Message from Management

Fujitsu Limited President: Masami Yamamoto

No company, no matter how spectacular, can continue to conduct business without the Earth that we all inhabit. We believe that the essence of CSR is the transformation of business activities to suit the surrounding environment so as to leave a beautiful planet for our children.

I believe that the Fujitsu Group's businesses exist for the benefit of society, and that our business activities themselves are the embodiment of CSR. This Sustainability Report offers a look back on our activities during the previous fiscal year, as well as a glimpse ahead to 2020 to present a vision of the role that ICT should play.

Last year's Great East Japan Earthquake and the flooding in Thailand have taught us that safety and security cannot be taken for granted. The effects of climate change and the resource depletion that the world population explosion has triggered are just some of the factors indicating that the sustainability of the planet itself is sinking into crisis.

The Fujitsu Group, as stated in its medium-term vision, aspires to achieve the realization of a Human Centric Intelligent Society, a prosperous future in which people can live peacefully and securely. ICT supports myriad aspects of our lives, such as transportation, finance, food and energy. I believe in the power of ICT to transform society.

One example of this is achieving sweeping advances in computing to simulate future generations and bring us one step closer to a prosperous future society. While providing new value, we will, at the same time, enhance the energy efficiency of ICT itself.

The recent explosive proliferation of smartphones, social networking services and other technologies has given us a close-up view of both the bright and dark sides of the cyber society. As a leading company in ICT, we will work in cooperation with various entities to contribute to the creation of a safe and secure cyber society environment.

The business value chain has no borders. The Fujitsu Group, as a participant in the UN Global Compact, will support its 10 principles, listen to the views of stakeholders around the world, and press forward with the creation of a prosperous future.

[Discussion] Sadako Ogata (Special Advisor to the President, Japan International Cooperation Agency) and Masami Yamamoto (President, Fujitsu Limited)

With the advancement of the global economy, coordinated action between governments, international institutions and corporations is vital for the resolution of global issues. We asked Sadako Ogata, a respected world authority in the field of international contributions and Special Advisor to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), about the role that ICT should play in this area.

The sustainability of our planet is the biggest issue that humanity faces today. Along with the population explosion and climate change, there are also concerns about the depletion of many types of resources, including food, water and energy. With ICT driving further globalization, and the world becoming more interwoven, I sense that the role for ICT to play is growing larger. Are global ties also becoming stronger in the economic development field where JICA operates?

JICA has provided development assistance to various countries, and, during the Great East Japan Earthquake, I was surprised at the large amount of money and goods received from developing countries that are themselves facing difficult situations. There have been proposals such as rebuilding the disaster-stricken parts factories in Vietnam, while the flooding in Thailand revealed that damage to the manufacturing base in just one country can reverberate throughout the global supply chain. We are entering an era of internal and external integration, in which there is no division between domestic and foreign issues.

ICT crosses borders to support people's lives, and I am also strongly aware of the global connections. Fujitsu's ambition is to provide as many people as possible around the world with opportunity and security through ICT. ICT, as a common global language, will make it possible to undertake many types of challenges uniformly across regions. We think the ideal society is one in which people everywhere use ICT to open pathways to their own futures.

JICA has a vision of "Inclusive and Dynamic Development" through which the fruits of economic growth extend to all people. In Thailand, where the flooding occurred, for example, while some regions have prospered as global manufacturing centers, difficult living conditions remain in rural areas. Since the information revolution has exponentially broadened peoples' expectations, this situation could lead to anti-government uprisings such as the Arab Spring. Leaders need to be constantly aware of such gaps.

The scope of ICT is steadily expanding, and is even being utilized in areas like agriculture. For example, by using sensors to collect data on things such as climate and soil conditions, which used to depend on the intuition of farmers, and storing it in the cloud, we can generate a new type of wisdom. If systems like this are extended to agriculture in developing countries, it will enrich the lives of people there, and also help to resolve global food issues. Fujitsu has set out a vision of a Human Centric Intelligent Society to bring about a prosperous future, and will work to pursue this goal over the long term.

JICA provides not only the hardware side assistance, such as establishing technical and engineering colleges, but also many other softer forms of aid, such as teacher training and development of educational materials. Many developing countries have expectations for Japanese ICT and other types of cutting-edge science and technology. JICA and private companies work in partnership to resolve development issues in these countries, while, at the same time, we nurture future markets together. I hope that Fujitsu will join us in this partnership.

I believe that ICT has the power to change the world. There are many ways in which ICT will allow developing countries to bypass the growing pains of the traditional development process, such as eliminating disparities by providing opportunities without requiring the movement of people. Many companies have shown that they are motivated by nothing more than profit. Fujitsu is not one of them, and we will continue to extend the limits of Fujitsu's contribution to the world.

Note: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) made a fresh start in October 2008 when it took over the overseas economic assistance operations of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a portion of the grant aid provided by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The New JICA is a comprehensive international support institution providing technical assistance, loan assistance and grant aid - the three means of ODA (Official Development Assistance) - in an integrated manner.

Profile of Sadako Ogata
Sadako Ogata was born in 1927. After graduating from the Literature Department at the University of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo, she received a master's degree from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1976, Ogata joined the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, later serving in such posts as Envoy Extraordinary, Chairman of the UNICEF Executive Board, and Representative of Japan to the UN Commission on Human Rights. In 1990, Ogata was selected by the UN General Assembly as the 8th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, serving for 10 years beginning in 1991. In October 2003, Ogata assumed the position of President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and, since April 2012, has served as a JICA special adviser.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
JICA is an independent administrative institution established to promote international cooperation and benefit the sound development of Japan and the international economic community through contributions to the economic and social progress, as well as the reconstruction and economic stability, of developing regions of the world.