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New Year Message 2018

Jan. 4, 2018


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The following "New Year Message 2018" was addressed to all officers and employees by President Tatsuo Yasunaga.

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Happy New Year.
Thank you for joining me today, and thank you as always for your contribution to Mitsui.

Today I want to discuss two topics: our commitment to the goals of our Medium-Term Management Plan, and the recently announced New Long-Term Management Vision.

Commitment to meet the goals of our Medium-Term Management Plan

In our New Medium-Term Plan we talk about three years to drive 'A strong resurgence by Mitsui & Co.'. Let me say again that to reach our goals each of us has to take real ownership of our jobs, and we also have to strengthen our existing businesses from the ground up. Achieving this will require determination and commitment.

Our group operates in very diverse areas and we have a powerful customer base, but in every area our strength comes from creating new value.

We have immense capabilities in the three axes of products, regions and corporate functions. We have business entities and talented people all around the world. We have strong marketing, finance and risk management functions, and we are committed to digital transformation. These things make us uniquely positioned to create new value.

Regionally, our future lies in localization, and functionally the key to our future is digital transformation. In each of our 4 growth areas, we see businesses moving closer to consumers. So we need to form closer relationships with local partners and grow opportunities with an eye to the global arena. We need to accelerate productivity increases and reform business models, sharing best practice with our "DT for Mitsui" strategy. This in turn will strengthen our functions as we promote unique opportunities beyond our group.

Ultimately, people are the driving force, to connect the three axes and give concrete meaning to the concept of Driving Value Creation.

New Long-Term Management Vision toward 2030

My second topic is Mitsui's New Long-Term Management Vision toward 2030.

The world is undergoing a transformation as remarkable as the industrial revolution. Disruptive technology is challenging core assumptions and dissolving boundaries.

It is essential for Mitsui to progress from 'connecting' to 'creating' to play a central role in new business development. That's why our New Vision outlines two new directions for Mitsui.

The first, is to transform the way we do business, capturing opportunities in the shift toward consumers.

The second is to re-invent our business development process to incorporate a Mitsui R&D function and turn new ideas into models that can rapidly be tested, discarded or pursued.

When change is a constant, it is up to us to find opportunities and turn them into real value. And I am certain that with our passion and commitment we can realize our 2030 vision and carry Mitsui forward on a successful, sustainable path.

In closing

We must constantly examine our approach. How can we achieve high quality growth and deliver new value? How can we use digital technology to create more value? Are we constrained by tradition or habit? I want to build a culture where people have the permission to disrupt and the courage to fail in pursuit of success. And I have no doubt that as we progress from 'connecting' to 'creating', together we will take Mitsui to the next level.

Thank you again for joining me today. I wish you and yours the very best for the year ahead.