The Japan Post Group has been expanding and enhancing its sustainability-related initiatives at a time when the rest of the world is also advancing in terms of addressing sustainability. Going forward, the Group needs to further enhance its social measures as well as its efforts to address environmental issues. Meanwhile, as demographic aging and depopulation continue to play out, society is increasing looking to the Group to fulfill important roles for the maintenance and development of local communities, a task that it has tremendous potential to achieve. The Local Co-creation Initiative is significant in this regard, both for the development of human resources and the identification of new business opportunities. I hope that the Group will demonstrate leadership to foster and scale-up the Initiative going forward while further deepening ongoing collaboration with government at both the national and local level and with citizens to build an inclusive society where no one is left behind. As for "Business and human rights," Japanese companies are advancing their own measures and are expected to make efforts beyond pro forma due diligence to contribute to the fundamental solution of related issues with a focus on human rights holders. For information disclosure, companies are now required to visualize the results of their initiatives and the impact that they have on society, which will eventually help the companies increase their corporate value. Accordingly, it is important for the Japan Post Group to evaluate its results within a certain time frame and based on numerical data.

It is important for the Japan Post Group to set its material issues in consideration of its unique features. For example, I think the Group can demonstrate its strength in the field of "safety" with regard to the recently proposed "Safe and Just Earth System Boundaries, by fulfilling lifeline functions in the event of a disaster and responding to a range of local issues. Also, the Group can revitalize local industries by making effective use of post offices located in the respective regions and can give advice and offer financial and human support to help SMEs to expand their businesses. Further, the Group can provide students who want to contribute to decarbonization and other issues in their hometowns with opportunities to do so and can also encourage young people who are highly interested in sustainability to change their behaviors based on the Group's diverse links with customers. For sustainability in general, companies are shifting from the stage of setting policies, concepts and missions to the stage of implementing them. Against this backdrop, it is essential for the Group to implement measures and make a substantial impact on society by making use of its features. I think the Group can reform its organizational ability to carry out plans by measures such as granting in-house awards to encourage employees to conduct relevant activities with ownership.

I think it is quite meaningful that the Japan Post Group, which embodies the very concept of inclusivity by way of its wide-ranging service provision business model, is working for well-being. Even if other companies withdraw from businesses in rural areas, post offices will continue to be there and are thus expected to fulfill special roles in society. Meanwhile, it is important for the Group to set its KPIs based on quantitative data. By visualizing the invisible value of services in each region and making use of the numerical data thus gained, the Group will be able to optimize its measures. I also believe that the Japan Post Group can contribute to the collection of data about the value of regions themselves, which will in turn help the Group implement more efficient measures and fulfill its accountability. Moreover, the Group needs to evaluate the well-being of its employees quantitatively in order to understand what is needed to make improvements. This will also help increase employees' motivation to strive for promotion. I would urge the Group to conduct a series of small pilot programs over a predefined period. This will be an effective means of becoming an organization that can embrace new challenges without being afraid of failure.

Against a backdrop of demographic aging and the hollowing out of rural communities, the economic independence of each region is an essential premise if companies are to continue to operate regional bases. I therefore propose that the Japan Post Group participate in the creation of a new economy based on the natural assets of each region. As "Nature positive," which means to restore and increase nature beyond minimizing negative impact on biodiversity, becomes a global goal, the reconstruction of primary industry, green infrastructure, and hands-on tourism are attracting attention. The number of companies working on these is still small in Japan, but the outflow of people from rural areas will continue if the conventional mass-production-for-mass-consumption model continues to be followed. The Japan Post Group has a regional network covering the entire country and so has the potential to contribute to solving such issues. I also expect that both the Group and the country itself will implement reforms by working seriously for the reconstruction of each region. I personally would like to see the Group create new businesses in each region for the establishment of a truly co-creative platform. Further, it is important to set the Group's long-term targets and work to achieve them by following the backcasting method. By clarifying the direction in which to head, the Group will be able to build an environment in which on-site workers can proactively propose new ideas.

Regarding the Group's Human Resources Policy, a special focus was placed on employees' "pride and fulfillment," based on the idea that employees will make even more contributions to the performance of the entire company if they derive a sense of pride and fulfillment from their work. human capital-oriented management differs from the management of business practices and represents a firm-wide initiative to achieve corporate strategies and to continuously increase corporate value. Based on this recognition, the Japan Post Group needs to clarify the type of talent needed, steadily implement the Human Resources Policy, and verify the ways in which the results are reflected in the corporate value. Also, for the Japan Post Group to be an organization that can respond to changes, the Group needs to support employees in their autonomous career development and provide them with an environment where they can feel pride and fulfillment in their jobs and are encouraged to take on managerial roles. Also, it is essential for the Group to empower women, which also helps promote its business. Making effective use of frontline employees is critical for organizational growth. The Group can have big impacts on local communities through the friendly service and actions of its employees. I hope that the Group will continue to implement measures that will make employees feel even prouder and more fulfilled, thereby making the organization even stronger.