Message from the President

Paper, and beyond

On April 1, 2017, I assumed the post of president of Japan Pulp & Paper Company Limited.

The JP Group, in response to a shifting business climate, began revamping its business structure as part of its JP Group Mid-term Business Plan 2016. The strategies we have implemented include the strengthening of production bases in the Paper Manufacturing & Processing segment and the entry of the Resources & Environment segment into the renewable energy generation business, together with the expansion of its wastepaper recycling operation sites. In addition, we have enhanced the Group’s global network for the Non-Japan Wholesaling business and improved the earnings power of its Real Estate Leasing activities through effective asset utilization. In these and other ways, we have laid an even stronger foundation for establishing these business segments as the new pillars of the Group’s operations.

The Group has also made full-fledged forays into the ICT field, an area that includes artificial intelligence and public cloud services, building platforms in preparation for the dawning “automatic society.”

Under its new JP Group Medium-term Business Plan 2019 starting from FY2017, the Group will continue to boost the efficiency of its core Japan Wholesaling business and enhance its efforts in the four business areas of Non-Japan Wholesaling, Paper Manufacturing & Processing, Resources & Environment, and Real Estate Leasing. Through these initiatives, the Group aims to achieve earnings power capable of generating ordinary income of more than 10 billion yen on a stable basis.

On behalf of the JP Group, I would like to ask for your ongoing support and encouragement for our endeavors in the years to come.

Akihiko Watanabe
President
Japan Pulp and Paper Company Limited
April 2017