Tetsuro Hori Representative Director・CEO・President of JSR Corporation, delivered the following speech to new employees hired at the welcoming ceremony held at 9:00 a.m. on April 1, 2026, at the Yokkaichi Plant.

(Among the new graduates joining in April 2026 are 72 graduates of colleges of technology, universities, and graduate schools, and 22 high school graduates, for a total of 94.)

Thank you for choosing our company at a time when many employers are seeking top talent. Today, as you begin your professional lives, I would like to share three points based on my own experience.

First, the world does not turn out as badly as you may think. I graduated from university and started my first job in 1985. The year after I joined my first company, a severe recession hit and sales fell by half in just one year. Believing the company was finished, a third of my colleagues who joined the company at the same —everyone but me—left within two years, many moving to the newly established Japan subsidiaries of American firms. Later, however, Japan’s bubble economy collapsed, U.S. companies withdrew from Japan, and those who had changed jobs were caught up in the fallout. Looking back, I felt it was a mistake to let go so quickly of the company I had chosen, simply because of immediate anxieties. Life doesn’t always go as you expect, but it also doesn’t become as bad as you imagine. Let us cultivate the strength not to be ruled by anxiety.

Second, try the work you have been given. In my twenties, I worked in sales for semiconductor components. When you’re young, you sometimes find yourself working while wondering, “Why am I doing this?” At the time, I disliked sales. My boss at the time told me, “Treat the work you’re given as your calling,” and deep down I bristled at those words. Even so, by visiting the customer repeatedly, I eventually won adoption of our components. Through that, the nature of the work came into focus and I caught a glimpse of the essence of business. The experience of putting your full effort into the task in front of you and delivering results will serve you in the future. So, start by doing the work you’re given.

The third point is this: you are part of a remarkable industry—semiconductors. The history of semiconductors began with the invention of the transistor in 1947, and integration has increased ever since, to the point that circuit widths are now as small as 3 nm and even 2 nm. I know of no other component that has advanced technologically to this extent.

Applications of semiconductors have also changed dramatically. No one foresaw that today’s AI would arrive in the age of the smartphone. Each time a new and unforeseen application emerges, semiconductors continue to grow.

Today, many Japanese companies—particularly chemical manufacturers—are looking to enter the semiconductor industry. Yet understanding the semiconductor business is not easy. It is highly specialized, and without having observed its developments over time, it is difficult to see where it is headed. In that respect, JSR is a long-established leader in semiconductor materials. We have consistently provided advanced customers with the materials that enable their innovation, and in the process we have gained valuable insights that will shape the future. You have joined a company with deep strengths in the remarkable field of semiconductors.

JSR also operates the Display Solution Business and the Optical Solution Business. These businesses, too, are closely connected to semiconductors and are integral to JSR. In addition, we have the Plastics Business, which supports the continued evolution of the electronics industry.

AI is changing the way we work. However, AI itself cannot pose questions or make judgments based on its own experience. I hope each of you will aim to become professionals who can speak from your own experience, express your own ideas, and make decisions for yourselves.

At JSR, you will find an environment where you can take on diverse challenges and gain a wide range of experiences, supported by colleagues around you. This applies not only to work, but also to hobbies and sports. I believe that happiness in life grows out of such experiences. Everything I have shared today is based on my own experience. I hope you will engage both mind and body, seek out many different experiences, and continue to grow. I look forward to seeing your development.