As has been said, the 21st century is the Century of Water, and it’s also the century in which we will demonstrate our true strengths as a Group.11reforms, including device development and construction measures and safety management initiatives, have proceeded to plan and that we are fully prepared for the completion of evolution and growth as a New Business Contractor in the remaining two years. The post-merger integration (PMI) of Axisware, an IT architect firm that joined the Group in February 2021, has been completed as planned. More recently, in a joint investment project with NTT Group, we established NXTField, a new company that supports construction site DX services, in April 2022. Drawing on both TOBISHIMA Group’s construction site know-how and NTT Group’s ICT know-how in advancing technology and operations, the new company provides comprehensive DX support and ICT services for construction sites, and has drawn growing numbers of inquiries, primarily from small- to mid-sized local construction companies. For the remaining two years we will continue to consider new alliances in maintenance business areas and additional mergers and acquisitions and innovations in mechanisms based on the effective application of DX, for increased organizational agility. In this way we will achieve evolution and growth as a New Business Contractor capable of meeting wide-ranging customer needs.Our quantitative progress in the year ended in March 2022 was as reported in a separate section (please refer to pp.7-8). Investments in the growth business failed to proceed as expected due primarily to dampened domestic investment interest in the private sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For the remaining two years of the current Medium-Term Five-Year Plan, we will enhance efforts in investment and development in the growth business while continuing to improve the profitability of our civil engineering and building construction businesses, which constitute our core operational areas.Promoting sustainability to meet social requirements lies at the foundations of our corporate activities and corporate value. By strengthening our dialogue with stakeholders, TOBISHIMA Group is advancing TOBISHIMA SX (sustainability transformation), an initiative that seeks to fuse two types of sustainability: enterprise sustainability, based on epochal DX-led production process innovations driven by the innovative mindset encoded into our DNA; and social sustainability, based on ESG- and SDG-oriented management that embodies the spirit of Rita Riko, Compassion and Self-interest, on which TOBISHIMA was founded. In moving forward with TOBISHIMA SX, we assessed the potential impact of various social challenges, including SDGs, on Group business activities. We then selected ten priority issues, which we refer to as SX Materiality issues.Of these ten items, we would like to introduce the log piling method, a unique approach that will enable carbon sequestration underground. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, fixing the carbon and discharging oxygen. Using logs as piles in soft ground at the level of groundwater free of oxygen prevents biodegradation of the logs via rotting and termite damage. It also enables carbon to be sequestered semi-permanently underground. This method, on which we have worked steadily for some time, is drawing attention, and is expected to play a significant future role.Another topic I would like to present here is an initiative involving small- and medium-scale hydroelectric power generation. Hydroelectric power is a source of renewable energy and an eco-friendly energy resource based on the plentiful water resources in Japan. In addition to building power facilities, we are advancing the small- and medium-scale hydroelectric power business through processes ranging from research and design to operations management. Four sites are currently operating: Yonezawa Odaira (198 kw/Yamagata Prefecture), Misato Kurosawa River (199 kw/Nagano Prefecture), Misaka Kirigahara (170 kw/Gifu Prefecture), and Ochiai Hiraishi (126 kw/Gifu Prefecture). Other projects are under discussion.“The 21st century is the Century of Water.” This has been a recurring theme in publications and presentations of various scholarly and public organizations, as well as in discussions at the Japan Dam Foundation, a general incorporated foundation where I serve as planning committee chairperson. I have two forthright views regarding Japan’s water infrastructure: we need more robust protection against the powerful natural forces that intensify every year; the existing hydroelectric power stations must take a more active role in water control in their respective watersheds.IntroductionSX in TOBISHIMA Group (See pp.25-28 for more details)
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