Happy New Year.

How do you feel as you welcome the year 2024?

I was able to see the beautiful sunrise from our farm every year, and welcome the new year with a cheerful heart.

However, unfortunately, a major earthquake with a seismic intensity of 7 occurred in Hokuriku yesterday. We also experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake 12 years ago, but why did such a disaster occur on what should have been a sunny New Year's Day? We would like to express our deepest sympathies to everyone in the affected areas. We sincerely hope for a speedy recovery so that peaceful days can return to everyone in the disaster-stricken areas as soon as possible.

If you look at the world, bigger wars have occurred one after another since last year, such as the Ukraine war and the Israeli conflict, and many people's lives have been taken away. And even during this year-end and New Year holidays, which should be calm, the situation is far from ideal for such people.

In this sense, Japan has been protected since the end of the war, creating an environment where people can live in a safe and secure country. Thanks to our ancestors, we are able to live a happy life without any inconvenience. On this New Year's Day, I am reminded once again that we must not forget to spend our time with a renewed sense of gratitude for this natural environment.

I pray that everyone will have a healthy and healthy life this coming year.

Thank you for your kind support in the year.

Tomoatsu Hashimoto