Measure for Measure

Mobile Telephony

• Approximate number of mobile phone subscribers in Japan: 103 million
• Approximate number of new mobile handsets sold each year: 50 million
• Number of new SoftBank Mobile subscribers in May 2008: 173,700
• Number of new AU and DoCoMo subscribers in the same period, respectively: 72,400 and 60,900
• Total number of DoCoMo users at the end of May 2008: 53.54 million
• Number of AU subscribers: 30.29 million
• Number of Softbank subscribers: 18.95 million
• Number of new handsets released by DoCoMo in May 2008: 19
• Estimated development costs per new mobile: ¥10 billion

Corporate Bankruptcies

• Number of corporate bankruptcies in May 2008 at firms with liabilities of ¥10 million or more: 994
• Number in April 2008: 1,013
• Number in May 2007: 1,016
• Industry posting the greatest number of bankruptcies in May 2008: Construction (271)
• Total liabilities left by firms going bankrupt in May 2008: ¥481.07 billion
• Number of bankruptcies with ¥1 billion or more in liabilities: 74
• Total number of firms that filed for bankruptcy protection in fiscal 2007: 11,333
• Increase from fiscal 2006: 18.4%
• Number of self-employed people who filed for bankruptcy in fiscal 2007: 1,819
• Increase against fiscal 2006: +36%

Real Estate

• Vacancy rate at new office buildings in the five central wards of Tokyo in September 2007: 4.74%
• Vacancy rate at new office buildings in the five central wards of Tokyo in March 2008: 6.97%
• Average rent per square meter in the five central wards of Tokyo in March 2008: ¥6,841
• Increase from the previous year: 12.51%
• Increase from the previous month: 0.38%
• Number of new condominium units sold in the Tokyo area in fiscal 2007: 58,156
• Decline from fiscal 2006: 17.9%
• Average price rise of a new condo unit in the Tokyo area in fiscal 2007: 9.3%
• Number of new units remaining unsold at the end of fiscal 2007: 10,837
• Last year in which the number of unsold units stood above 10,000: 1992
• Average sale price of a condo in the Tokyo area in March 2008: ¥49.98 million
• Number of consecutive months in which the average price of a new condo unit has risen: 16

Food and Supermarkets

• Percentage of Kikkoman’s operating profit derived from North American sales: 48.6%
• Kikkoman’s ranking amongst Japanese firms for percentage of operating profit generated in North America: 1st
• Percentage of Kikkoman’s sales that are dependent on the US market: 23.5%
• Tons of fin whale meat imported from Iceland in May 2008: 80
• Last year in which whale meat was imported into Japan: 1990
• Amount spent on food by the average household in April 2008: ¥66,374
• Decline from the previous year: 3.1%
• Decline in supermarket sales in Japan in April 2008: 0.8%
• Increase in food sales in Japan at supermarkets in April 2008: 1.3%
• Fall in clothing sales at supermarkets in April 2008: 6.9%