Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (8031) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

So thank you very much. As was just introduced, my name is Onda from Corporate Sustainability Division, and I would like to thank you for taking time to join us at today's briefing. I would also like to express my appreciation to the many participants joining us online as well. Today, I will provide an update on the progress of our sustainability management. First, let me briefly outline the external environment. The key points here are responding to increasingly complex social issues and expectations for real solutions. As I shared at last year's briefing, we continue to operate in a period of transformation with ongoing and persistent volatility across countries, regions and social issues. Climate change, natural capital and human rights issues are becoming even more interconnected and complex. In this context, we believe that an integrated approach, one that views these issues holistically and drive solutions in a coordinated manner in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders will be essential. In recent years, the climate-related business environment has presented challenges with policy shifts and changing market conditions making it difficult in some cases to secure sufficient premiums and profitability. Under such circumstances, companies are expected to take the reality of transformation as a given business premise, provide a broad set of options that meet diverse needs and steadily advance initiatives from a medium- to long-term perspective. Against this backdrop, uncertainties surrounding the global energy supply-demand balance are increasing, driven by heightened geopolitical risks, including developments in the Middle East. As the risk of fragmentation and destabilization of energy supply chains become more tangible, the stable supply of energy is once again gaining importance as a fundamental prerequisite for the sustainability of economies and society. We position natural gas and LNG as real solutions that is as transition fuels that help ensure a stable energy supply during the transition to a decarbonized society. We believe that continuing to provide these energy sources in a reliable manner is not only our business responsibility, but also important social mission. And with these points in mind, I will not only provide updates on initiatives previously shared, but also discuss two areas in which we are sensing heightened interest from stakeholders, business and human rights and our integrated approach that underpins our efforts across these areas. Now this slide outlines the priority areas of our MTMP 2026. In the current plan, we have identified climate change, natural capital and business and human rights as key areas, and we have steadily advanced related initiatives while responding to the external operating environment. We have shared updates on these initiatives through our sustainability briefings and integrated reports, and we continue to refine our approach through ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, including investors. Sustainability forms the foundation of our corporate management and a medium- to long-term perspective is essential. We will continue to advance initiatives centered on these three core areas in the next MTMP as well. In pursuit of our mission, build brighter futures everywhere, we have identified material issues as a key management issue and integrated it into the advancement of our business activities. Materiality represents the risks and opportunities we face over the medium to long term and forms the basis of our MTMP and business planning. We first identified our materiality in 2015 and conducted a review in 2019. Furthermore, we carried out an additional review in 2025, incorporating a double materiality perspective and newly defined cultivate societies that respect human rights as an independent material issue. For each materiality, we develop annual action plans and monitor progress, enabling us to more effectively execute business activities aligned with our materiality. In addition, a message on materiality was delivered to employees by the President and the Chief Strategy Officer. We also held 4 materiality roundtables with the participation of all business unit Chief Operating Officers. By widely sharing the discussions internally, we are further advancing the integration of materiality into operations across our business frontlines. Let me begin with the first of our priority areas, climate change. We have set 4 interim targets toward achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Among them, the target for reducing gross GHG emissions, which does not take into account reduction contribution was newly established in 2025 based on dialogue with our investors. This slide shows the progress made in FY March 2025 against our interim targets. Gross GHG emissions decreased by 34% compared with FY March 2020, mainly due to divestments of power generation assets. GHG impact decreased by 26%, driven by the accumulation of reduction contribution projects such as renewable energy initiatives across various countries. Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from Mitsui & Company and its consolidated subsidiaries declined by 23%, primarily due to reductions in Scope 2. The renewable energy ratio in our power generation business reached 35%. These results indicate steady progress across all areas. In managing these targets, we track progress towards the interim target year while incorporating both divestments and new investments as part of our asset recycling approach. While we have already achieved the gross GHG emissions target and the renewable energy ratio target as of FY March 2025, we recognize that uncertainties surrounding policy trends and technological developments as well as potential changes in our business portfolio under the next MTMP. Accordingly, we will continue to manage our portfolio from a medium- to long-term perspective and steadily advance our efforts toward achieving the 2030 interim targets. We have also begun reviewing the calculation boundaries for GHG in preparation for sustainability disclosure standards starting from FY March 2027. Although some expansion of the calculation boundary is expected in the FY March 2026 results, we will continue to manage progress against the current target boundary in light of the need for consistency. This section outlines the key initiatives we are implementing to achieve our interim targets. We recognize that the company has proactively advanced initiatives at an early stage in business domains that lead to emissions reductions and reduction contribution. In areas such as next-generation fuels and renewable energy, we have built and nurtured our businesses over many years, working closely with our business partners through repeated cycles of trial and learning. Today, leveraging the lessons gained from these experiences, we are advancing our initiatives from multiple strategic perspectives. For gross GHG emissions, we are advancing initiatives such as the introduction of CCUS into our LNG project with bp as well as comprehensive decarbonization initiatives pursued jointly with Rio Tinto. For GHG impact, multiple reduction contribution projects that have already reached FID are expected to begin operation toward FY March 2031. One example is Blue Point, a project we are advancing with CF Industries, the world's largest ammonia producer and JERA, Japan's largest power utility. The project is scheduled to start low-carbon ammonia production at one of the world's largest scales in 2029 and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 60% compared with conventional ammonia production through the use of CCUS. For Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions for Mitsui & Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, we will further explore reduction opportunities by deploying the service of e-dash, a group company with strength in GHG visualization and reduction solutions. Next, I will explain our contribution toward the realization of a low-carbon society. To date, we have worked to reduce our carbon intensity by reshaping our business portfolio through measures such as divesting power, generation assets and investing in renewable energy. At the same time, we recognize that there remain areas in which emissions cannot be sufficiently reduced through these efforts alone. Achieving a low-carbon society requires reducing GHG emissions across entire value chains through realistic and actionable means. By leveraging our strengths, collaboration with business partners and customers across diverse industries, we will drive the development and deployment of new technologies and contribute to decarbonization across society as a whole. One example of such cross-industry collaboration in our participation in global initiatives and industry coalitions. In the oil and gas upstream sector, which is set to account for roughly 25% of global methane emissions, we are working with more than 50 upstream operators through the OGDC to reduce methane emissions. In the shipping industry, which accounts for around 3% of global GHG emissions, we participate as a strategic business partner of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, where we are working to develop low-carbon maritime transport using low-carbon fuels. Through these collaborative efforts with industry partners, we aim to continue to reducing GHG emissions across a wide range of sectors and across society as a whole. We conduct scenario analysis on both transition risks and physical risks to enhance the quality of our portfolio from a sustainability perspective. In addition to our climate-related analysis conducted to date, we have newly incorporated a natural capital perspective, enabling a more integrated view that considers the interlinkages among issues. This approach helps us strengthen our evaluation of medium- to long-term risks and opportunities and develop more effective response measures. Compared with climate change, natural capital involves a wider range of domains and indicators and the relevant factors differ by region and businesses. Through this analysis, we aim to advance our internal management metrics and identify new business opportunities that may lead to future value creation. For the analysis, we select businesses with high financial materiality and conduct both qualitative and quantitative assessments with a particular focus on sectors that may be significantly affected by tighter regulations or increased climate-related severity. Currently, we are analyzing businesses such as metallurgical coal for steel, E&P and LNG and renewable energy. We are considering disclosing the results of these analysis at a later date. Next, I'll outline our approach to business and human rights. This page provides an overview of our framework. We established our human rights policy in 2020 and have since advanced initiatives integrated with our business activities. The first pillar of our approach is the formulation and announcement of our human rights policy and its incorporation into management systems. Under strong executive level commitment, the Board of Directors oversees progress at the operational level. The second pillar is the implementation of human rights due diligence. To appropriately identify and address human rights risks among our suppliers and business partners, we continuously carry out the processes of awareness raising, risk identification, surveys and disclosure and improvements as necessary. The third pillar is our mechanism for corrective and remedial measures. In the event that potential human rights issues arise, we ensure the ability to provide appropriate corrective and remedial actions, enabling early identification and resolution of issues. We also place great importance on dialogue with investors, suppliers, local communities and other stakeholders, and we remain committed to improving our initiatives. This page outlines the approach we have taken to advance our human rights initiatives in a phased manner as well as our direction going forward. A key point is that we have expanded our initiatives continuously and systematically beginning with the establishment of a human rights policy, we have gradually strengthened our efforts by implementing human rights due diligence, enhancing our remediation and grievance mechanisms and reinforcing the overall foundation of our program. In recent years, in addition to expanding coverage, we have also focused on enhancing the effectiveness of our initiative. In particular, improving the effectiveness of human rights due diligence, our core activity requires strong awareness and ownership among employees as well as stakeholders across the value chain. On the next page, we will introduce our continuous due diligence efforts and human rights training that supports these activities. As with climate change, human rights initiatives must be addressed across the entire value chain. For this reason, our human rights due diligence begins with ensuring 100% awareness of our policies among new suppliers, followed by ongoing engagement through supplier surveys and on-site visits. This approach enables us not only to identify human rights risks, but also to build mutual understanding with on-the-ground partners and facilitate dialogue for improvement. One example is our palm oil business in Malaysia. During an on-site visit in FY March 2025, we obtained information suggesting the potential existence of human rights issues. As a follow-up, we conducted an additional on-site visit in FY March 2026. In this assessment, we worked with international certification bodies, representatives of local government certification systems and NGOs with deep local expertise. Through site visits to palm oil refineries and plantations as well as interviews with relevant stakeholders, we examined working conditions for migrant laborers and educational environments for their families. The assessment confirmed that no material issues constituting human rights violations, including forced labor or child labor were identified and that human rights risks were being appropriately managed. We recognize that continuous efforts are essential for the proper management of human rights risks. We'll continue working with certification bodies, local partners and suppliers to build a more sustainable supply chain. We're also strengthening our human rights training programs to foster a deeper awareness and understanding. In addition to training sessions tailored to employee roles and specific issues, we also conduct sessions led by external experts that include participation from suppliers and other external stakeholders. By promoting an understanding aligned with the employees' day-to-day operations, we are fostering a culture in which human rights are recognized with a strong sense of ownership while steadily deepening understanding of the need for value chain-wide engagement. This page revisits our road map and explains the key focus areas for the Next MTMP shown on the right. The first point is integration with business activities. Rather than treating human rights as a stand-alone sustainability topic, we will integrate human right risk management into our broader credit risk management framework, which forms the foundation of our business operations. This will further strengthen our overall risk management structure. The second point is the enhancement of human rights due diligence. We will broaden the scope of our due diligence beyond major suppliers to include operating companies and entire supply chain. We aim to reinforce company-wide awareness that managing human rights risks is indispensable for business operations and to build a more robust risk management framework across Mitsui & Company Group. The third point is the augmentation of corrective and remedial measures. By joining JaCER, we aim to further improve fairness and effectiveness in the operation of our grievance procedures. Building on the points mentioned earlier, this page represents concrete examples of how these initiatives are being implemented in our business operations. As part of our sustainability-related risk management across operating companies and the entire supply chain, we have established common assessment items such as respect for human rights and responses to environmental risks, including climate change and natural capital, while also setting additional checks tailored to specific business characteristics. This allows us to manage risks comprehensively and in greater details. For example, in the fishery business within the food business unit, we assess risk management at affiliated companies using the sustainability due diligence checklist we developed, which covers items such as biodiversity and water resources. We will continue improving visibility and management of sustainability-related risks across business companies and the value chain to build an effective risk management structure. At the same time, we are enhancing our remediation and grievance mechanisms to ensure preparedness should human rights issues arise. In addition to existing grievance channel available to -- available on our corporate website, we will join an external platform operated by JaCER starting in April 2026. The platform aligns with the United Nations guiding principles and provides a fairer and more effective multilingual mechanism. Through these efforts, we will strive to embed human rights considerations into our daily business operations and strengthen frontline ownership of risk management. In fact, in the survey conducted as part of our recent materiality review involving both employees and external stakeholders, human rights were recognized as a major risk, indicating that our initiatives are increasingly taking root within the organization. This page introduces our integrated approach, which we consider a hallmark of Mitsui's sustainability efforts. At the core of our sustainability philosophy is the idea that climate change, natural capital and business and human rights should not be addressed in isolation. Instead, we approach them in an integrated manner, recognizing their interconnections across our business activities. This concept was also highlighted in the Integrated Report 2025. As social issues become increasingly complex, simply addressing each risk separately may no longer be sufficient to sustain business over the medium to long term. We view an integrated approach as a means of both reducing risks and creating new business opportunities and consider our responses to social issues, not as costs, but as drivers of future competitiveness and growth. Another feature of our approach is that it is embedded directly into our investment decision-making process, which is one of our core business activities. For example, when assessing the investment decisions for the Rhodes Ridge iron ore project, we conducted comprehensive evaluations not only of business viability and profitability, but also partnerships with local communities, protection of cultural heritage and conservation of natural environment. Our participation in the project reflects recognition of Mitsui's strong commitment to sustainability. Underlying our ability to pursue such projects is the experience and know-how that we have accumulated over many years across a wide range of industries through hands-on trial and error alongside with our business partners. Through our integrated approach, we aim to embed sustainability as a fundamental element of our business, building a robust business platform resilient to external changes. Lastly, I would like to share what we aim to achieve through an integrated approach. Across our diverse businesses, we identify sustainability-related risks and opportunities from multiple perspectives and advance this approach throughout our operations. We apply an integrated approach across all phases of the value chain from raw material procurement to production and processing usage and recycling, embedding considerations related to climate change, natural capital and business and human rights. Working collaboratively with business partners and customers throughout this process represents Mitsui's distinctive approach to sustainability. All of the initiatives described today, climate change, natural capital, business and human rights and integrated approach are designed to be embedded into our business activities operated on an ongoing basis. While sustainability encompasses a broad range of areas, our focus is on identifying what is truly essential for the sustainability of our business and which areas we must prioritize. Guided by this perspective, we advance initiatives that strengthen our business over the medium to long term and enhance stakeholders' trust. We operate amid diverse stakeholders where there is rarely a single correct answer. This is why we position sustainability as a core pillar of our management, remain committed to executing our initiatives with a steady medium- to long-term perspective even as the external environment continues to fluctuate. Going forward, by continuing to provide realistic cross-industry solutions to social issues, we aim to build long-term trust with stakeholders and realize sustainable growth in corporate value. Thank you very much for your attention.

We would now like to begin our Q&A session. So if you do have a question, go ahead, please.

So I do have two questions. The first question is on Page 6. In preparation for 2030, you have an interim goal, and you did mention that you pretty much cleared this goal. Well, obviously, there are some that are unattained, but you are progressing quite steadily. But now external conditions are uncertain, and you will also reshuffle your portfolio as well. And I do understand that you're still aiming for this interim goal. But new investments, what would be some impacts that have already been fixed or with upcoming investments, what would perhaps change? So I would like to ask about your new investments and the impact of these new investments. The second question does relate to the first question. So when you choose new projects to invest in, how will sustainability be reflected in that decision? So for instance, GHG emission in the area of climate change or human rights, how will you be designing your future investments in light of these elements?

Thank you very much for the questions. So the first question I would like to respond to. So for the interim targets and the impact of new investments in light of the interim targets, every year, we do slate a new business plan. And always, we look into the year 2050, and we consider the GHG emissions for existing as well as new investments. And as of now, the overall emission and the GHG impact, both for Mitsui & Company and consolidated Scope 1 and 2, we are confirming the progress, and we are moving forward accordingly. And the second question, I would like to respond to, yes. So you questioned about the discipline of investments for new projects as well as how this reflects sustainability. So when an investment is decided, we have a forum to deliberate that new investment. So I myself leading the sustainability team attends. We look into the profitability. We look at the financial risks of that new project as well as legal risks. And in the same way, sustainability risks are also put on the table for deliberation. And we confirm whether proper sustainability initiatives are being pursued. And if it is deemed to be appropriate, then the green light is given. And that further, depending on the size of the project, it moves on to the Executive Committee deliberation and ultimately, at times to the BOD. So this is not just for climate change. This goes for human rights as well as natural capital. So thank you for the questions.

I have two questions as well. First one is about palm oil human rights value chain survey. You have done detailed survey. That's what I understood from the presentation. But on the other hand, there's a broad range of value chain that you cover. So if you continue with this type of survey, then the coverage ratio that you target may not be able to increase. So how do you balance out between these two perspectives? That's my first question. And second question is about climate change and energy -- recent energy issues, how you balance between these two? Energy is now in shortage. And carbon neutrality, which is interim target for you and more recent challenge of energy demand increase inclusive of those for data centers. How do you hit the balance between those issues in your company?

Thank you for the questions. As for the palm oil human rights due diligence and on-site visits, first of all, in our company, there are -- we bring in experts to visit the sites of the partners of the palm oil, and we have a list of questions to ask. There is a format for those questions, and we all checked all these items. And then in the Q&A session, there were no deficiencies that were found. But from the third party, during the on-site visits, those that were not involved in actual commercial transactions, there are some -- there is some information that we've heard about human rights -- possible human rights violations. So we brought this information back and at the headquarters, we talked to the business unit that is responsible. And between the business units and experts and ourselves, we have visited the site again and then focused on that specific part in our investigation. And then ultimately, we've decided that there's no human rights indication cases that were found. So in this manner, we performed due diligence.

And what about the coverage ratio by performing these detailed due diligence?

Well, our part from last year, for human rights due diligence, it's not our sustainability promotion department that is doing that, but the business units are assigned with this responsibility. And for the whole company, there may be a large number of due diligence cases that you have to perform. But by categorizing this into various business units, in terms of coverage, we may not have such a large concern. That answer your first question. And second question with regard to climate change and energy balance. Well, especially more recently, LNG and other energy supply necessity has been always at the forefront and stable supply of these energy sources as described in materiality, are management -- important management issues, and we have to ensure that stable supply is provided, and that's what we're going to do. But on the other hand, the transition to decarbonization, there are various developments that we are seeing. But from a broader perspective, we don't think that there is going to be a total reversal. And so we will continue to shift toward decarbonization. That's our estimate. So for individual projects, there may be some slowdown or delay in ramping up in some projects. So if you look at the individual projects, there may be some specific issues that you may see. But on our part, we believe that this is necessary, and we will steadily pursue the supply of even cleaner energy, and we're developing those projects in line with that. And for LNG or natural gas, we will continue to supply these resources. And on top of that, there will be next-generation fuels that will be provided as well so that we can diversify energy supply sources. So that will contribute to energy security from various perspectives in our view.

I do have two questions. In your presentation, you spoke of LNG as a realistic solution. But at the same time, there is diversification of energy sources as well. So as a business opportunity, GHG emission and bringing this down and focusing on that, Blue Point Ammonia or SAF and CCS and renewable energy. I think you are approaching various endeavors, but costs are rising and perhaps with renewable energy, the cost efficiency might not be all that high. So I know that you are undergoing many initiatives. But in terms of profitability, what will actually lead to a business where you can enjoy a higher profit? You may say all of them, but if you can perhaps pinpoint a few because Blue Point we are not sure as to the profitability, and there have been some fundings that have been announced from an energy perspective. But again, if you could perhaps give us some ideas. And the second question, and which is a similar question, but a question about renewable energy and your posture towards this initiative. So it's more than 30% or close to 30%, it's exceeded 30%. Now mainstream is struggling at the moment. So is it something that you go after regardless of profitability? So let's say, this 35% in preparation for 2050, what is the outlook? And you have something in mind? Can you disclose that to us? So that will be the second question.

All right. Then the profitability for individual projects, needless to say, we do not touch projects that underperform. So at the stage of when we deliberate a go or no-go for investments, that is discussed. So that is a common understanding throughout the company. And for the individual projects or for the individual projects, it's quite difficult to respond. But within the 3-year current MTMP, we focused on renewable energy as well as next-generation energy as well as you named a few names and mainstream, for instance, there is a challenge. And when we consider the chronological time evolution, some may be a bit in the distance or future. So for instance, hydrogen will emerge in the future, maybe around the 2030s and onwards. So under all of these circumstances, you did mention a few names and low-carbon ammonia. The Japanese government is focusing on more usage of ammonia, and they have a very strong initiative. And they are obviously offering some price difference funding as well and subsidiaries as well -- subsidies, excuse me, as well. So for the more immediate projects, that will be the low-carbon ammonia because there is a strong support structure made ready for us. Now for the renewable energies, again, the conditions will differ from project to project. So we do need to look at these one by one, make sure that we select those that will enjoy higher profit. So I think that will be an approach that we need to take. And in the U.S., for instance, not just solar energy, but power trading. In other words, what is generated, how do we trade that energy. And we can perhaps include that into the solution as well to secure again, profit for such projects. So it will be quite the combination of such initiatives, I believe. And the second question, we would like to respond to.

And as Koni-san just explained, regions that we can exert our strength, we would like to further progress our initiatives. But needless to say, risk return has to be seriously considered in terms of operation. Now this might be a common knowledge, but that is our basic policy. And on top of that, for not just renewable power generation, that alone may be lower profitability. And I think that is the general trend. So energy trading, power trading as well as initiatives that stem from renewable energy will allow us to secure profitability. So that will be a specific business model that we undertake. So in the U.S. as well as here in Japan, we are initiating commercialization of such models. And as of now, in preparation for 2030, renewable energy is an extremely important goal for us. But in 2050, when we proceed to 2050, will it sustain its criticality? We will have to consider that. Do we increase the ratio of RE or not or we do not even set a goal for RE. So that will be something that we need to discuss internally.

I have two questions. This is related to several questions earlier. Your company's decarbonization approach, well, there is a headwind for decarbonization in the world. But 2030 target has been set for you. But in 2050, as a country, there is targets for carbon neutrality that has not been changed. But is there any possibility for your company to review and revisit your target? Well, as far as renewable energy is concerned, you said that there will be several options that you would explore, but what about the possibility of changes in other energies? So more recently, coal-fired power generation may begin to see some recovery in demand. So there is thermal coal interest that you have already divested. But are you going to revisit and reconsider the possible investment in those type of projects again? That's my first question. And second one is an integrated approach that you said you are taking. So that is a positive and preferred approach. But especially for your resources-related businesses, if you are a minority investor in some projects in those businesses, so if you are to take integrated approach in these businesses, the partner that has operatorship or the partner that has larger stake in the same project, how are you going to work with those partners to take specific approaches because of the equity ratio, you may be a minority. So there may be something that you want to do, but you may not be able to do because of the stake that you have as a minority investor. So how are you addressing this issue?

Thank you. Well, 2030 interim target has been set. It's not about versus the target, but our approach as a whole is what you're asking about in my understanding. So 2030 goal involves there is some movement to stop decarbonization movements. So with regard to that, in terms of external environment, for example, Trump administration, the U.S. and some European countries in order to ensure energy security, petroleum fired -- petroleum fuel may be something that they may go back to. But LNG and natural gas is resources that are required now. So we have to hold on to that. But in the longer term, there will be a movement toward clean energy, and there is no change to that. And so we would like to continue to work on these projects. But from the commercial business perspective, because of external fluctuations, business structures or whether we can get paid with premiums for projects or whether the demand for the markets -- the market demand may be shrinking or continue to expand, you have to have a discerning eye to figure that out, and you have to make decisions on the appropriate timing to work on those projects. And that approach has not changed and will not change. With regard to the second question, integrated approach, as you said, especially for resources projects, some projects -- there are many projects where we have already all the minority stake. But because you are a minority stakeholder, you don't have to do any screening review. That's not the case. So you have to have these discussions and have alignment with other partners before you get into the projects. As for sustainability initiatives, before you sign the contract, sometimes you get fully aligned with other partners, but that may not be the case in some projects. So as a follow-up for the screening review in our company, well, with regard to sustainability, we will continue to do the follow-up for 5-year or 10-year period, that's what has been made clear since 2 years ago. So from that perspective, we will be aligned with the majority partners in our perspective and ask them to work with us. Thank you.

And I do have two questions. And I asked this last year as well about this integrated approach, GHG emission decrease. And you mentioned natural capital as well. So what is the impact of GHG emission? And is it something that you can actually incorporate into your planning in the future? And that was my understanding from last year. So within this integrated approach and in light of the natural capital as well as climate change. So in other words, it is not just climate change. If you can perhaps illustrate to us if you can proceed forward with this new approach. So I would like to hear an update from last year. And second, again, human rights and natural capital, you did mention that this is something that each of the regions/business units will be pursuing. But when you do due diligence, including on-site assessments, the environment and human rights, there are overlaps, I think. And if there is an overlap area and if you prioritize that, then I think that will be efficient and that will also serve the integrated approach. So in other words, when you conduct traceability within the value chain, it's -- you can actually note what is happening with human rights as well as natural capital. So you can actually pursue two wheels. And are you considering such an approach? In other words, to eliminate any type of redundancy in the efforts that you inject?

Thank you for the question. So the integrated approach and GHG emission through natural capital and can that contribute to climate change and GHG emissions. So we are focusing on forestries at the moment because they absorb and exclude, and so that is counted. Is that enough? No. So with natural capital, what we are doing now is we identify important areas and what are some of the impacts or interdependencies. Those are first identified. So within each business unit and within each of the assets, we look into them one by one. So again, this is in the context of important areas. And what we have understood is that for each of the businesses as well as each of the regions, the indices that we look into are quite different, meaning that GHG emission is not always the most important index, depending on the asset, it turns out. So as you questioned, climate change and natural capital, if we pursue this, both and for assets that value climate change and then that perhaps can be incorporated this dual approach. But at this point in time, what or where would be the important factors are currently under investigation. And human rights due dilutions, the second question as well as the other themes. So I would like to mention that for human rights due diligence, areas with high human rights violation, we have to tackle that first. But if human rights is more or less protected, but there is room to pursue climate change or GHG, then do we pursue that? Rather, we look into the human rights. But within the survey, we just do not follow human rights, but we also look into environmentally related elements or factors as well. So that is also included in our survey. So anything that we deem as high-risk suppliers, we look at not just human rights, but we also look into the client portion. So we look at both. Thank you. And towards the latter part of your response, so let's say, deforestation, in areas undergoing deforestation, the possibility of human rights violation, I'm sure that there is some overlap, and that was my understanding. So I felt that it was a waste to just pursue human rights. And if you take that integrated approach, as you mentioned, maybe you could include the climate aspect. So if you could perhaps include that in the future. Now for deforestation, we designate individual procurement methods and anything that falls under this category, we look into them one by one. So starting from 2026 March fiscal year, we've started this initiative.

And I would like to add on to that as well. So you mentioned in relation to human rights DD. And it is true that individual investment projects, we do look into environment. We do look into any type of human rights violation as well as natural capital. So at the entry point of any consideration of a project, we look into what is happening. Are there any measures that can be undertaken. So that is discussed. So I just wanted to add that to the response. Thank you.

I'm participating online. So MTMP is going to be announced. So I would like to ask about the definitions and GHG reduction target is there and then reduction contribution and impact target is set. So with regard to reduction contribution, new energy and CCS and forest, I think those are part of the definitions. It is characteristic of trade -- social trading firms. And so you have set this as a trading company. But I asked this question earlier, but in your target industries, Scope 3 data disclosure and reduction plan could be mandated and obligated going forward. So in terms of impact, there are various ways to contribute and there will be various measures that you can take. For example, Category 1, 4 or 11 for Scope 3. So you can broadly take the scope for this. And then you can emphasize what you're doing as an appeal to the external world. I think that could be something that you could do. This may be a bit different from your sub topic, but would it be a realistic idea at all? That's my one question, only question.

Thank you for the question. So GHG impact that we are presenting, as you said, this covers Scope 3 and Category 15 only. But what about other categories? Well, that's what you're asking about and that's my understanding. And with regard to Scope 3, there is difficulty. From March 2023, in our company, investors and partners are asking about what about other categories, that's what we get asked. So we have started the whole Scope 3 disclosure since that year. But with regard to this calculation method, before the regulatory requirements for disclosure, there's improvements made for calculation method in our understanding. And incorporating this into our goal is actually varied in terms of calculation method and estimate method from company to company. So it's going to be very difficult to make comparison between companies. So how important significant would it be to incorporate that into our own goal, that's what we're wondering about now. So if you look at these figures, and incorporating share numbers into objectives or goals is a bit too early in our view. So with regard to GHG impact, we will continue on with category 15 Scope 3 because that will be having a large impact on our business. So we would like to stay on that course for the time being. But as you said, with regard to Scope 3, I think as a comprehensive trading company, these are the impact of the results of what we have done as a business activities. And this has not been included in this year, but in sustainability briefing last year, Scope 3 reduction or businesses that we're working on that will contribute to reduction of Scope 3 in what part of the value chain are we doing our businesses? And the scopes -- what part of the value chain is contributing to Scope 3 reduction. That was presented. We would like to wait for the rules to be decided in terms of numbers, but we would like to disclose what we're doing as initiatives at least, disclose that. Thank you for your advice. Thank you.

And I do have just one question. As was earlier mentioned, I do believe the impact that your company carries is quite big, and it was explained as well. But carbon intensity utilizing such initiatives. And in relation with the denominator and the numerator using the EBITDA for the numerator and then using GHG emission as well. So you generate profit, but then at one point -- at what point can you actually limit your GHG exposure. So at the stage when you can cite numbers, I think carbon intensity can be a usable KPI. So this is more of a request. Now I do have a question. For ICP, internal carbon pricing. I think every -- all of your business units use this, the internal pricing. So I think this is something that you have to be mindful about. But when you consider your investees, how will you manage in the future your ICP framework?

So carbon intensity was raised for the future. And Scope 3, we have yet to hear the official rules. So in that regard as well, it will be a future endeavor. And from our end, it is true that we have a vast variety of businesses. And is it accurate to look into carbon intensity? So what should be the denominator, what should be the numerator? And one would be GHG, obviously, but maybe intensity perhaps can be a KPI as well. But at this point in time, I believe that there are still areas that we have to iron out. And the internal carbon pricing that you raised. Again, in the investment committee, when we discuss and we [indiscernible] is issued, carbon pricing is used as a part of the simulations that are conducted. And the base case is depicted by the respective business unit, considering what will happen in the future as well. But by utilizing carbon pricing when the society changes, what will be the impact. And looking at the impact level as well, that is also included in the simulation and that is included in the [indiscernible] for discussions. So let's say that if that is a major impact upon climate change, then what will be the probability or the feasibility, if it is high, we may say that profit may drop to this extent, but this approach perhaps lends to further discussion. So this is how we use the ICP. I do hope that responds to your question.

So I was hoping that maybe some type of average can be issued by the company.

So this will conclude this session's Q&A part.

Good afternoon. I'm Tetsu Watanabe, Managing Officer and General Manager of Human Resources and General Affairs Division I. This is the agenda for this presentation. I would like to talk about Mitsui's Human Capital, and please turn the page, and this is the agenda of the presentation. Since 2023, we have been publishing the human capital report. And while today's presentation includes many items that have already been disclosed, I would like to explain the particularly important points regarding Mitsui's human capital. First, I would like to talk about Mitsui's talent management. At Mitsui, since our establishment, we have regarded people as a source of sustainable value enhancement, and we have emphasized a people-centered approach and investment in people. With the words of Takashi Masuda, the first president of former Mitsui & Company, it all starts with people as our starting point. Successive management have also made statements that place emphasis on people. From a legal perspective, there is no continuity between the former Mitsui & Company and the present Mitsui & Company, and they are totally separate entities. However, the spirit of challenge and innovation at the founding of the former Mitsui & Company and our open-mindedness and philosophies, we continue to uphold today and these taking deep root among our employees as part of our DNA is a strength of ours. This slide shows the history of our initiatives. Mitsui's roots are in trading and characteristic of the company is to flexibly change ourselves in line with changes in the environment. At the time of our establishment immediately after World War II, our mission was nation building for [indiscernible] Japan based on trading and stable securement of resources. As times have changed, we have continued to grow by reassessing our functions and roles in light of the social challenges of each period. From around this time, we looked at issues that were affecting society and continue to grow while reviewing our functions and rules leading to our current business model of create, grow and extend. In our human resource strategy as well, soon after our establishment, we launched the foreign language and business culture training program in 1952. And in 1975, we also begun transfers of employees hired overseas to Japan, forming the foundation of our current talent strategy. Our human resources strategy consists of the development of capable individuals, inclusion and strategic assignment of personnel as described in the green part. And from the next fiscal year onward as well, based on these 3 pillars, we will continue efforts to develop people who respond immediately to change and create future strategies and extract the maximum potential from each employee. Human capital is an important type of management capital that generates sustainable value, and it supports the ability to continue the ceaseless transformation of business portfolio, which is a source of competitiveness of Mitsui Group. While investment in human capital is results after multiyear initiatives with a certain level of continuity, we try to quantitatively visualize each human capital initiatives as much as possible while accelerating measures that support employees' challenges, experiences and learning and are making investments to create an environment that support sustainable value creation. This slide shows the quantitative indicators and results generated from human capital investments. In terms of quantitative impacts, there are limitations to what can be quantitatively visualized. And in many cases, most investments take the form of the execution of initiatives themselves. Among these, we have organized key items that can be visualized. For example, investment in improving the environment for selling globally takes the form of introducing a transfer choice system and work-life management support during overseas transfers. And as a result, outcomes such as increasing number of female employees, transferring improved employee retention rates and strengthened hiring capabilities are emerging. Because human capital investment is also forward-looking, investments in FY March 2023 and FY March '25 that is shown here do not necessarily appear as quantitative results. But I think you can see results have emerged from having previously executed human capital investment. In this page, you can see the key management indicator for measuring the overall results of human resources strategy, which is employee engagement. The Mitsui engagement survey is conducted once a year. The results are shown as multiple important causal categories indicated in the bottom right and positive response rates for employee engagement and employee enablement at the top. Because the important causal categories have a strong influence on employee engagement and employee enablement at the top, we believe it is important to keep the cycle turning firmly, linking it to organizational development and to improvement and review of measures centered on the important causal categories. In addition, the year-on-year change in the results of employee engagement and employee enablement are components of remuneration plans for directors of our company. From here, I'll explain initiatives to extract maximum potential from each employee. Page 10. It goes without saying that motivating and developing the skills of employees is important in order to extract the maximum potential from each employee, but we also believe it is important as a company to provide environments and mechanisms that support employees' growth. These 3 environments are shown in the figure on the right. The first is opportunities for the development of capable individuals, which is shown at the bottom. This includes diverse on-the-job experiences as well as training programs that support growth achieved through those experiences. These capable individuals work collaboratively with each other under a corporate culture where diverse values and differing opinions are respected and this inclusive culture is the second environment. Based on these 2 environments, we have established a mechanism that enables employees' autonomous career development and facilitates transfers that place the right people in the right roles beyond organizational and regional boundaries. And this is the third environment at the top indicated as one. Through these environments, employees grow further and edge closer towards having their ideal skill set, which Mitsui leverages to realize the sustainable enhancement of corporate value. Mitsui has a phrase, people make business, business cultivates people. And we believe that this relationship between employees and the company becomes a virtuous cycle of each individual career realization and value enhancement of Mitsui Group. And this is the group's value creation model from a talent perspective. Next, I'll explain the foundations for realizing the value creation model. The global talent management policy defines a common vision for Mitsui and its employees strive toward -- to realize our mission of build brighter futures everywhere and Mitsui leadership in action, which is a code to achieve this. Based on these 2 foundations, we will advance our talent strategy by leveraging talent data in blue, our global talent management platform written at the right bottom. The HR strategy meeting is as a space to check on the progress of the human resources strategy execution, a place where important themes related to people at the business unit level are explored in depth and management members hold discussions once a year. Through this foundation, we aim to continuously strengthen our human capital. The global talent management policy that I just mentioned earlier is a globally common basic policy that describes Mitsui's long inherited thinking on talent management, talent strategy, corporate culture, development, opportunities and was codified in July 2024. Through this, it further supports the active contributions of our globally diverse employees who are the bearers of sustainable value creation. This slide is related to the vision of employees to realize value creation as shown in the global talent management policy. The first component of this vision is professionalism of the employees to take on challenges across diverse products and fields and generate new value by striving for higher levels of achievement. At Mitsui, we define such people as capable individuals. The second component is related to personnel who embody our corporate culture of open mindedness, embrace diversity and innovate together with colleagues in an inclusive environment. The third component is related to personnel who have the will to continue growing autonomously, clearly define what they aim to achieve through their work and are motivated to autonomously accumulate the necessary experience and skills. We believe this is the most important component. We, as the team in charge of human resources, also put effort into developing people who can embody these 3 components. As a global common code of conduct for employees to realize the desired talent profile outlined earlier, we have established Mitsui leadership in action. It specifies the values which support challenge and innovation as part of our mission, vision and values as a code of conduct for our employees. We are advancing its practice by using it across a series of processes such as global recruitment, development, evaluation and appointment of talent and encourage employees to put it into practice. As part of the strategic assignment of personnel, we conduct annual HR strategy meetings and take stock on the diverse and wide-ranging talent of the Mitsui Group. And for important positions, we conduct succession development planning that takes into account required skills and capabilities. Now this slide is on our human resources structure within the global matrix organization. Our talent management is closely integrated with a global matrix organization structured around both business units and regions. In each business unit, under its Chief Operating Officer, the HR management personnel get an understanding of the business unit's talent and regional CHRO's take on that role for talent outside Japan. There is mutual coordination among business units to work on initiatives and develop an environment that supports the development and effective utilization of employees. In order to realize this talent development and various initiatives under the global matrix structure, we have established HR code for all employees worldwide. The HR code indicates the primary business or functional domain in which an employee is active and along with each employee company, it represents the business unit or corporate staff function that drives talent management. Through this HR code, we are realizing globally optimal assignment regardless of employment location, advance employees' medium- to long-term career development and deepen global talent management. Next, I will speak on Bloom, our global talent management system. Starting in December 2024, we integrated talent management data that had been held separately by group companies across each country and region and have been able to visualize the expertise, experience and capabilities of approximately 9,000 employees as well as each person's career aspirations. By linking the HR code I spoke on in the previous slide with Bloom, we are now able to execute our global talent strategy in a more agile and effective manner. In matching people to roles across the group globally, it is important for relevant parties to firmly grasp employees' career aspirations. At Mitsui, we conduct a talent development and utilization survey once a year. This survey includes information filled in by the employee and information where their superior fills in future development and utilization plans based on that and serves as data on that individual's career and the direction for their strategic assignment of them. Starting last year, we conducted a survey on Bloom, and we will use it as data for both HR personnel of the employing company and the business unit to advance strategic assignment of personnel. Next, I will speak on the 3 pillars of the human resources strategy and we'll focus on the particularly important initiatives in the interest of time. First is the development of capable individuals. In order to realize this, we believe that employees' attitude toward building their careers on their own ocean is extremely important. We define autonomous career development at Mitsui as proactively creating one's own unique strengths that are highly valued by customers and partners. This slide shows the process required to strongly support that approach. First, individuals focus on deepening the skills needed for their current roles. They then broaden their strengths by taking on experiences across various areas and industries. Then by continuously learning on their own initiative, they strive to become professionals who can succeed in any environment. At Mitsui, employees themselves draw a concrete road map toward achieving their goals. While we respect each individual's efforts to the greatest extent, we also believe it is important for individuals to consider what they can and should do for their colleagues while completing one's assigned duties. The second pillar is inclusion. For diverse talent to actively contribute in the workplace, we placed particular focus on aiding the active contribution of employees hired outside Japan and female employees at Mitsui & Company. Change Leader program is one of the initiatives for regionally hired employees. It is a selective program to develop leaders who proactively drive transformation in order to develop businesses by being deeply rooted in each country and region around the world. For Mitsui & Company, as one initiative toward achieving the target of 20% for percentage of female managers by FY March 2031, we implement the women leadership initiative as a selective next-generation leader development program. Both are long programs of about half a year to 1 year and through follow-up by the human resources and general affairs divisions after completion, they also lead to strengthening optimal placement such as secondments to group companies and assigning them to line manager roles and important positions in various locations. The third pillar is the strategic assignment of personnel. In assigning global talent, transferring personnel within the group are also an important element. Because employees hired outside Japan may view intergroup transfers and relocation differently to employees at Mitsui & Company in Japan, we introduced the global mobility program to standardize transfer processes and rules, lowering the hurdle for cross-border transfers. For employees of Mitsui & Company in Japan, too, with the new HR system introduced in July 2024, we introduced a system in which employees choose whether they desire a transfer or not every 3 years. By each person making a choice based on their plans and the stage of their career, employees are encouraged to think autonomously about their career plans and Mitsui by increasing the certainty of succession for a certain period makes it possible to realize strategic assignment of personnel. Here, I will speak on initiatives for assignment of personnel according to their abilities, skills and expertise. Under the HR Bulletin Board system, if they choose to, employees can challenge to apply for positions where they can fully apply their abilities, skills and expertise. In addition to applying for open positions across business units, it is also possible to present one skills and experience and request a transfer. It is possible to apply without going through one superior, and it serves as a platform for matching company needs and the will of employees beyond organizational boundaries. The expert band is a career plan for people who have mastered expertise in a specific domain separate from the line management career path such as Department General Manager or Division General Manager. It targets employees who have high special expertise and seek to deepen their careers in a specific domain, and we have introduced a flexible evaluation and compensation framework accordingly. While respecting employees' desires, we run both systems determining each individual suitability and how good a match they are for the position. At Mitsui, we position human capital as a source of sustained enhancement of corporate value and continue initiatives and investments based on our human resources strategy. We look to thoroughly understand the results, including quantitative results and through continuous improvement, apply them to developing employees and enhancing corporate value. This concludes my explanation. Now I would like to take questions. Are there any questions?

I have 2 questions. First question, the female managers ratio 2030 target, how to -- how are you going to achieve this? Is there any specific plan? So the 30% is the female managers ratio among the career course, female employees and for other male female employees, 11%. It seems that it is a bit low. And in other companies, in order to increase female managers, there is shortage of pool of female employees. How are you going to increase the female managers ratio in your company? Can you be more specific? The second question is from a broader perspective. So how are you going to disclose human capital in the global disclosure framework, if there is any thought? So already in the human capital report, based -- ISO-based disclosure is being made. But globally or rather, TISFD, there is a new task force like TISFD. So is there any global disclosure framework that you're going to use or any measures that you are taking in order to address this social global trend that you're seeing?

Thank you for the questions. For the first question about the female managers ratio for Mitsui & Company ahead of 20% target. Well, there's about slightly more than 30% of female managers in the career course, female employees, but there is a variability across generations. For example, those new graduates that are being hired, if you look at the gender ratio, last year, females exceed more than 40%, and there will be new graduates coming in next month, and it's going to be mostly 50-50 between male and females. Of course, there's a question of whether we can be in time for 2030, but it is increasing as a pool steadily. So conventionally, regardless of gender, in order to become a manager, there is a certain number of years of service and experiences, there are specific requirements, but it used to be like that, but based on the performance and capability of individual, you can have the opportunity to reach the management -- managerial level. Of course, there is a certain level of experience that is required, but you can reach the managerial level faster than previously for both male and female. So the higher generation, older generation, there is already a mechanism for female employees to reach managerial level faster. So there is some expectation from there. And another thing is the transfer choice system that I mentioned. It was just introduced and this -- time has not passed that much. But -- so in the short term, for those who are applying for this program, especially based on Japanese society for female employees to be transferred geographically, that will be important -- difficult. And there are some employees that were hesitant, but those that were actually trying -- applying for Mitsui because of this program in the new graduates and also career hiring -- hired personnel among female applicants. So if there is more of those people, then there will be further improvement in the pool of candidates for managers among female employees. But those -- none of those initiatives are not that old. So we have to closely keep looking at the developments going forward. The second one, the global human capital disclosure framework. So depending on the items of disclosure, there are some that have significance in disclosing globally, but there are others that have -- do not have that significance. If you look at hiring system in Japan, it is more relatively speaking, unique compared to other countries. For example, on a consolidated basis, there is 50,000 employees, but the industries are too varied. So you cannot go to that level in one go. But if you look at just local subsidiaries of 9,000 and there are 6,000 in Japan, so of those 6,000 people, like in the case of female managers, if they belong to those domestic subsidiaries, of course, there are items that have significance in being disclosed globally, but there are others that are not -- do not have that significance. So we have to keep looking at that. And once there is a disclosure criteria globally set, what will be the specific items that have the significance in being disclosed globally. So that's what we have to do. Does that answer your question?

I also have 2 questions. Page 7, please. So investing in hiring diverse people, and I think it's a double on this chart. So why this increase? So if you can perhaps explain the backdrop to this increase? And the second question, this is the compensation based on optimal assessment. So I think there are improvements when I look at the slide, the 60.4%. So I think there is a gender gap still. And what are some of the reasons for these results? Why is there a gender gap? And maybe it's due to the life stage differences, but how will you plan to fill this gap?

So investing into diverse recruitments. So we do hire new grads as well as mid-career hires as well. So at various seminars as well as what is also disclosed on our home page, we are emphasizing such initiatives. So enriching content, for instance, or increase Mitsui's exposure. And this is something that we have been doing from the past. However, for instance, Japanese students that are studying abroad outside of Japan, and they are interested in Mitsui & Company, we are proactively trying to tap into such students as well. And in 2 years, it's doubled. It looks like a large increase, but it is the result of these accumulated activities. Now the gender pay gap, it is, as you point out, it is about the ratio of managerial positions because there is a big gap there. And depending on the age bracket, the ratio differs. So we are not a seniority-based salary scheme. So -- but in general, the higher the age bracket, there is higher compensation, which is more or less filled with the male employees. So we do have candidates for managerial positions as well. So same capabilities, same type of work, and there is no gender difference. And when we look at it by group, just below the managerial position, there is virtually almost no gap amongst gender. So this number or the gender gap itself is shrinking.

I have a question about overseas business. Earlier, those hired overseas originally have different views about being transferred compared to those who are employed by Mitsui & Company. I can imagine the differences, but what are the specific differences? And then those that are hired overseas could come to Japan. I think there are increasing cases in your company. How are you going to -- or how are you going about overcoming those difficulties? Is there any different treatments, including compensation or mobility care provided to those who are hired overseas?

Thank you for the question. Those that are locally hired or maybe it's not the right word, those are hired regionally or overseas. With regard to mobility of those personnel, there are 2 different factors involved. First, the conventional Mitsui & Company or the conventional practice at Mitsui & Company headquarters and overseas branches, there's a division of labor. So the headquarters will figure out what to do globally. And then the local subsidiaries would figure out what to do with their local customers. That's how we used to do. And in order to do that, we decided to hire local personnel. That was the starting point for hiring local personnel. So there is a legacy from the old days and those people who are hired back then still with us, and they are actually working on that premise, and they find it worthwhile to work in Mitsui & Company, so they stay with Mitsui. So then their personnel situation is different. But on the other hand, Mitsui & Company in Japan, the people are hired, assuming that they will be transferred overseas because of a trading company. So there is a difference. And then secondly, we would like to encourage the people who are hired overseas to be transferred because it's not just their job to stay in their own regions. But the trading firms' job or Mitsui & Company's jobs, you can be transferred from one business to another as a generalist, but there are several areas where you have more expertise. So that kind of career profile that we have may not be so common in some regions or some countries. For example, I am an expert in chemicals, I am an expert in energy or so in Houston, in Mitsui, you would like to stay in the energy business. So this mindset that you can find overwhelmingly a larger number of people in the pool. But once you are employed by Mitsui, there is still other choices that you can explore. And you have to get them understand that possibility, but it takes time. So if you just ask them to sign up, well, those that are hired in Japan, they want to be transferred to overseas. That's why you chose Mitsui. But those who are hired overseas are not applying for Mitsui because of that reason at the top necessary. So -- but if you are relocated to other departments, they -- some people who are hired overseas find it increasingly exciting. And there is this mindset that we are exploring in hiring people in overseas. So those who are coming to Japan, if you don't speak Japanese, then there is still a higher level of difficulty in living in Japan. And also for the workplace, those who are hired in Japan have to be able to communicate in English basically. But when it comes to day-to-day conversation because 95% of employees are Japanese, so you tend to use Japanese language. So in that sense, those who are coming from overseas to Japan, they -- those can be concentrated in one department or one specific unit or they can get together and consult with each other about private life and professional life. So there's this mechanism that HR department can lead to provide or so when they are hired, there should be some organized structure for onboarding process for those people. Maybe those are the things that we are engaged to do. But there's a linguistic issue, but technologies can overcome those issues to a large extent. So even if we are having this type of conference on teams, nobody is participating online, but you use teams, the function and -- interpreting function and people who don't understand Japanese can understand what's going on in Japanese conversation.

I do have 2 questions. Global talent management, the introduction of Bloom. So I believe that you have been focusing on assigning the right people to the right location, but creating this visualization or transparency, are there any new findings? And are these new findings perhaps being reflected into your HR initiatives if you have a focus in a specific area? So let's say, with the ever-changing business portfolio and how you assign your resources depending on the business, there may be a gap that you've realized and you now realize that you need to approach this gap and you realize that you have to accelerate in filling this gap. So if you have something like that as a concrete example, that would be nice to know. And the second question, if I may. In relation with corporate value, you did highlight this a bit. So for instance, employee engagement. So how do you launch initiatives to further promote engagement? But once engagement is elevated, will the employees' performance elevate as well? So have you analyzed that relation? So let us say, depending on the business unit or division, I don't know what the unit will be. But with a higher engagement score, maybe business units actually have a higher performance. So in other words, is there a correlation to higher engagement and indirectly accelerating corporate value? So are there any perhaps signs of some co-relation emerging? I would like to know that as well.

Thank you for the questions. So I would like to first respond to the Bloom question and what are some of the challenges that are illustrated as a result of Bloom implementation. Now starting from 2024 year-end, we implemented Bloom globally. So it's been a little over a year now. And the challenges that have emerged through Bloom is, one, let us use Bloom to begin with. So your experiences, you need to acknowledge that, and that is how you use Bloom because we want our employees to input that into Bloom. And so the employees need to understand the merits of uploading that. And when you're in Tokyo, it's very quick. In other words, basically word of mouth, you share information, this person is talented in this domain or that domain. And now this is systemized through Bloom. But when you go to the other side of the globe, outside of Japan, that was not necessarily the case. So we wanted to make sure that this was something embedded into the day-to-day work. So it's probably the argument of whether the chicken or the egg was first. But actually registering yourself and your experiences on Bloom, somebody calls you up because they want you for a specific project. And once we accumulate these cases, I do believe that the positioning of Bloom will expand. So I would like to cite a concrete example. And it is the accumulation of various phenomenons. But one person that was hired outside of Japan and transferred to a different country, not Japan, but a different country from the original recruited country. So this person used Bloom to search for a mentor. And this mentor was somebody that was working in that location, but immediately before that person had already returned to Japan. But anyways, the request came. And this person said, all right, I will serve you as your mentor. And this person is now using this mentor as a role model. So is there a difference amongst business units? And is there a performance difference as a result? I do believe that since we are still in the inception stage, it will take a little more time to understand that. Now going on to the engagement and performance relation and translating to corporate value, that is quite a difficult theme. So in general terms, which is the reason or the cause that's up for discussion. But I think many companies conduct such engagement surveys. And there are many large institutions that offer these engagement surveys. And when we look at that massive amount of data accumulated by these firms, companies with high performance have high engagement scores. But if the engagement score is high, will it lead automatically to high performance of the company? Maybe not. We do not know. But engagement score is really low, but performance is very high. Will that formula sustain? Probably not. So maybe that sheds light on what is happening. Now having said that, internally within the company, depending on the business unit or the organization, yes, there are differences in the results of the scores. So then what are the respective performances? When we look at the, let's say, profit line, at least in the case of Mitsui, we have 16 business units and the environments and the absolute numbers demanded by -- from these business units are very different. So it's probably meaningless to make comparisons. However, business units with a higher engagement score have a tendency to be able to portray, let's say, the management message all the way down to newly joined members as well. So we confirm that. And ultimately, that will lead to better performance. I know that this was an ambiguous response. But thank you.

The talent strategy and business strategy, the linkage between these 2. As a trading firm, you have a number -- employee number system. And once you are in one specific business division, then you tend to stay on that division. If I remember correctly, so when [ Uchida-san ] stays, there's a good job system, and there were some cross business transfer, but it's been 20 years since then. So what are the strategies that you have now? And as I listen to your presentation, employees have the opportunities to choose their careers, career path. And if there are some employees that want to move to different divisions or business units. But those who have a very strong expertise in one specific business unit, then they will be required and demanded to stay. So would you give priority to that? Or if there is a [indiscernible] that will help improve their performance as well as company's performance, which one do you focus more on?

Well, it is true that a long time ago, trading firm had a rigid mindset. But there's no -- HR code is not the system that we used to have as an employee member system. So the business unit Chief Operating Officer, if they are the king and then the employees are the subjects. But you belong to this specific business unit now. And as a business unit Chief Operating Officer, I am supervising what you are doing, but through various jobs, you have to grow. That's what HR code is about. So you can see various directions that those arrows are pointing to. So in order to facilitate those movements of arrows, so even though we are calling this autonomous, employees cannot independently just move to different units, but there are 8,000, 9,000 employees, including local subsidiaries. But as a Tokyo HR department, it is impossible to control all those employees. So which business unit or which organization will be responsible for career of individual employees. So that's how -- what HR code is about. So there's horizontal movement that is also facilitated. So in Mitsui, there are cross-business unit jobs like fuel ammonia business that was mentioned in the earlier presentation. So those jobs are becoming increasingly common in Mitsui. So it just happens that you belong to a specific business unit. But in 3 years' time, that doesn't mean that you will stay in the same business unit. You don't know which business unit that you're in because that will depend on various factors. So that is the assumption that people have. And as a company, that's what we are encouraging. But on the other hand, with regard to specific expertise, specialization and generalization. So there are people who would like to take advantage of their expertise in some specialized field. And if the company sees there is this benefit, then this person would not be transferred to business unit that has nothing to do with that. But if the expertise can be used in this business unit A. But sometimes without knowing it, this expertise could be used in business unit B or the areas that straddles between the business unit A and B. So even if you have the professional specialization, you may not necessarily stay in one specific business unit. So that is the kind of profile that we would request and demand from those who are having some specialized knowledge. Thank you.

We have run over the scheduled time. So we'd like to conclude this briefing. Thank you very much for joining us out of your busy schedule today once again.