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 it caused on April 25, 2005, and has worked towards the safety of railway operations, its core business, as the highest priority issue.

In FY2024.3, we reexamined the raison d’etre of our group in future society 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, as well as working on the initiatives for them.
Regarding our business performance, we were able to achieve increases in both sales and profits for the second consecutive fiscal year, thanks to our efforts to capture demand by seizing opportunities such as booming tourism and inbound tourism, as well as structural reforms in each business field.

On March 16, 2024, the Hokuriku Shinkansen line between Kanazawa and Tsuruga opened thanks to the efforts of all concerned. We hope that the opening of the new line will bring the Hokuriku region closer to the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai region, stimulating tourism, business and other economic activities. We will also work together with the local community to accelerate the recovery and reconstruction of the areas affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

In FY2025.3, we will continue to work towards safety improvement as our foundation, with a strong awareness of meeting the wishes and expectations of our customers.
Meanwhile, the business environment is undergoing significant changes, including the emergence of labor shortages and the arrival of a society with inflation in which prices, wages, and interest rates continue to rise. Amid these circumstances, in April of this year, we updated our “Medium-Term Management Plan 2025” in order to resolve various management issues. While our basic strategy will not change, we will further focus on the promotion of measures to accelerate the realization of “Our Purpose,” such as improving safety and sustainable evolution of the railway operations, creating value together across the Group, and enhancing our ability to respond to and create change.

The opening of “JP Tower Osaka” and “INOGATE OSAKA,” which will lead to the creation of a bustling area around Osaka Station, and the preliminary town opening of “Grand Green Osaka” are coming up in FY2025.3, the opening of Hiroshima Station Building and other major projects will be completed and the Osaka-Kansai Expo will also be held in FY2026.3.

The Group will do its utmost to take advantage of these opportunities to evolve the “connections among people, communities, and societies” set forth in “Our Purpose,” to stir the heart and drive the future.

With regard to shareholder return, in light of our performance and our policy of conducting stable shareholder returns over the long-term, we have decided to increase the year-end dividend by \22.0 from the recent announcement of \62.5 per share to \84.5, resulting in an increase in the annual dividend by \22.0 from the recent announcement of \120.0 to \142.0. In addition, we will continue to strive for sustainable enhancement of corporate value and shareholder value by implementing share buybacks of up to ¥50.0 billion in FY2025.3.

We cordially request our shareholders to afford continued long-term support.

June 2024
Kazuaki Hasegawa
President and Representative Director