You all express your opinions without sugarcoating anything or for the sake of ingratiation—and they are sometimes harsh opinions at that—but this is precisely why I feel that the role expected of independent outside directors is being fulfilled.Kamigama I am sure that some companies only present a medium-term management plan to their outside directors at a stage of near completion, after which they receive opinions from said outside directors in response to its content. But at Yamaha Motor, the plan was presented to us when the frame-works were in place but not yet concrete, as if the ingredients for a delicious dish were still being decided on. From there, the new Medium-Term Management Plan was evolved and taken to completion through repeated discussions and our feedback reflected throughout. In the process, I understand that Yamaha Motor’s executives were occasionally inspired by our opinions, and the sense of solidarity and collaborative spirit we had to build this plan together brought a high level of enthusiasm to the discussions.Kawai On your point regarding a sense of solidarity, shortly after I was first appointed as an outside director, the COVID-19 pandemic led to all meetings of the Audit & Supervisory Board as well as the Board of Directors being conducted online, including any prior communications pertinent to them. I was new to the position and because my areas of expertise are finance and education, at the time, I felt that it would be difficult to make up for my lack of knowledge about Yamaha Motor’s businesses and the industry in general through web conferencing alone. When I expressed these concerns, the Company arranged for me to take a tour of the factory around when COVID-19 cases had somewhat subsided, and they set aside time to explain Yamaha Motor’s businesses and strategies to me. Thanks to that level of attentive support in the beginning, I carry out my work today with a strong sense of solidarity with Yamaha Motor.Tashiro I agree with you. We now have an arrangement that actively incorporates the opinions of outside directors. Compared to when I first joined the Board of Directors, the substance of our discussions has become much richer. Whenever I ask for an explanation of certain topics to prepare for a discussion, I get a response in full and the materials provided in advance are very complete. This is why I feel that the involvement of outside directors has grown deeper and that our Board meetings have made big forward strides.Kamigama I serve as an outside director on the boards of sev-eral companies, and in that capacity, I have noticed that all companies are changing and discussions at board meetings have become much livelier. What is expected of outside direc-tors is naturally rising in step with that and the workload is growing as well, but it makes me happy to see that gover-nance at Japanese companies—Yamaha Motor included—is moving in the right direction.Tashiro Yamaha Motor has provided various opportunities for us outside directors and actively implements our opinions. One example is the Executive Personnel Committee. Outside directors comprise the majority of the committee and its roles and merits have grown every year. As Kamigama-san men-tioned earlier, our workload is rising, yes, but at the same time, we are able to confidently take on our tasks because Yamaha Motor always responds to our suggestions with sincerity.63
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