A Message  From the Chairman The Changing Nature of  Housing The Only Corporate Group  With a Comprehensive Home and Living  Environment Business JS Group Corporation Annual Report 2010 10 The JS Group is the only corporate group in Japan capable of single-handedly meeting  people’s home and living environment needs. In Japan, the approach toward housing  investment is changing significantly. The JS Group aims to accurately grasp this change  and grow its businesses by going on the offensive. To improve this situation, I expect  that in the near future a framework will  be established to correctly appraise the  This change is related to the wide- spread belief that the dwindling birthrate  and an aging population, combined with  the maturation of the real estate market,  will cause land prices to continue to  slowly decline, with the exception of  central city areas. If the values of homes  themselves drop to near zero within 15  years, as is the case today, housing  becomes a non-productive asset for  Japanese people. I believe that this changing dynamic  will lead to a situation in which people  seek companies that provide new  “ happiness” to home and living environ- ments. In anticipation of this era, the JS  Group offers products and services that  help protect the environment, such as  products that help people make their  homes more draught-proof and better  values of existing homes. If home values  are appraised appropriately, home reno- vations and maintenance will evolve from  being a simple form of spending to a  form of investment. In other words,  maintaining a home’s quality will have a  similar effect as saving money. Homes  with a strong skeleton making them safe  and resistant to earthquakes will become  assets passed down through many   generations, and the appearance and  fixtures of homes will be modernized. In Japan, housing investment is no  longer focused on new construction.  Instead, people are starting to maintain  and live in homes for longer periods  of time.