Asahi Kasei was born of the concept of developing new products and providing the people of the times with products useful to their lives, and as such has diversified with the development of its businesses.

The philosophy of contributing to human life and human livelihood, an enduring idea that we have adopted as our current Group Philosophy, grew out of the concept held by the company founder ? that a company’s role should be to provide products to a broad majority of the people, inexpensively and in large quantities, so that they can enjoy the advances of modern civilization.

At the core of the Asahi Kasei Group corporate culture is the challenge of creating as many new products as possible that people will find useful in their daily lives.

Developing a broad range of businesses, the Asahi Kasei Group recognizes keenly the importance of working close to the customer and making quick business decisions. This is why we have restructured all our core businesses, expanding our high-profit businesses and growing businesses that create customer value. This has resulted in two consecutive terms of record-breaking consolidated results for the Group in the 2005 fiscal year.

From April 2006 through 2010 we will be focusing investments on our four fields of expertise, under the strategic pillars of “Expanding global businesses” and “Enhancing domestic businesses”, which is a strategy primarily representative of our housing business.

In order for the Group to continue to grow amidst a maturing Japanese economy, the expansion of global businesses becomes especially important. Rather than merely boosting our level of overseas production, we must increase our successful global businesses by developing production and sales suitable for markets worldwide.

The strengths of the Asahi Kasei Group lay in our development ofa multifaceted business model based on the wide array of markets and technologies encompassed within our seven lines of business.
Leveraging these strengths allows us to aggressively pursue the development of our businesses in a unique way.

Chemical technologies form the basis of each of our business domains. We must therefore continue to be a specialist in materials in order to maintain our competitive edge. The development of state-of-the-art components that we handle, such as thin displays and fuel cells, can only happen through innovation of materials. Changes in such materials means changes to products, which ultimately lead to changes in lifestyle and society.

Innovations in materials technology has become an increasingly important part of responding to the social demands of environmental, resource and energy conservation, and we have received numerous awards in these fields. Environmental protection activities of all industries rely heavily on our chemicals manufacturing technologies and the important role we have in its future represents a wide range of new business opportunities.

We recognize that business exists because of society, and we therefore regard corporate social responsibility (CSR) to be the most important founding element of management. In addition to our various pursuits of the past, in April 2005 we established a CSR Promotion Committee. I assumed the position of committee chairman and am making efforts to further strengthen operations that focus on the harmonization of the global environment and society.

Asahi Kasei seeks people who can think for themselves without preconceptions, and who can respond to the challenges of an ever- changing environment. We welcome and prize such human capital, whether in administrative or technical positions. Making your own mark and becoming a presence in the business world means thinking independently and fearlessly taking on new challenges.

Though the Group company you work differs depending on your business domain, employees of any part of the Asahi Kasei Group are all a common asset of the Group, and the Group holds the same principles and expectations toward all Group employees. As the Asahi Kasei Group’s Human Capital Philosophy states, our Group strives for the growth and development of both our employees and our companies by providing a place where our human capital can work with a sense of fulfillment and thrive.

We strive to provide an accommodating benefits program and a working environment that allows you to take full advantage of your own ambitions and abilities. Our barrier-free corporate environment also provides a human capital rotation system that allows a certain freedom of movement among our group companies as you follow your career aspirations.

With our wide variety of business opportunities, we hope to see you think and work independently, create new products and businesses, and achieve personal growth while contributing positively to society.