The key to increasing the effectiveness of the Board of Directors is to share necessary and sufficient information with each director and to hold lively discussions. The current tone of discussion surrounding corporate governance seems to be somewhat too biased toward form and attributes, such as ratios of nationalities, genders, and degree of independence of directors. I believe that the foundation of governance is to thoroughly discuss from a multifaceted perspective what should be done to ensure that the Sumitomo Forestry Group continues to gain the trust of the general public in the future. To achieve this, the most important thing is for each director to utilize their expertise, regardless of attributes, to monitor whether the direction of execution is in line with the values and common sense of the general public, and to provide their knowledge and make recommendations.

　In terms of finance, investors have recently adopted a stricter approach toward financial discipline. Of course, it is important to increase net sales and operating income, but on the same level, the soundness of cash flows, such as ROIC and CCC, needs to be maintained as well. A company will not be valued highly if it "balances the books but has no cash."

　The business environment is becoming increasingly severe with recent geopolitical risks, disruptions to the international order due to unilateral policies and countermeasures by major powers, and economic stagnation. Nevertheless, in order to increase the corporate value of the Sumitomo Forestry Group, with its long history, I hope to contribute by looking at management from the perspectives that I have cultivated through my career experience to date.