The liability reserve for the substitutional portion of the NWP Plan of the Company and certain subsidiaries at March 31, 1998 and 1999, the most recent valuation dates, amounted to ¥242,300 million and ¥245,434 million ($2,315,415 thousand), respectively. The liability reserve for the remainder at March 31, 1998 and 1999 amounted to ¥312,194 million and ¥515,141 million ($4,859,821 thousand), respectively.  At March 31, 1998 and 1999, the aggregate fair value of the plan assets of the contributory defined benefit plans, which primarily consist of marketable securities, totaled ¥528,633 million and ¥574,893 million ($5,423,519 thousand), respectively.  The assumed rate for salary increases, the expected long-term rate of return and the discount rate for the above contributory pension plans ranged from 2.2% to 5.3%, and from 4.5% to 5.5%, and 5.5%, respectively.  The unrecognized balance of past service cost as of March 31, 1999 was ¥172,991 million ($1,631,991 thousand). Amortization of past service cost for the years ended March 31, 1997, 1998 and 1999 totaled ¥5,578 million, ¥6,064 million and ¥10,677 million ($100,726 thousand), respectively. Effective January 1, 1999, the Company and most consolidated subsidiaries in Japan decided to shift their severance benefit plans to contributory defined benefit plans. For the year ended March 31, 2000, the shift covered only employees who retire at the age of sixty and, therefore, there was no accompanying reversal of accrued severance benefits. The unrecognized past service cost resulting from this shift is being amortized over 9 years.  Most subsidiaries outside Japan have defined benefit pension plans and/or defined contribution pension plans covering substantially all employees. The major plan is the ICL Group Pension Plan, which is a defined benefit plan. The pension cost of this plan is calculated by the projected unit method. The plan is subject to formal actuarial valuation, but the fair value of the plan assets tentatively estimated at April 5, 1999 was almost sufficient to cover the actuarial present value of future benefit obligations. The revised IAS No. 19 requires that the cost of providing retirement benefits be determined by the accrued benefit valuation method. The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries in Japan, as of April 1, 2000, estimate the unrecognized net obligation upon application of the new accounting standards as follows: Pension and severance plan (The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries in Japan) Unrecognized net obligation upon application of new accounting standards The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries in Japan will amortize the ¥660 billion ($6,226 million) [estimated] of the unrecognized net obligation upon application of new accounting standards with the following manners. The Company fully amortizes ¥420 billion ($3,962 million) [estimated], which is equivalent to the Company’s portion of the unrecognized net obligation. Simultaneously, the Company places its holding marketable securities in trust which is solely established for severance benefits, as described in Note 20. For the year ending March 31, 2001, approximately ¥420 billion ($3,962 million) of an extraordinary loss for amortizing the unrecognized net obligation and approximately ¥460 billion ($4,339 million) of an extraordinary gain by establishing the trust will be recorded.  The remaining ¥240 billion ($2,264 million) [estimated], which is equivalent to the unrecognized net obligation for its consolidated subsidiaries in Japan, is to be amortized over 10 years beginning the year ending March 31, 2001. The above estimation of the benefit obligations at April 1, 2000 was based on the assumed discount rate at 3.0%. Yen U.S. Dollars (billions) (millions) As of April 1, 2000 (estimated) (Unaudited) Present value of obligation ¥1,580 14,905 Fair value of plan assets 740 6,981 Beginning balance of accrued severance benefits 180 1,698 Unrecognized net obligation upon application of new accounting standards ¥ 660 6,226 $ $ 37