I feel that from the time it is founded a company should con- tinuously earn profits based on its management philosophy  and action guidelines, and thereby fulfill its social responsibili- ties such as rewarding shareholders, paying taxes and provid- ing employment. Also, we are in an era in which corporate activities are not  only carried out domestically, but around the world, and   companies are required to have fair and transparent internal  controls which pass global scrutiny. In recent years, Japan has  enhanced its legal framework with respect to internal controls,  Going forward, in line with this philosophy, I will do my  best as an outside director to fairly and appropriately utilize  the Company’s assets, including products, personnel and  monetary funds, to meet the expectations of shareholders and  all other stakeholders. beginning with Japan’s Corporate Law and the Financial Instru- ments and Exchange Law. In step with these developments, the  JS Group has strengthened its internal controls, positioning this  as one of the most important management issues. Fumio Sudo Outside Director JS Group Corporation Annual Report 2010 42 Yoichiro Ushioda Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Enhancing Corporate  Governance Interview With the Chairman  At the general meeting of shareholders held on June 17,  2010, the number of outside directors was increased to at  least one-third of the total. What was the objective behind  this move? Q  We increased the number of outside directors because we  wanted to create an even stronger relationship of trust with  our shareholders by adding more input to management from  outside the Company and increase the level of transparency. A  What do you expect from outside directors? Q  Our outside directors all have many years of management  experience at large Japanese companies. Based on their  abundant experience, I hope that they will help improve both  the decision-making capability of the Board of Directors and  management supervision by providing advice, drawing on their  wide-ranging and expert insight. A  You have created the new posts “Vice President,   Corporate Officer” and “Senior Corporate Officer.” Why? Q  Currently, the business environment surrounding the JS Group  is going through unprecedented change, and companies that  are unable to respond to these changes will be weeded out.  Amid this challenging environment, we decided to transfer  from a system of optimizing parts of the organization in which  individual operating companies are the main entities, to a  system in which the Group is the focus and we work to opti- mize the Group’s business overall. We also will vigorously  work to globalize our businesses in pursuit of growth. I believe  A Comment From a Newly Appointed Outside Director  Of course our management approach will depend on the  specific country. Therefore, we have to place ultimate impor- tance on dialogue with managers. Last year we brought the  Asia-Pacific division of American Standard under the Group  umbrella. We have many discussions with the management  team about corporate governance, management philosophy  and management policies so we are on the same page, and  are communicating well with one another. A  As you step up overseas business expansion,  do you have any concerns about the corporate   governance system? Q  The JS Group has a CEO for each segment as part of the  segment-based management system that goes beyond the  scope of individual operating companies. Newly added oper- ating companies are each placed in a segment, and by prac- ticing solid segment-based management we will achieve  effective corporate governance for the entire JS Group. A  Aggressive M&A activity has resulted in an increase in the  number of operating companies. What kind of corporate  governance will you institute? Q that in order to effectively carry out these strategies we must  strengthen our execution. That’s why we created the new  posts. Furthermore, by inviting many experienced business  managers from outside the Company to serve as corporate  officers, we are building a management team that is not con- strained by convention.