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First of all, I wish to express my sincerest condolences to all those who have lost family and friends during the Great East Japan Earthquake and its aftermath. I also wish to express my deepest sympathies to those whose communities have suffered damage from the earthquake and tsunami and those who have suffered personal injury or damage to property. Further, it is with profound regret that I must report that members of the Nikon Group also died in the disaster.

In the fiscal year ended March 2011, the earthquake had a negative impact on net sales amounting to ¥8,000 million and a negative impact on operating income of ¥3,000 million. Furthermore, one plant and seven manufacturing companies in the Group sustained damage from the disaster and had to suspend operations. However, by the end of March all facilities had steadily begun to resume operations, and by the end of April 2011 we were able to restore our production capacity to the pre-quake level.

Since the earthquake, I have been moved by the high level of determination shown by the Group's front-line personnel toward recovery, as well as their strong teamwork. In extremely difficult circumstances, their efforts have exceeded senior management's expectations and we are very grateful. We have received a large number of messages of encouragement from all over the world, and we feel thankful by this overwhelming support. It has been a strong reminder of the trust enjoyed by the Nikon brand and the high expectations it carries.

In the fiscal year ended March 2011, significant factors that contributed to overall Group operating results included a recovery in market conditions for IC steppers and scanners, and growth in the market for LCD steppers and scanners in the Precision Equipment Company; continuing robust sales in the Imaging Company; and a recovery in the industrial instruments market in the Instruments Company. As well as absorbing the impacts of the earthquake and appreciation of the yen, in line with our plans we achieved an increase of 13% in net sales and a return to profitability.

In the Precision Equipment Company, underpinned by a recovery in global demand for semiconductor devices and expansion in the mobile equipment market, we recorded an increase in unit sales of the cutting-edge IC steppers and scanners and LCD steppers and scanners for large-scale LCD panels. This enabled the Precision Equipment Company to post a large increase in net sales and return to profitability. In the Imaging Company, the digital SLR camera market steadily expanded, and demand in the compact digital camera market continued to increase, driven particularly by emerging markets. These conditions meant the Imaging Company was able to absorb the effects of the appreciation of the yen and record increases in both net sales and operating income. In the Instruments Company, we focused on high-end systems for the bioscience field and worked on product launches and sales expansion of highly differentiated products in the industrial instruments field. As a result, the Instruments Company posted a large increase in net sales and reduced its operating loss for the fiscal year, while recording in the fourth quarter its first quarterly operating income in 12 quarters.

The business environment is recovering, and we envisage that the growth trend will continue during the fiscal year ending March 2012. In particular, we think that growth in emerging countries will be a key driver. Further, although the Great East Japan Earthquake caused damage to component supply chains, the situation is improving more rapidly than we originally anticipated.　

In the Precision Equipment Company, the IC stepper and scanner market is expected to remain firm, and shipments of the ArF immersion scanner NSR-S620D are anticipated to move into full swing. In the LCD stepper and scanner market, particularly in Asia we are forecasting growth in the market relating to equipment for small to medium-sized LCD panels, a product area in which Nikon excels. Based on these conditions, we anticipate substantial increases in net sales and operating income in the Precision Equipment Company in the fiscal year ending March 2012.

In the Imaging Company too, the demand for the digital camera market is expected to be firm.
However, the Nikon Group has experienced a setback with Nikon (Thailand) Co., Ltd., our production base for digital SLR cameras and interchangeable lenses, suffering inundation damage as a result of the recent floods in Thailand and although operations had been suspended since early October the drainage of water from around the area of the facilities was completed on November 26. We are putting all our energy into restoring infrastructure and production equipment of the factory aiming for some part of factory operation to resume from January 2012. Further, alternative and limited production at our partner factories in Thailand has started earlier than expected, and we have started shipment of certain digital SLR cameras and interchangeable lenses since November 30. We will continue to work towards recovery of full production with the aim of returning the production of digital SLR and interchangeable lenses to normal by the end of March 2012.

In the Instruments Company, we will continue our efforts from the previous fiscal year to expand sales of high-end systems for the bioscience field, and in the industrial instruments field we intend to move into full swing with sales of our new non-contact, three-dimensional (3D) measurement systems.

The basic thinking behind the Medium Term Management Plan is that to become a corporate group capable of continuous growth, we must transform our corporate structure into one that is very sturdy and resilient. What makes corporate growth possible is not the hit products themselves. The essential prerequisites for sustainable growth are the structures capable of producing hit products and the systems that facilitate the necessary post-sales business operations. To realize such structures, the Nikon Group has adopted four key policies. They are: "Expanding the Nikon brand," "Creating new businesses," "Realizing unified and quick-responding organizations" and "Strengthening business functions and innovating processes."

In addition to applying our full energies to realizing these basic policies, in the fiscal year ending March 2014, we are targeting net sales of ¥1,200,000 million and operating income of ¥135,000 million.

In the Precision Equipment Company, we aim to bolster competitiveness and expand market share by moving toward early, steady production and expanded sales of the NSR-S620D. We will also shorten the manufacturing lead time to six months for our cutting-edge IC steppers and scanners. By doing so, we will increase out sales opportunities during periods of market expansion and reduce inventory risk during periods of market contraction. It will also enable further cost reductions and reinforce profitability. In the LCD stepper and scanner business, we will pursue product development that responds to market needs for increasingly high-precision images.

In the Imaging Company, we will focus on raising brand recognition and strengthening brand image as we strive to become the No. 1 brand in the imaging field. To achieve this, I believe that a key theme is to pioneer emerging markets. In the past few years, we have focused on developing our brand in the BRICs markets, beginning with China, Russia and India. More recently, we established a sales subsidiary in Brazil. We have also set up a sales subsidiary in Thailand and intend to focus further on developing other markets. In order to offer our customers new ways in which to capture the world around them, Nikon also launched the Nikon 1 series, the Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lens, in October.

In the Instruments Company, we provide high-value-added products that respond to diverse customer needs. In the microscope business, we are striving to build a leading position in cutting-edge research fields, while in the measuring instruments business, we are working to build a leading position in the non-contact, 3D measurement systems field.