Investor Presentaiton

Over the last years, in different places in rural Japan I frequently met with young people who wanted to 'escape' from the frenzied world of targets, performance driven work and the race-to-the-bottom mentality in the big cities. Is this a trend in Japan? All over the world there are people who look to change their lives, but my gut feeling tells me that the tectonic changes in population in Japan are a bigger catalyst for change than elsewhere. And the sheer size of Japan offers different opportunities than in smaller - and more crowded - countries. Simon Kuznets, who won the Nobel prize in economics in 1971 for his work on economic growth stated that, from an economic perspective there are four types of countries in the world: developed countries, undeveloped countries, there is Argentina and then there is... Japan. He might have written this is a different timeframe, but Japan has proven its resilience when it has its back to the wall - and sometimes its course is rather unconventional. So how will it cope with the prospect of an indigenous population of 53 mln in 90 years, a decrease of over 50%? There is no lack of scenarios like this published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism, MLIT. And, if worse comes to worse, what will happen if a major earthquake will hit an urban or industrial area as the Kanto (greater Tokyo), combined with these demographic changes? If I were allowed to make a prediction, I would bet on the emerging of a fundamentally new balance between Japan's major urban regions and the very countryside, like Shimane. The government is already promoting a U-Turn for city-workers with rural roots - or a 1-Turn for born urbanites. Visiting Shimane teaches us that Japan is also in the remote areas an affluent society indeed: the infrastructure is in place and well-maintained, healthcare systems and education are well-functioning, people have ample financial resources - and in terms of space, there is the potential of food self-sufficiency, provided that legislation will allow land re-parceling. And, Japan being a country of communities (where even large corporations create a strong community-sense for their employees), a U- or I-Turn to the countryside might even be an antidote to the growing "super- solo" mindset in urban regions. My advise to you all for 2020 would be: jump on the train and embark for a visit to the Japan than you do not know, whether this is Shimane Prefecture, Akita-ken, Tottori, or any other place that are favorite to Tokyo residents. Even if it sounds like 'back to the future' or 'fast forward to the past', because what is happening in Japan right now will also happen in countries as the Netherlands, albeit with a delay of 20 - 40 years. Radboud Molijn, January 2020 7

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