Happy New Year to all!
I want to extend my best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.
In the current economic recession, the downturn is occurring faster than we have ever experienced. It was only the end of last October or early November when we had the feeling that the situation had taken a dark turn. In just two months, conditions became serious enough to be called a “global recession." This is actually an indication of how far the globalization of the economy has progressed. In Japan, the strong yen has also become a significant problem.
The considerable reduction in the production of automobiles, construction equipment and machine tools, which have driven the Japanese economy until now, are likely to have a severely negative impact on the Nippon Paint Group's management. Furthermore, the housing and construction industries as a whole have slowed. It appears that we have entered a very challenging management environment. What makes us even more uneasy is that we still have no idea when the economy will hit bottom, and to what extent the economy will further worsen. I wonder whether a full recovery can actually be achieved in just three years as Prime Minister Aso predicted.
No matter how difficult the situation is, we cannot simply wait in a shelter until the storm passes. That would be like sitting around and waiting to die without doing anything. The way that we act in these times of recession determines our future. I will keep this determination in mind as I steer the Nippon Paint Group.
Mr. Konosuke Matsushita, who is sometimes referred to as the “god of management," once said, “Good times are good. Bad times are even better." This means that a crisis is an opportunity to create new products and technologies. With Mr. Matsushita's words as my personal motto, I will do my best to lead the Nippon Paint Group in a way that allows us to turn the current crisis into a great opportunity.
