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29th JAPAN BEST JEWELLERY WEARER AWARDS CEREMONY
Happy New Year and we thank you for your continuous support to us throughout last year． We will strive very hard to meet your satisfaction, and we are looking forward to have your continued patronage during this year also．
We had exhibited at 29th International Jewelry Tokyo, held at Tokyo Big Sight for 4 days from 24/01/2018 to 27/01/2018．
Following the last year’s booming with strong stocks and good corporate results, it is predicted by many media that this good environment will continue in 2018. What is behind that is the expectation for the United States which supports the world economy and a large tax reduction policy by US President Trump that lowers the federal corporate tax rate prescribed from current 35％ to 20％. If much of the earnings which had flowed out overseas by tax havens and much of the earnings earned in domestic market remain in the hands of the company due to tax cuts, it will be possible to transfer funds to capital investment and employee salary increase. It seems that scenario is that the U.S economy is revitalized, global stock prices are sustained, and Japanese stocks get benefit．
Also in Japan, it is expected that 1.5％ real GDP growth in 2018 will be possible due to the expansion of special demand for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020; in 2018, peaks such as construction of the stadium and renovation of the hotel are expected and it is predicted that many companies will have full of opportunities to be benefited from special demand．It is to be thought that good results are predicted with the benefit of the strong world economy, especially for large companies．
However, these projections seem to be too optimistic． It is true that in 2017 the Nikkei average took a high price in 26 years and US stocks continued to update the historical highs. On the other hand, with the influence of monetary easing policy by developed countries, money is overflowing in the current financial market; excess money has flowed into various products with no meaning, and it is in a state of bubble, signs of the end of the financial bubble are appearing．
Furthermore, if negotiations such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which will be finalized in 2018 break down, trade friction from America may become full scale. In addition, as political and social problems are widening the gap between rich and poor in various countries, the dissatisfaction is growing．And, if further populism emerges, it affects political and social systems, giving bad influence to the real economy, too． Although it is said that the start of world economy in 2018 is favorable, but a lot of risk are coming out. And it seems that it is important to prepare to cope with the change of the environment．
And with the innovation of communication technology, especially the emergence of smartphones, the environment of our living is starting to change dramatically． Through popularization of smartphones, people created a second speech and audiovisual space, had an address, created SNS and a society．Due to technological innovation by IoT, everything has been connected with the world in less than 10 years, made people’s lives fast and dynamic． And, recently, I have been realized this in particular． The discipline has been preserved on the premise that the existing economy and society is not able to share information by centralization．
But from now on, the condition which people, information, and things are directly and constantly connected on-line will be implemented． Then, the decentralization, which is the opposite direction, would proceed. As decentralization advances, it becomes impossible to exercise value by simply mediating information and goods．And the existence, which can make the original system that exerts its own value, will become more powerful． In other words, it seems that there is a paradigm shift to deny all premises of social systems existing. Even with our industry, due to the innovation of communication technology, it is changing drastically due to the rise of companies that make use of these technologies．
Although it is said that ten years bring a lot of changes, the timing is just now, selection and power game will start and our industry might be heading toward to the next stage from now on. I think that it seems that management this year will be more difficult than ever. However, if you think that it is a good timing when you can challenge to the new things which you do not have so far, it might be a great opportunity now．
IJT, one of the biggest shows held in January, is said to be able to predict our market by feeling the atmosphere of the venue. And it was crowded with visitors. On the first day and the second day, many foreign buyers visited and it seemed that each company’s booth were crowded． Normally, on the third day and the last day, the venue becomes a little bit quiet after foreign buyers return to their home．But this year, there were a lot of Japanese visitors came on the third day and the last day. And, it looked the IJT was crowded from the first day until the last day.
We had a lot of Japanese buyers also. And in the last few years, it looked like overseas buyer-centered jewelry show, but I thought that this show seemed like Japanese jewelry show after a long absence．Currently, the products we deal with are getting difficult to find, so the market price is on the upward trend and it is uncertain about the future business. But, it seems that it will be improved by how to make product line-up and how to make suggestions. Each company is struggling to to compete ruthlessly in the environment that is said to be the Red Ocean．
Under such circumstances, we shifted to a line-up of products for Japan. As a result many Japanese regular and new buyers purchased more than ever before, by our suggestions at our booth that switched the target to the Japanese buyers．
By the way, our jewelry was selected for the Jewelry Best Dresser Award for Yuko Asano this year, following the Jewelry Best Dresser Award for Yuriko Ishida last year. I hope to continue researching the trend of jewelry and to propose it to you all. We were able to get a good start with the first jewelry show of this year. I am grateful to all of you for your great help and support. And, I am looking forward to seeing you t the next show．
