Since its founding in 1898, Mitsubishi Paper Mills has constantly sought to employ its technological strengths to contribute to society. By developing and marketing value-added products that anticipate the needs of the next generation, the Company has played an important role in the development of information media in Japan in the publishing and printing industries, as well as in the development of photographic technology.
Today, along with the progress of digital information society, Mitsubishi Paper Mills, as an R&D-driven enterprise, is aiming to be the "Manufacturer of High Grades and Informaiton Media".
Mitsubishi Paper Mills manufactures and sells almost the entire range of media products and materials used in all information recording processes, including not only paper for offset printing, and materials for printing plates as well as printing systems, but also carbonless and thermal paper, digital photography materials, silver halide photographic paper, and paper for inkjet printing. The Company's strategic business portfolio also includes the production of Specialty materials such as highly-functional filters.
Mitsubishi Paper Mills has production and research facilities in Japan, Germany, China, and Mexico, and this extensive network gives the Company easy access to the global market.
The exacerbation of global warming as a result of the emission of greenhouse gases has become an urgent issue in recent years. The Company is helping to address this issue through expansion of well managed forest and paper production with low energy consumption, and well as the recycling of waste materials. Specifically, thanks to its afforestation activities, the acreage of new forest planted overseas by the Company -- compared to its total paper production volume -- is one of the highest among the world's papermakers. Mitsubishi Paper Mills was also one of the first companies in Japan to obtain FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification for its paper manufacturing and marketing operations. We are continuing our efforts in this regard with the aim of extending this certification to a wider range of business operations. We are also expanding the use of timber resources from forest-thinning activities in Japan, and are pursuing a number of projects with the goal of realizing sustainable use of Japan's forests.
The recent worldwide economic downturn, in addition to the spread of paperless electronic information media, and the saturation of the paper market resulting from the shrinkage of the Japanese reading population (mainly due to the low birthrate), are likely to make operating conditions for Mitsubishi Paper Mills fairly difficult from here on. Amid these circumstances, we remain committed to realizing the Company's corporate philosophy through significant contributions to the community, which we expect will enable the Mitsubishi Paper Mills Group to achieve further growth and development.
I look forward to the continued support and encouragement of the Company's shareholders and all other stakeholders.
