Generally, CSR tends to be viewed from a defensive standpoint, such as ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. At the Benesse Group, we like to engage in CSR activities that are more proactive and positive in their outlook, making the extra effort to conduct innovative activities that help solve problems facing society and create new value.

In championing this positive approach to CSR activities, we hold dearly to five basic principles. First, (1) a company should generate profits, create employment opportunities and pay taxes. Certainly, this is a basic principle for any company, but in the context of sustainable management, the Benesse Group has worked to ensure a consistently healthy financial position, while balancing the pursuit of earnings and living up to its corporate philosophy (Benesse=“Well-Being”).

The second principle is to (2) increase value for people at work, including employees and trading partners. The people who create value for customers are a company’s employees and its trading partners. We support the “well-being” of all staff connected with our operations through work.

The third principle is obvious but also very important: (3) pursue value for customers. We think about what value we can create and how to deliver it as we contribute to society. This continued pursuit of value is embodied by our senior high school operations, which will mark 50 years of service in 2012. These operations have grown strongly in close partnership with schools at the frontline of the education field. Here, we have created and refined products and services of considerable value for teachers and students, centered on mainstay simulated exams. Products and services in this sector also include materials to help students plan their educational paths, and support for studying abroad.

From the perspective of corporate citizenship, the fourth principle is very important: (4) engaging in social contribution activities. We think about what we can do for society. In fields ranging from education to senior and nursing care, and language and global leadership training, there are businesses that have been difficult for companies to tackle in the past. Even in these businesses, we might be able to team up with NPOs and other entities to develop solutions for social issues.

The fifth principle is to (5) conduct activities as a company that are firmly rooted in local communities and contribute to them, as demonstrated by Naoshima in Kagawa Prefecture. Dating back almost 20 years, our activities on Naoshima have created a model for revitalizing regional communities through modern art. Looking ahead, I think we need to think about Benesse’s businesses and initiatives for developing regions in the manner of Naoshima.

In February 2011, we formed the Group CSR Promotion Dept. in order to develop CSR activities across the Benesse Group based on these five principles. We subsequently established the CSR Promotion Committee, which is made up of representatives from Benesse Group companies and is leading concrete discussions.

It was amid these efforts to promote CSR activities, that the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Despite the unprecedented scale and devastation of the disaster, we still managed to deliver the large majority of products and services without delay. That we were able to do this is thanks to many employees and business partners using their initiative and acting spontaneously in the face of abnormal circumstances. This was the result of relationships of trust forged through the sharing of our thoughts each day, and the experience reaffirmed for me the importance of that.

At the same time, I felt there were still many things we could do as a corporate citizen. We made a monetary donation and provided supplies, but I felt frustrated that we were not able to support the victims of the disaster in a more direct way. We can probably raise the Benesse Group’s value as a company in an emergency by building relationships with NPOs that conduct social activities. That is to say that engaging in businesses we haven’t in the past is one way to create new social value. Learning from the recent disaster, I plan to look closely at what we can do in terms of the fourth of the five principles I outlined in this letter: engaging in social contribution activities.

The Benesse Group is a corporate group that empowers people to solve issues for themselves and to enjoy life to the full. Today we are seeing a host of new issues come to the fore, not only in Japan, but around the world. We must ask ourselves what solutions we can offer as a group to address these new challenges. As a group that aims to create new social value, we must look closely at the current situation and carefully consider this question.

The basis of CSR at the Benesse Group is activities that raise social value, which begin from our corporate philosophy: Benesse=“Well-Being.” This involves engaging sincerely with stakeholders to provide solutions to social issues through our businesses. Essentially, we seek to raise our corporate value in society from the standpoint of all stakeholders. We plan to take stock of the Group’s businesses and various activities with the aim of being a corporate group that can create new social value for everyone in the world.