I was appointed CEO of the Kikkoman Corporation and took the helm on June 23, 2011. My commitment now is to listen to our consumers so that we at Kikkoman can provide them with valuable products and services, while being proactive in fulfi lling our corporate social responsibility so that we attain Global Vision 2020, our vision for the future. Our broader aspiration is to be a company that is valued by people around the world.

Great East Japan Earthquake

On behalf of the Kikkoman Group, I offer my sincere condolences to the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011, and extend my sympathies to the people in the affected regions.

The disaster caused only minor direct damage to our Group, but it did have an adverse impact on a number of aspects of our supply chain. Continuing to operate and supply our products under these circumstances, we were reminded that our business is based on ties with many different people. We look forward to the early restoration and reconstruction of the affected areas and we will do what we can to contribute to the recovery of the Japanese economy.

International Exchange of Food Cultures

We understand that a fundamental element of our corporate social responsibility lies in the carrying out sound daily operations. The core mission for food companies is to reliably supply safe products of high quality at reasonable prices. Building on this mission, we also recognize the importance of contributing to society by making as much of a social contribution as we can. This thinking has encouraged us to promote an international exchange of food cultures.

In our distant past, we presented soy sauce at the 1873 Vienna International Exposition and at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris. At the Japan World Exposition 1970 in Osaka, we operated an underwater restaurant where we introduced many people to the excellent compatibility of soy sauce with wine, meat, and other Western cuisines. In more recent years, at Expo 2010 Shanghai, China, we created an exhibition on food cultures at the Japanese Industry Pavilion, and ran a Japanese-style restaurant named Murasaki. Aided by many people in both Japan and China, we were delighted to serve visitors with fi rst-class Japanese cuisine, hospitality, and ambience.

Creating a Good Working Environment

Our operations are expanding across the world and our business portfolio is also growing. This makes it increasingly important that we bolster our efforts to create an environment that encourages our diverse workforce to operate at its best. In Japan, we have introduced various training programs as well as employee support programs such as the childcare leave program launched in 1981. Outside Japan, we have been hiring and promoting local people under a basic policy of localizing management.

In fiscal 2010, we introduced an internal venture program, called K-VIP, as well as another initiative under which employees aim to achieve ambitious targets disclosed in advance. With these programs, we seek to motivate our employees to take up new challenges. I think that creating an environment in which everyone can feel fulfi lled in their work and enthusiastically go about their tasks is an indispensable component of both human resources development and corporate growth.

Kikkoman's Position on Corporate Social Responsibility

We recently produced the Kikkoman Corporate Citizenship Framework to present our position on corporate social responsibility to our stakeholders. This chart refl ects our conviction that fulfi lling our corporate social responsibility requires that we do three things: First, we must be responsible in our business as a public entity. Second, as a food company, we must promote rich and healthy food lifestyles. And third, we must become an integral part of the global community through activities unique to Kikkoman. In addition, the chart implies that these initiatives must conform to our management principles.

The day-to-day actions of each and every one of our employees are related in some way to these three requirements. Individual actions accumulate to form major corporate initiatives that help bring joy to people the world over.

In 2001, Kikkoman became the first Japanese company to sign the United Nations Global Compact. Our activities to address the challenges specifi ed in the Kikkoman Corporate Citizenship Framework mean that we pursue the ten principles defi ned in the Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.

Given that we now deliver a broad array of products and services to customers in over 100 countries, we are aware of the growing importance of acting based on the Kikkoman Corporate Citizenship Framework if we are to fulfill our responsibility to help solve global issues.

July 2011