mazda-no-Mori ("Mazda Forest"). Carried out in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to rich natural features, these activities bring Mazda together with the citizens and government of the prefecture to preserve its forests. Through activities such as these, Mazda seeks to gain citizens' understanding of its efforts and perspective on CSR, while increasing opportunities to listen to the views of its various stakeholders.

As societies continue to undergo drastic changes worldwide, the employees of the Mazda Group both in Japan and abroad will make every effort to respond to the expectations of stakeholders everywhere. We are committed to introducing products with outstanding environmental and safety performance, reducing the environmental burden throughout society, contributing to society in ways that meet the needs of the regions in which we do business, and developing human resources based on the principles of the Mazda Way. Focusing on these three important themes, the Mazda Group will follow through with CSR in a uniquely Mazda Way, in order to contribute to the development of a sustainable society.