Toward a New Future

Happy New Year!

On December 15, as we were approaching the end of another year, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Japan for summit talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders agreed to begin consultations relating to joint economic activities on the four Northern Territories toward the conclusion of a bilateral peace treaty. These joint economic activities will be conducted under a special framework that does not affect the assertions by the two sides of sovereignty over the islands and, it was clearly stated, “will not harm the positions of either Japan or Russia.” Thus, the long road toward the conclusion of a peace treaty has commenced.

At the time of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Prime Minister Abe flew directly from Japan over Kyrgyzstan and just made it in time for the closing ceremony. The photo of him shaking hands with President Putin is still etched in my memory. Afterward, the continuing sanctions against Russia began. Held in such circumstances, the December summit talks therefore deserved close attention.

At the same time, there have been signs of change in the G7-led order, including the emergence of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States and the disarray in Europe following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Globalization faces a crisis too. My feelings at the beginning of the new year are that an age of new values is going to advance on a global scale.

I think our audiovisual industry is heading toward a new age as well. My reason for saying so is that the senior baby-boomers are becoming the core segment of society between the older and younger generations, and this segment is growing as they receive inheritances from their parents. Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, once again I renew my strong determination to contribute to the development of the upbeat audiovisual industry.

I would like to take this opportunity to look back on the slogans of our company in line with our medium-term business plans since 2013:
    2013: A year for nurturing hopes
    2014: Pooling our strength
    2015: A year for moving forward
    2016: A new start
    2017: Toward a new future

These slogans are also messages to the industry. I have been proclaiming “annual themes” every year for nearly four decades now, but they have taken on a special significance in the last few years. In response to prolonged deflation and following a major earthquake and change of government, the so-called Abenomics strategy got off to a start in April 2013. The Phile-web site, which was launched in 2000, has become the core of Ongen Publishing’s growth and is a really good example of “nurturing hopes.” Our slogan for 2017 is “Toward a new future.”