Happy New Year!

It looks like we are heading into 2002 with little idea of what direction politics, the economy, business, or share prices will take. Reforms will continue and will cast shadows around us, so a downturn in consumption is inevitable.

Since people, are in charge of their own lives, however, we must not just stand riveted to the spot. The only way forward for us is to continue to face the changes and make thorough preparations for the wonderful environment that we envision in the near future.
Everything in this world is relative. If you take a peek inside the minds of people who are trying to live forward the future, you will see that it's a case of being either positive or negative. And unless you are positive, you won't be able to make anything happen. We need to think the way positively, brilliantly and cheerfully, that is to say, it means being forward-looking and standing on the bright side.

In order to be positive, basically one must have the power to see and recognize the essence of all things. Paradoxically speaking, if one is positive, then the essence of things will appear naturally.

When I try to understand what "essence" is, I look at very familiar things around me. Writing instruments, for example. Let's say there is a variety of writing instruments in front of you. These range from deluxe items made by the likes of Mont-Blanc and Parker to items costing 100 yen and freebies. These are pencils, ballpoint pens, and fountain pens. So what is the essence of a writing instrument? Without doubt, it is the fact that it can write. How about cars? It's the fact they can move. Televisions? The fact that they show pictures. It is natural that people should want a television that is as thin as a sheet of paper. It is natural for them to be interested in PDPs (plasma display panels) and liquid crystal displays and organic EL (electroluminescent) displays and projection TVs. Accordingly, there is no doubt that this market is going to grow.

If you can recognize the essence of audio and home theater and so on, you understand the potential growth of this market.

Nevertheless, I believe that the essence of everything is the fact that people themselves are alive. There is nature, and people are embraced by that nature, and people live with other creatures. And being positive means making this life glow.

I also firmly believe that the essence of living is happiness. As an industry, we contribute to that happiness by supplying products. A manufacture or a retailer cannot exist unless it contributes to the happiness of people, of customers. For this reason, if we pray positively and make proposals for the happiness of our customers, the customers will respond and give us strength.

As we enter a new year, it is time for us to reaffirm whether or not we are being positive and adjust our orbit. My theme for 2002 is "Creation of a Cultural Base for a Happy Family". I came up with this theme based on the things I have stated repeatedly.

The world situation remains severe but precisely this makes people pursue happiness. They appreciate the meaning of happiness with the family around them. And they naturally become more passionate for the construction of the cultural bases for the transmission of information, and for the creation of networks.

The audiovisual industry is a wonderful entity for supporting this "Creation of a Cultural Base for a Happy Family." Let's be positive and make 2002 a year of solid growth.