Sanpo-yoshi Communication

President's Column] New Year's Greetings

We wish you a very Happy New Year! Thank you very much for your support during the past year.

Last year was a very difficult year for business management due to the Corona disaster, high resource prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the extremely weak yen, and the shortage of semiconductors. We were forced to accept multiple price hikes for raw materials, something we have never experienced in the past, and we reluctantly asked our customers for price revisions on a frequent basis.

The invasion of Ukraine is still not expected to be resolved (as of December 14, 2022), and although the weak yen and high oil prices are showing some signs of stabilizing, there are still some factors that will cause prices to rise, so the New Year began with a sense of uncertainty.

BOJ Governor Kuroda, who took office in March 2013 and has been in office for the longest period of time, will remain in office until April 8, 2023. Under the new governor, we cannot rule out the possibility of a "rate hike" to eliminate the yen's weakness (the Bank of Japan announced an increase in the upper limit of long-term interest rates at its December 20 Monetary Policy Meeting). In any case, as was the case last year, with such rapid changes, it is difficult even for experts to correctly predict what kind of year it will be. Rather, we may have no choice but to promptly grasp the changes that occur in front of us and respond to them as needed.

Everything has a positive and negative side. For example, the weak yen may at first glance seem to be a hardship for domestic demand-driven companies like ours, but if we look at inbound demand and exports, the weak yen can only be a positive thing. Last year, I reflected on the need to respond quickly to counteract the negative aspects, while at the same time focusing on the positive aspects that arise from them.

Various unexpected things will happen this year. I would like this to be a year in which we can act proactively by calmly assessing the positives and negatives, without turning to the right or left, or stopping to think.

All of us here at Minebea will make every effort to be of even greater service to you this year than we were last year. We look forward to your continued support and patronage.

In closing, I would like to offer my heartfelt wishes for the health and prosperity of you and your families this year.