In the vending machine business in Japan, building on our dominant market share of just under 80%, we will deepen partnerships with beverage manufacturers and expand our lineup of high-value-added products, including plastic bottle-specific vending machines and cup vending machines. We will also equip machines with two-way communication devices to provide dynamic pricing functions that flexibly adjust prices according to demand trends, support for QR-code payments, and services that improve vending machine operational efficiency, including sales and inventory management. Through these measures, we aim to maximize the value we provide to solve beverage manufacturers challenges.

In the store distribution business, centered on major convenience store chains in Japan, we will strengthen total solution proposals that address store-wide challenges. We will introduce high-value-added products that improve store operating efficiency, including showcases that are compatible with new fluorocarbon-free refrigerants and showcases with doors to meet environmental and energy-saving needs; counter fixtures (tea dispensers, café latte machines, and ambient display cases) that respond to diversifying consumer preferences; and vertical-standing automatic change dispensers that save both labor and space.

In manufacturing, we will pursue total cost reductions by expanding automation and in-house manufacturing of vending machine component module assembly; by reducing design costs through standardization for next-generation vending machine models and platform development for showcases; and by reviewing the use of steel and copper in response to rising material prices. Through these efforts, we will further strengthen profitability.

To strengthen our operating foundation, we will develop new fields in Japan, which are a growth area, and expand our global business. In new fields in Japan, we will horizontally deploy the heating/cooling and durability technologies that we have cultivated in the vending machine business to create markets for refrigerated pickup lockers for pre-ordered products in the food and distribution industries, as well as pharmaceutical pickup lockers in anticipation of revisions to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act. For restaurant chains, in addition to conventional drip coffee machines, we will develop and launch Japan's first domestically produced espresso machine and aim to expand our share in a market dominated by overseas manufacturers. We will also expand our business fields by deploying automation solutions that address customers' entire supply chains, such as automated picking robots for beverage manufacturers' warehouses.

In our global business, we will roll out beverage vending machines for major beverage manufacturers in India, a priority market, through collaboration with a general trading company. In existing markets, we will introduce global coffee machines to rapidly growing coffee markets, particularly China and Thailand, as well as ice cream vending machines in China, launching new products in a timely manner for each region to expand sales.