Canon has grown through the Company's basic business strategies of globalization and diversification.
During the globalization process, Canon has worked to achieve stable performance while constantly battling the yen's appreciation since the 1985 Plaza Accord.
Canon's ability to consistently overcome the difficulties this poses has been our strong commitment to realizing profits through manufacturing.
Canon launched production reforms in the 1990s and, since that time, has accelerated these efforts, including automated production, in-house production and a shift from cell production to man-machine cell production, making possible improved profitability since 2009 despite the yen's rapid appreciation.
2011 was a particularly noteworthy year for Canon, as we overcame not only the impact of exchange rates, but also the effects of the earthquake and flooding to establish a structure enabling us to maintain profitability.
