June 28, 2010 New President Kaneko Press Conference

(Moderator)

We have been waiting for you. Today, the 88th Board of Directors elected a new structure. Kaneko, who has been elected President and Chairman, will give a greeting from the appointment.

(Chairman)

nice to meet you all. I'm Kaneko. Today, I would like to introduce the new system that has been appointed as an officer of Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited at today's board meeting. At the 5th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company today, Directors and Audit & Supervisory Board Members were appointed, and then the Representative Director and Standing Audit & Supervisory Board Member of Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited were appointed according to the materials at hand at the Board of Directors and Audit & Supervisory Board meetings. I will introduce it. First of all, I am Goichi Kaneko, and I was appointed Chairman and President. Thank you very much. Yoshikawa Ryoichi and Yutaka Harada were appointed as directors, and Tatsuharu Takahashi was appointed as a full-time auditor. Although I have not been present at the press conference because I am currently working for the office, Fumio Kawaguchi and Hiroshi Ishizuka were appointed as part-time corporate auditors.
Let me give you a simple greeting. I will take over the responsibility from the former Chairman Yano and manage it from today, but Expressway business is a very public business, and it will support the infrastructure that is the main artery of Japan. I feel strongly about the social mission and responsibility of the company. I was enrolled in Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd. and gained a lot of experience both in Japan and overseas, and have seen the turbulent times of Japanese economy and society from the perspective of the manufacturing industry. Expressway, which is engaged in management from today, has different fields of business, but the viewpoints essential to corporate management are the same, and we place the highest priority on customers first, safety, security and comfort. I would like to gather experience and technology, stick to the field principle, and push forward with continuous change. The business environment related to Expressway, such as social and economic conditions, is changing drastically.However, from a medium- to long-term perspective, we will always respond flexibly and swiftly to the Japanese economy and society in any situation We aim to be the number one company in the world, Expressway, that contributes. Although I am a little weak, I am aiming to become a better company while maintaining the corporate culture and corporate culture established by former Chairman Yano, and aim to become a stronger company. Officers, executives, and employees at the front line of the field all work together. I would like to do my best for stakeholders. We would like to thank all of you for your support and understanding.

 

(Moderator)

So I'd like to take your questions.

(Reporter)

In your position as chairman and president, when did you hear your appointment and when did you decide?

(Chairman)

I think I was asked in the middle of May. I don't remember the official date, but soon after, I met the Minister.

(Reporter)

As mentioned in the greeting to the employees earlier, I think my career is far from the road. How did you receive the story, and what did the president himself feel like you were asked for?

(Chairman)

I don't know exactly what was required. Perhaps he was a special advisor since retiring from the company's CEO, but has spent the past year and a half working outside the company rather than inside the company. I think there is such a point.
Regarding the first question, the Expressway company is building its infrastructure, especially in Central Japan, which has an artery where Japanese people and things move. In fact, today I think there are still many new roads being built every day. In my own words, manufacturing, and the situation where Japan is located today or in a situation where there is a sense of obstruction, through the road business, especially the communication between the local / regional and central, various services, etc. Can contribute not only to the revitalization of the region by providing services. The main reason is that I want to contribute to such places again with the people of the company.

(Reporter)

You said that you have been doing external activities for a year and a half. What kind of activities were you doing?

(Chairman)

I was doing CSR activities all the time. In particular, I've been here for the past two or three years as the Vice Chairman of the CSR Committee and the Keio Doyukai.

(Reporter)

As I mentioned in the question I mentioned earlier, when I was met and consulted with the minister, one point was what the minister said and requested, and it was said that I would aim for the world's best Expressway company. I think there are many aspects to sales, can you tell us a little more?

(Chairman)

When I met the minister and told me that I would accept it, the minister said, "I want to make this company an even more energetic company with the vitality of the private sector." Thank you. That is the first point.
I think there are two things in the world. One is quantitative, for example, the total length of the Expressway that is being operated, or in some cases sales, but it is quite difficult for sales to decide on the road toll by this company alone. can not. I think it would be hard to measure the world with such quantitative data, but I think that scale is one in a way.
Another important thing is quality. It is qualitative. For example, the quality of service, the quality of the company itself, I think this is quite consistent with CSR management. Or we want to be a company that is as good as any other Expressway company in the world, in terms of the quality of our employees.

(Reporter)

In the past, your company asked me this question because it was near the Tokyo IC, but one was if I had an impression of the Expressway when using from Tokyo and such an idea Please let me know if you have a good idea for yourself. The second is that we are very sorry as soon as we take office, but a Expressway social experiment has been started today, but would you like to make any observations?

(Chairman)

As you know, my former company location was the starting point of Tomei Expressway. Therefore, I used to commute every day. As an initial impression, I think that the service is considerably better than before. There is a service area of Ebina near me, but quite a lot of people come whenever I drop in. In the future, I would like to further enhance the service. We are a Expressway company, not an amusement park, but we would like to create a SA where you can come again with a sense of wanting to go.
A little dissatisfied is traffic. I don't know how traffic jams occur because I haven't learned enough yet, but I myself have had a problem as a user. I am thinking how to do it in the future.
This is a so-called free social experiment that started at midnight today, but the first report has arrived at my hand. It is 188km in nine sections within our service area. So far, there has been no particular congestion or trouble at the toll booths or on the main line under our jurisdiction, and we believe that we have successfully started. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has just announced the traffic forecast, but in our jurisdiction, the traffic volume after the start of the Masuho IC-Minami Alps IC on the Chubu Odan Expressway, and the 9-hour traffic volume from 0 to 9 o'clock is the week before. Compared to 275%. In addition, the traffic volume of about 30% is increasing on average for the eight sections. I asked the person in charge that it was the expected amount, so I was able to start safely and I was relieved.

(Reporter)

You mentioned that you worked on innovation at the previous company, but what exactly did you do? Also, please tell us how you intend to make use of what you have done as a private method to road companies.

(Chairman)

Although it is the original company, we swear innovation as a keyword or a vision. Since we are originally a technology company, we need to make such innovations and reforms before we can stand up as a company, but we will try to innovate and reform not only the technology department but the whole company. Was. As is often said in Fabre's insects, animals do not survive strong animals, not smart smart animals, but animals that can respond to change will survive. I think it is the way of thinking of innovation and reform or the way of life itself. Even at our Expressway company, a new business that has never existed before is based on safety, security and comfort first, but it is also about building a solid road, but this space is still I think it will be necessary to push forward with the development of new businesses, and in some cases, overseas, by taking advantage of this. We also believe that innovation is necessary within the company in terms of revitalization and efficiency.

(Reporter)

As for the story about making it free, what are your expectations and challenges?

(Chairman)

Since we started a free social experiment from today to March 31st, we intend to continuously change changes in Expressway, traffic volume and congestion, and report it to the country as data, After that, I would like to consider together how to work with the country.
The challenge to date was the immediate task of whether or not it could be introduced, and the system was successfully introduced. The challenges ahead have only just begun, so I would like to take regular data and work with the country to consider the future direction.

(Reporter)

I will ask you two points. Please tell us about your CSR management, especially about what you think about the environment and service areas since you came to this company.
Also, regarding the Expressway toll system, the 2,000 yen upper limit system is under continuous deliberation, but please tell us about your approach, policy, and thoughts on this.

(Chairman)

Regarding the first point of CSR, recently various CSRs have changed, but for me, CSR is something that we incorporate into our main business and is the main business itself. I think there is a lot to do in that. For example, the construction of the new Expressway, and how to protect the natural environment at that time, would be the theme of CSR. Or, I don't know how many people and how to work, I still don't know how many female employees are in this company, but I think there are various ways to revitalize female employees, outside and inside the company. Either way, I myself do not think that CSR is too large to plant trees in dry areas of the desert, for example. One or two examples I just mentioned in the main business that we are doing, but I think it is how to do such things properly. The world, especially Europe, is moving a little ahead, so I'd like to look forward and move forward.
Although we are talking about fees, we are fully aware that this is a deliberation, but we have heard that the decision will be made comprehensively at Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in the future based on the deliberations of the Diet. . Therefore, I want to watch the transition. And as soon as the content of the new fee system is determined, we want to be able to respond promptly.

(Reporter)

Former Chairman Yano was very enthusiastic about overseas business, but while President Kaneko has been in charge of overseas business, he taught me what impressive and how to take advantage of Mr. Yano in taking over. please.

(Chairman)

I had a great experience. In 1997, the location was Bangkok, Thailand.On the 1st of July, the Asian currency crisis occurred, and one and a half years later, Japan also experienced a storm of crisis and the economy fell to zero growth. I guess. At that time, I was the Finance Officer for Asia Pacific. Simply put, Asian countries were importing significant quantities from the United States. Until now, in relation to the Thai baht, what was bought locally at 100 and sold at 170-180, but the purchase price became 200-250 at a stroke, and it was very difficult to sell at 170-180. The mission was to survive the crisis. Thanks to us, we've created an international team, and as a result we have converged in a year and a half, and when I left Asia Pacific finance, I was able to recover quantitatively, even before the crisis began. It was a great deal, but it was my precious experience. Our company has opened an office in Vietnam and has a representative. In addition, we have an agreement with Malaysia. My strengths are many times in Vietnam, Malaysia, China and Singapore. The locals know what the road conditions are and how other transportation is going, so I think that I can adapt quickly, and when it comes to overseas business, I will talk about communication I want to make use of my experience.

(Reporter)

I'm sorry for the general question, but please give me a hobby or an inscription.

(Chairman)

My hobby is sports, but I'm older. I used to play baseball, but now I can't run, so I'm playing golf now. I don't have anything special about the inscription, but I always believe that what I can do and if I can do it is my belief.

(Reporter)

This time, I think that the correct expression is privatization from the top, from the two-person system of Chairman Yano and President Takahashi, what do you think about this?

(Chairman)

The decision was made by the minister, and it wasn't for me, so I would accept it. To be frank, I think it is difficult to do what was previously shared by two people alone, but the directors and staff are empowering each other and have come I am so confident that I am very intolerant, but do not worry. I think that I will leave it to the staff.

(Reporter)

What is your impression of the company called Central Japan Expressway?

(Chairman)

There are good points and points that need to be improved in the future. The good news is that you are an expert and probably already the best in the world for technical things. The second point is that we have a strong sense of mission. The challenge is to be more aggressive. This may be wrong because I've only met for a few days yet, or maybe I'm just coming from outside and have been shy, I want you. Innovation is not determined from the top, but each one is free to say what they want. It is that such a thing is rare. This is the challenge.

(Reporter)

How do you see the impact of this free trial on the upside and downside?

(Chairman)

I'm sorry to talk with the feeling, but one is free and will increase the number of customers, as I mentioned earlier, 30%, increasing in the first 9 hours. The Expressway toll for this amount will be zero, but the increase in traffic volume in terms of services, the increase in profits, and another major purpose is revitalization of the region. It may be difficult to measure this, but I think there are two sides. I think this is the same as why the country did this. However, it is still in the experimental stage, so I think what will happen depends on the stage after the experiment and what to do based on the investigation.

(Reporter)

It was an unusual transfer this time, but please tell us if you received a request and decided immediately or surprisingly

(Chairman)

When I got to talk, I wondered why. Of course I thought a little. It means that you did not respond immediately, but left for a day and responded.

(Moderator)

This concludes the inaugural press conference. Thank you very much.