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	1996 The Excellent Global Corporation Five-Year Plan is initiated. In January 1996, President Fujio Mitarai announced the company's new long-term management plan, entitled the Excellent Global Corporation Plan. The aim of the plan was to encourage all members of the Canon Group worldwide to become excellent companies in the final five years of the 20th century. The company's declared objective was "to work on the basis of kyosei, continuing to contribute to the future through technology and becoming a corporate group that is esteemed throughout the world." Based on this objective, the company has pursued value-added business and technical endeavors and further globalization of the Canon Group's operations. It has also aimed to actively foster understanding of the corporate spirit, which calls for individual employees to pursue their dreams and use their passion and creativity to spur dynamic growth of the company. And it has also worked to encourage social kinship as a good corporate citizen to contribute to regional and environmental prosperity. Based on this concept, a long-term plan was implemented covering the five-year period from 1996 to 2000. The plan called for each member of the Canon Group to strive to become an excellent company. President Fujio Mitarai, announcing the Excellent Global Corporation Plan