Some of the minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa and adjoining countries are widely distributed through the supply chain and used in many products, and have been suspected of serving as a source of financing for armed groups, and this is known as the conflict minerals issue.
We recognize that this issue of conflict minerals, which are suspected of mining through inhumane practices and using as a source of financing for armed groups, is one of the most serious social issues, and works with our suppliers to eliminate the use of Conflict Minerals as a source of financing for armed groups. We address this issue with the following policies.

  • 1.We try to ask for the understanding of our suppliers about our response to this issue at various opportunities.
  • 2.We have built a system to manage conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) contained in our products, and promoted efforts to eliminate the use of conflict minerals when there is concern.
  • 3.In fiscal 2013, we began full-scale surveys of our suppliers on the use of conflict minerals and smelter information using the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template by RBA and GeSI.
  • 4.We are not obligated to submit a report on the use of conflict minerals to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Dodd–Frank Act passed in the USA. However, to be socially responsible with respect to this issue, we will continue to promote initiatives to eliminate the use of conflict minerals.

In order to conduct our responsible procurement, we will continue to improve our supply chain transparency and continue to work with our suppliers to eliminate conflict minerals from our products so that we avoid the proceeds from which could finance armed groups that commit human rights abuses.