That strong sales performance is attributable to expansion in overall demand for kampo medicines and to our marketing efforts. The Japanese market for kampo medicines totals about 100 billion JPY (about $750 million), and prescription preparations account for more than 80% of the market overall. At Tsumura, we did better than merely increase our sales total in that market. Our market share increased more than one percentage point, to about 75%.

Japanese fiscal policy in the health care sector will continue to weigh heavily on drug prices. In that adverse environment, kampo offers compelling advantages in cost performance. That cost performance arises from the versatility of kampo preparations. Each preparation contains extracts from multiple medicinal herbs. The preparations thus are useful for treating a broad range of health complaints.

We expect interest in kampo preparations to continue to grow. As the industry leader, we work to promote kampo in the context of evidence-based medicine. A scientific, technology- intensive approach characterizes our efforts to maximize the kampo contribution to health.

We take the initiative in providing physicians and pharmacists throughout Japan with pertinent scientific information, including basic information about kampo and the latest research findings. Our activities include convening seminars nationwide, conducting surveys to monitor attitudes toward kampo, visiting hospitals and clinics, distributing materials through follow- up mailings and promoting kampo education in university medical schools.