The Takara Holdings is mainly composed of the Takara Shuzo Group, which is involved in the alcoholic beverages and seasonings business, and the Takara Bio Group, which is responsible for our biomedical business. The former represents a steady and practical business which pays close attention to the daily lives of consumers. The latter is involved in state-of-the-art technologies, and hence involves some risks. However, the Group’s involvement in socially significant businesses such as gene therapy suggests large revenues in the future. We aim to maintain steady earnings from our alcoholic beverages and seasonings business, and pass these earnings along to our shareholders, while at the same strive to develop the biomedical business that has a great potential in the future. Takara Holdings is proud to have created a business portfolio that shareholders can rely on to provide practical business for today and ambitious plans for tomorrow. And I feel fortunate that I am managing a company, which is involved in bringing benefits to people. In the alcoholic beverages and seasonings business and the functional food business, the Takara Holdings contributes to people’s lives by manufacturing and selling such products as the alcoholic beverages that provide pleasure to everyday life and the foods that help maintain good health. Furthermore, in the biomedical business, we contribute to people’s lives and health through the utilization of biotechnology. I believe that these businesses are truly beneficial to one’s everyday life. We also want these businesses to provide a profit for all of our shareholders and other stakeholders. The market environment is changing rapidly because of the population decline, the result of the declining birthrate and aging population. However, we would like to meet the expectations of our shareholders and other stakeholders by adapting to these changes and continuing to grow in the medium to long term. We would appreciate your continued understanding and support.