user1 
We had participated in the 9th International Jewelry Tokyo Autumn (IJT Autumn) held from October 27, 2021 to 29th at Pacifico Yokohama．
Even though the number of people infected with the new coronavirus (COVID-19) had been on a downward trend due to the progress of vaccination mainly in developed countries, but the epidemic of highly infectious mutant virus had started to increase the number of infection again． And the number of cases of ”breakthrough infection” that infects people who had completed vaccination has increased and there are no signs of convergence．
Even in highly vaccinated countries, the infection has re-spread, after the lockdown and the remove restriction on the mask requirement． In Japan as well, if the declaration of a state of emergency will be lifted and further easing will be implemented in stages, it is expected to see re-spread of infection, then resulted in the repetition of the regulation. And this situation will continue for a while．
I often hear that we are in a ”new normal” due to the coronavirus, but this situation is also changing every day Furniture, sundry goods, and home appliances, which were in good demand due to going out restriction and consumption from staying at home under the novel coronavirus, have started to show a backlash in demand． Even the winning companies which have adopted the change in lifestyle due to the corona disaster are in a situation where daily changes slow down the expansion of business performance．
In addition, while vaccination has spread worldwide and expectations for economic and human flow recovery have increased, the supply of crude oil from oil-producing countries has been curtailed, and crude oil prices have skyrocketed． The yen has fallen at a rapid pace from the ￥109 level to the ￥114 level against the US dollar due to the difference in interest rates between Japan and the United States together, with the sharp rise in price of crude oil, natural gas and other energy resources．This situation is likely to accelerate inflation in the future．
Before the Corona disaster, there was a global deflationary trend, and this trend was expected to continue during the Corona disaster due to economic stagnation, but daily changes in the situation have accelerated inflation. Due to the corona disaster, countries have implemented expansionary fiscal and monetary policies that are unprecedented in the past．The product and parts supply network in Southeast Asia has been disrupted due to the corona disaster, and as a result, price upward pressure has been generated from the supply side．
This inflationary trend also affects watches and branded products which are close to our industry, and prices are rising noticeably． I believe that this trend will have an impact on our jewelry industry in the future．The intensifying confrontation between the U．S． and China has created supply bottlenecks and disruptions in the field of semiconductors and other high-tech products, resulting in shortages of these parts in the automobile industry and other sectors. The corona disaster has changed the way people live and work around the world, and this has led to a noticeable increase in the price of PCs and other goods in short supply． The corona disaster has created more inflationary concerns by above situations and may create new ones in the future．
This inflationary trend also affects watches and branded products which are close to our industry, and prices are rising noticeably． I believe that this trend will have an impact on our jewelry industry in the future．Energy prices have skyrocketed around the world, and central banks in each country have begun to raise rates to prevent inflation． We may be seeing the shadow of stagflation, where economic stagnation and inflation coexist, at a time when the spread of vaccines has normalized the economy．
Even though this year’s show was held under such circumstances, but the number of visitors greatly exceeded that of the previous year． The number of people infected with the new corona virus has decreased, and expectations for economic recovery have risen．Although the number of visitors was not as high as it was at the peak before the corona virus outbreak, there were many more visitors from the morning of the first day, and the venue seemed more crowded than it had been in a long time．
However, the member of the visitors also seemed to have changed greatly, as if to express the social structure that had changed greatly during the Corona disaster．Chinese buyers, who used to be the overwhelming majority of visitors, were still having difficulty entering Japan and were almost nowhere to be seen． The number of Japanese retailers visiting the show was also quite low, as they had not yet recovered from the slump during the declaration of the state of emergency due to the Corona disaster．
Instead, this time, many buyers in Japan such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand, and those who are sold by new sales methods in Japan were seen． In each case, there were more people who engaged in sales using digital technology, and it seems that many people built new business models in response to corona disaster． I was strongly impressed by the fact that digitalization is accelerating due to the corona, such as live commerce and online sales．
Now, changes are rapid and uncertainty is increasing． So it has become difficult to think about how a company should be based on the past．Thanks to you, our company has been in business for 20 years this year． In the next 10 years, we will strive hard to change and reform our company and then to give you a new idea or values by maximum use of human and digitalization． Thank you very much for visiting us this time as well, and this was the last event of this year．
Thank you very much for visiting us this time as well, and this was the last event of this year．We also believe that many issues will continue, such as the coronavirus situation, the problems that will have a major impact on the world as a result of the collapse of China Evergrande Group, and the acceleration of inflation． I hope that we can overcome these difficulties and move forward together with you into the next era．See you next year．
