Investor Relations

To Our Shareholders

We should like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your continued understanding of business operations of JR-West Group (the “Group”).

The Group very seriously takes its responsibility for the train accident on the Fukuchiyama Line we caused on April 25, 2005, and placing the safety of railway operations, its core business, as the highest priority issue, has continued to steadily implement various measures listed in the “JR-West Group Medium-Term Management Plan 2022,” which was reviewed in the COVID-19 Disaster, and its core component, the “JR-West Group Railway Safety Think-and-Act Plan 2022.”

In FY2023.3, the final year of the Plan, the Company has concentrated on improving safety and on corporate reforms to enhance its ability to respond to and create change in the face of a continuing difficult business environment, including the prolonged effects of the COVID-19 infection as well as unstable international conditions. With rail travel gradually recovering towards the end of the financial year, the Group worked together to create opportunities for customers to enjoy their journeys again and to provide hospitality, and together with the results of structural reforms, we were able to secure a profit for the first time in three years. We would like to thank once again our shareholders for their support of the Group during this period.

Looking ahead to the future, we have reexamined the raison d’etre of our group and set out “Our Purpose” as the way we want to be and formulated the “JR West Group Long-Term Vision 2032, Medium-Term Management Plan 2025” and the “JR West Group Railway Safety Think-and-Act Plan 2027” to realize this Purpose.

Based on our unwavering commitment to never again having an accident like the train accident on the Fukuchiyama Line, and in light of the safety management issues caused by the large-scale transportation disruption caused by the snowfall in January, we will work to improve safety with a strong awareness of meeting the expectations of our customers.

Based on this, under the new management plan, we will promote the revitalization and structural reform of the mobility services sector, particularly the railway business, while expanding the business area of the life design sector, which creates value by closely following the lives of customers, and building an optimal business portfolio.

And by making the most of opportunities such as the Osaka-Kansai Expo, and by co-creating and innovating with various partners, we will create a combination of social and economic value by contributing to solving social and regional issues through our business as a “company that coexists with local communities.” Together with the people we work with, we will contribute to the creation of a sustainable and hopeful society by taking on challenges and growing ourselves, and beyond that, we will work towards realizing the life envisioned by each and every one of our customers.

With regard to shareholder return, in light of our policy to emphasize stable dividends over the long-term, we plan to pay a year-end dividend of ¥75 per share and an annual dividend of ¥125 per share. The company will continue to strive for sustainable corporate value enhancement and will implement a capital policy that takes into account opportunities.

We cordially request our shareholders to understand the situation of the Group and afford continued support.

June 2023
Kazuaki Hasegawa
President and Representative Director

Kazuaki Hasegawa