One-third of all directors are outside directors, and the management oversight function has been enchanced.

There has been no change to the basic idea expressed in the current Mid-term Business Plan, which is stated as follows: "After appropriation of an amount equivalent to a 30% dividend payout ratio, based on a stable annual dividend payments of 24 yen per share, from the consolidated periodical net income, the Company attributes a portion of this remaining balance to the acquisition of its own shares, with comprehensive consideration of aspects such as the level of cash held, its operating performance, its share price trend, and its plan for large-scale investments."
In the new Mid-term Business Plan, we will carry out proactive investment aiming at growth, and will retain certain amount of cash on hands in order to avoid risks to the survival of the company amid the harsh, rapidly-changing economic environment.

To improve the existing rules of business recovery and closure, and to assess the circumstances of businesses more promptly, we will strengthen the mechanism for continuous monitoring and introduce Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) as the new indicator for the performance evaluation of our businesses.
In addition, we will take cost cutting measures by consolidating business processes across the entire Group.

To achieve dynamic growth in the global market, we will develop a system to recruit, train, and deploy human resources on a global basis.

To strengthen our environmental management, we will set a mid-term goal for the Group to cut CO2 emissions from its facilities by 5.4% (from the FY March 2009 level) by the end of FY March 2012.