I would like to begin with a few words of welcome to everyone gathered here for this
commemoration of the 95th anniversary of OHBA ＆ CO.

On behalf of OHBA ＆ CO. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your presence here today by extending an
especially warm welcome to the members of the Ministry of Land and Transportation and related public service corporations, representatives of the academic world, our major shareholders, our clients, cooperating financial institutions and other cooperating companies. Lastly, I would like to include our special friends from the Tokyo Rotary Club of Nihonbashi, as well as the Hodogaya Country Club among many other honored guests.

We are very fortunate to be able to celebrate the 95th year since our founder Munenori Ohba opened his first office in Kotohira-cho, Shiba-ku, Tokyo on October 1, 1922. To place this in historical context, that was the year that the then British Crown Prince, later to become King Edward VIII, visited Japan; it was the year the Yuzaburo Kato Cabinet was formed, that Mussolini became prime minister of Italy, and that the Soviet Union was established. On a less earth-shaking note, it was also the year that my weekend paradise, the Hodogaya Country Club, first opened its doors. This was all during a bright era in our nation’s history when, by dint of being on the winning side in World War I, Japan was welcomed into the company of the world’s powers and became a permanent member of the League of Nations Security Council.

Founder Munenori Ohba started his career as a civil engineer in the Construction Bureau of the Ministry of Railways. Eventually, however, following a major disagreement with his boss, he resigned to start his own business. This was during an era when nongovernmental survey and civil engineering firms were extremely uncommon. He opened his office under the philosophy that, as in Western counties, survey and civil engineering work should be carried out by private enterprise rather than under the direct control of government agencies. As the nation’s railroad network expanded during the turn of the era from Taisho to Showa (mid 1920s), OHBA was commissioned to do survey and engineering work throughout the country, thus making full use of the experience gleaned from his years working in the Ministry of Railways.

Additionally, along with the expansion of Japan’s railways, demand for residential land rose in Tokyo following the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1923, giving rise to what might be called the beginning of modern housing development in Japan, thus leading OHBA into the area of housing development in addition to its railroad work. From that time on, we have committed ourselves to residential land preparation and design as a private civil engineering office.

In 1932, OHBA was commissioned to survey, design and manage construction for a large-scale residential development in Togoshi, Ebara-ku in Tokyo on land owned by the Mitsui Limited Partnership. This initiated a lasting relationship with the Mitsui Limited Partnership and Mitsui Fudosan, which has led in turn to OHBA’s current established reputation as a top-tier urban planning and civil engineering firm.

OHBA’s toughest time financially was just after World War II. Though we could not expect any contracts for public works from the Ministry of Home Affairs in the immediate postwar period, we were able to survive the hard days by taking on survey and design work for the US military in the building of roads, water and sewage works, and land preparation for the construction of airports, radar sites and housing throughout the country.

Our founder, Munenori Ohba, often said, "The work of the civil engineer will exist as long as the earth exists, and it will never cease developing.” The total company effort that OHBA put into recovery work in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and restoration efforts following World War II was a reflection of our company’s work ethic--our DNA. This ethic could be seen as alive and well in the unstinting day-and-night efforts of OHBA’s more than 100 civil engineers working closely with the survivors of the Great Northeastern Earthquake of 2011 in the cities of Ishinomaki and Onagawa and town of Yamamoto. Witnessing those efforts made a powerful impression on me that I’ll never forget. It is a source of great personal pride that we are able to move forward toward our 100th anniversary 5 years from now with outstanding employees of such high resolve and determination.

Our recovery work for the Great Northeastern Earthquake has now peaked out, but it has impressed upon us once again that our mission as consultants lies in total fulfillment of the responsibilities entrusted to us by the assigning entities and the beneficiaries of our work. I firmly believe that OHBA’s posture of low-keyed, sincere single-minded devotion represents an attitude that is the key to building up those intangible assets labeled creditability and trust. It is extremely important that each and every employee remain fully cognizant of the fact that this asset called trust, while never appearing on a balance sheet, is intimately tied to commissions and profit for the corporation, and that we continue to maintain our corporate standard of unity, enterprise and sincerity as we move forward.

As we continue on to our 100th anniversary 5 years from
now, we at OHBA ＆ CO., are striving to become an even more cutting-edge, solutions oriented company, led by directors determined to open doors to an increasingly promising future. To all of you gathered here tonight, we most sincerely look forward to your continuing support, guidance and encouragement.

And this concludes my opening speech for this 95th anniversary celebration ceremony.
Thank you for your attention.