I would like to say a few words on the occasion of my appointment as President following yesterday's general shareholders meeting and Board of Directors' meeting.
In the immediate future, my greatest challenge will be posed by review on compliance with the New Regulatory Requirements. Needless to say, compliance with the New Regulatory Requirements will lead to further improvements in safety and reliability, and it is of the utmost importance that we work in this direction.

Our company's business would not be possible without the trust placed in us by the residents of local communities. Always keeping this in mind, we should treat compliance with the New Regulatory Requirements as a great opportunity to go back to basics and once again go over our approach to safety. I intend to leverage the entire company's resources to do everything in our power.

As you know, Japan is largely dependent on other countries for energy, and has an extremely fragile energy supply/demand structure. Therefore, in the years to come, we will need to utilize nuclear power effectively as a key power source. Our Nuclear Fuel Cycle Program will likewise prove extremely important toward using uranium resources efficiently and reducing the volume of waste materials.

The Basic Energy Plan approved by the Cabinet in April this year indicates nuclear power as an "important base-load power source that contributes to the stability of the energy supply-demand structure", and firmly advocates the "promotion" of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle. Accordingly, as one of those responsible for ensuring Japan's energy security, I intend to do whatever it takes to complete our reprocessing plant, and to share my predecessor President Kawai's conviction, that the cycle program at Rokkasho must not be shelved I will work vigorously toward establishing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and will continue to meet the expectations of the people of Rokkasho Village and Aomori Prefecture. I will put all my heart and soul into fulfilling this responsibility.