A suitable organizational structure is needed for taking on new challenges and creating innovation, supported by an open-minded corporate culture. As a global business enabler, we are developing an independent management system that is linked by one of the world’s premier networks. Each of our 14 business unit conducts independent business in its given field, and also collaborates and builds ties with other business units on a cross-organizational basis to make optimal use of Mitsui’s comprehensive business engineering capabilities.

We have divided the world into three broad regions—the Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), and Asia Pacific—and established a three-pronged, independent region-based system. Each of our three regional business units has expert knowledge of its given region, and together they serve as the core pillars of our global strategy. Our organization therefore combines the product and service-based strategy of our 14 headquarter business units with the region-based strategy of our regional business units. By vertically integrating these two strategies, we are building an organic global network for our business that encompasses the entire world in its matrix. We intend to meet the diverse needs of our customers in each region under this flexible system, focusing on human resource development and taking other steps in pursuit of business that is firmly grounded in each of the regions.

Administrative functions are vital for flanking and supporting our business activities, enabling us to bring together our comprehensive business engineering capabilities as a trading company. Our corporate staff divisions take charge of these functions, and have accumulated a large amount of expertise and experience in these areas. These divisions include finance professionals, risk management specialists versed in assessing and preparing risk management solutions for a wide spectrum of risks, legal experts with thorough understanding of the legal systems and related aspects of the countries in which we do business, and other professionals in areas including management, logistics control, auditing and labor. These functions support our company and the wide-ranging business we conduct throughout the world.

At Mitsui, we aim to continue to be a company that is trusted by society. Consequently, we have been endeavoring to develop and improve our corporate governance and internal controls on a global, consolidated basis. On April 1, 2006, we enacted the “Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Corporate Governance and Internal Control Principles.” As part of our corporate governance policy, we operate a Governance Committee, a Nomination Committee and a Remuneration Committee, aiming to ensure improved transparency and accountability along with clarifying the division of roles between management oversight and execution. We have also appointed external directors. In our internal control framework, we are formulating basic policies and evaluating and improving internal controls, with the Internal Controls Committee, chaired by the President and Chief Executive Officer, playing a central role. We have also conducted company-wide initiatives driven by the SOA Sec. 404 Committee to respond to the requirements for control and evaluation of financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of the United States, which became applicable to us in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.