The following "New Year Message 2026" was addressed to all officers and employees by President Kenichi Hori.

***

As we welcome 2026, I would like to share three key messages with you.

Real Solutions in a Turbulent World

Looking back on last year, the pace of change was fast and uncertainty continued. Yet across the globe, our colleagues showed resilience. Each of you took on challenges in your own fields, while drawing on the company's collective resources. I am deeply grateful for your daily efforts.
Our mission is to provide real solutions in a world that is unsettled and in industries that are constantly evolving. This is not easy. It requires preparation and a broad, long-term perspective.
Fortunately, you have worked to understand the realities our customers face and the true essence of their needs. You have acted very naturally to break down any barriers between divisions, combining expertise across fields to create practical solutions. This is Mitsui's style of innovation.
At the same time, I have seen diverse teams—people with different experiences, backgrounds, and skills—come together quickly to create new solutions. The awareness of how diversity strengthens our organization is growing everywhere in the company. This year, let us aim even higher and continue to sharpen the source of our strength: the ability to generate real solutions.

Growth Through AI

Our mission is to create long-term value and build a brighter future. To achieve this, we will continue to integrate AI technology into our businesses, with ambition and careful execution.
We see great potential in many fields, especially healthcare and business process outsourcing, as well as across various industrial and financial domains. On the ground, business validation and development are already underway.
This has fostered a mindset across the company: professionals are actively exploring how to apply AI. We can expect a future where younger members building their careers can use agentic AI to supplement their experience, helping them open new business opportunities. This allows them to build trust in complex negotiations and sharpen uniquely human skills—judgment, creativity, and breakthrough thinking—at a faster pace.
Experienced managers can update their knowledge through AI and share it more easily with their teams. This accelerates learning cycles across generations and business domains.
Because our members go into the field, use their professional instincts, and build empathy with partners, all of which are genuine human skills, AI becomes a powerful tool in our hands all the more. I am confident it will help us achieve even greater impact.

Preparing for the next Medium-term Management Plan

For several years, I have spoken about raising our company's "gear" by two notches. The first notch is to prepare thoroughly and take bold action in a rapidly changing environment. The second notch is to achieve pioneering results and stay ahead as a company.
Today, with only three months left in the current Medium-term Management Plan, I see that you have truly put this "two-notch" approach into practice as a team. I respect and appreciate your determination.
Thanks to your efforts, we are strengthening our existing businesses and planting seeds for the future. Building on this momentum, we aim to significantly enhance our overall corporate strength by 2030.
The next Medium-term Management Plan we have been preparing together since last year will serve as our compass. With a strong sense of balance, and by leveraging Mitsui's unique model of collaboration across industrial domains and geographical expertise, we will continue to deliver real solutions to the world.

In closing, I sincerely wish that 2026 will be a healthy and happy year for all of you and your families.