Thank you very much for coming despite your very busy schedules. First, please turn to page four. This year is positioned as the year to achieve two goals in parallel: to improve earning power and solidify our operations in Japan, and to use the profits earned from these efforts to build a foundation for global expansion in growth and focus areas. Looking back on the first half of the year from this perspective, we were able to achieve solid results as planned. As you see here, the three main contributors to solidifying business in Japan are continued market share expansion in Fabric and Home Care, improved profitability in Cosmetics, and significant growth in the High Premium Hair Care area. We also rolled out measures for global growth in focus areas such as UV Care and Cosmetics. Based on the positive feedback that the plan is progressing well, we have revised upward our full-year operating income forecast for fiscal year 2025 from the JPY 160 billion announced at the Q1 results meeting to JPY 165 billion. At the same time, the company also resolved today to repurchase up to 15 million shares, or a total amount of JPY 80 billion. This capital policy is based on a comprehensive assessment of capital efficiency improvement and shareholder return. We will continue to focus on creating shareholder value by maintaining the necessary financial flexibility while continuing to emphasize investments in future growth. Now, please turn to page six. Net sales increased 2.7% to reach JPY 809 billion. Excluding the effect of currency translation, net sales increased 3.7%. Gross margin was 38.5%, the same level as the same period of the previous year. But for the GC business alone, an improvement of 1.2 points was achieved. Operating income was JPY 69.5 billion, an increase of JPY 11.5 billion from the same period last year, and the operating margin improved to 8.6%. Net income attributable to owners of the parent was JPY 49.6 billion, an increase of 14.3%, or JPY 6.2 billion from the same period last year. Earnings per share was JPY 106.85, an increase of 14.4% from the same period last year. The interim dividend will be JPY 77 per share, an increase of JPY 1 per share as initially planned. Please turn to page eight. Net sales increased by 3.7%, operating income increased by JPY 11.5 billion, and ROIC improved by 0.5 points from the same period last year to reach 8.0%. The improvement in the operating margin is a result of improved profitability of cosmetics as well as Fabric and Home Care, which is the foundation of the company's business. This indicates that our earning power continues to steadily improve. The improvement in ROIC was due to increased profits and efforts to improve invested capital efficiency, such as by streamlining the sanitary business. For Q3 onwards, we will continue to revise prices by adding further value to our product in the GC business in Japan. As for the U.S. tariff policy, the direct effect of tariff increase is expected to be about JPY 1.5 billion, JPY 0.5 billion less than the assumption shown at the Q1 results meeting d ue to the revision of tariff rates. Based on the favorable progress of the plan as described above, we have increased our full-year forecast for net sales by JPY 20 billion- JPY 1,690,000,000,000 and for operating income by JPY 5 billion- JPY 165 billion. Now please turn to page nine. First, we sold the Pet Care and Beverage businesses last year and the percentages excluding these businesses are shown in green. Today's explanation will use the suggested figures. Overall, the GC business posted a 1.8% increase in net sales. By region, competition intensified in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. In Europe and the United States in particular, the market itself is in a difficult environment with consumers being more cost conscious. Net sales in the first half declined and overseas sales declined by 4.1%. However, sales in Japan grew by 5.2% and overall sales in the GC business increased by 1.8%. In the Chemical business, net sales increased in all regions. In Japan, cosmetic sales increased 6.7%. Both Fabric and Home Care and Health Beauty Care grew strongly by 5.6%. Please turn to page 10. I would like to explain the business performance by segment. Hygiene Living Care continued to improve its earning power and posted an increase of JPY 1.4 billion in operating income excluding the gain on the sale of the Pet Care business i n Q2 of last year, operating income increased by JPY 5.7 billion. Fabric and Home Care achieved an increase of JPY 2.9 billion in operating income by promoting high value added products and enhancing customer loyalty, which also contributed to price revisions. Operating margin improved by 1.1 points and reached 17.3%. In sanitary products, the reform of earning power was implemented in a multifaceted manner through Scrum style management and price revisions, resulting in an operating income of JPY 4.5 billion, an increase of JPY 2.8 billion. In the Health Beauty Care business, sales of Skincare and High Premium Hair Care products in Japan grew significantly, contributing to a 1.6% increase in net sales due to volume growth, while continuing to build a foundation for future growth. In the skincare business, m arketing expenses were also significant due to the aggressive global deployment of UV Care products i n particular. E xcluding the impact of last year's hair salon business structural reforms, income was JPY 300 million lower than the same period of the previous year. In the Cosmetics business, sales in Japan increased significantly as a result of the concentration of resources on six focused brands. Streamlining of the business was also successful, resulting in a significant improvement in operating income of JPY 6.5 billion and the company returned to first half profitability for the first time in three fiscal years. In business connected, KPS or Kao Professional Services, which develops business products, is the core business. E xcluding sales in the same period last year o f the beverage business which was sold last year in August, sales was almost flat year- on- year, but profits increased by JPY 1.4 billion due to the elimination of the loss in the beverage business. In Chemicals, sales volume was slightly lower than the previous year, but the company responded to soaring prices of raw materials for oils and fats by revising selling prices. As a result, sales increased 11.0%. However, profit decreased due to lower demand in the automotive related sector in the second quarter, economic slowdown in Europe, and elimination of unrealized profit on Oleo products. As a result, operating margin on a company wide basis was 8.6%. Turn to page 13 please. I will now analyze the factors behind the JPY 11.5 billion difference in operating income for the first half of 2024 and 2025. I will explain from the three perspectives of earning power growth and fixed cost reduction effects from structural reforms which I presented at the previous earnings announcements. First, as for the earning power effect, the GC business as a whole saw an increase in profit of about JPY 5 billion. Although increase in selling prices did not fully absorb the rise in raw material prices, cost of sales reductions contributed to the increase. Second, in terms of growth, the GC business as a whole saw a JPY 4.5 billion increase due to volume growth. If we subtract part of the increase in SG&A expenses from that, it comes to about JPY 1.5 billion. Fixed cost reductions due to structural reforms will amount to approximately JPY 4 billion. The total of these factors plus the impact of currency translation and the negative impact of the Chemical s business will amount to JPY 11.5 billion. In terms of SG&A expenses, approximately JPY 3.0 billion is the increase in marketing and personnel expenses, which is offset by a fixed cost decrease of approximately JPY 3.0 billion due to human capital structural reforms. Please turn to page 14. In the GC business, profit margin improved as cost increases due to high raw material prices were absorbed by proactive introduction of high value-added products and aggressive cost reduction activities. The gross margin for the entire company, including Chemicals, remained flat at 38.5% compared to the first half of 2024. The GC business, which targets a 1% per year improvement, showed a steady improvement of 1.2 points. Please look at the box on the right-hand side. We believe that we can achieve an improvement rate of 1.0 points or more by continuing these activities and introducing new high value-added products from the third quarter onwards. Next, please turn to page 15. The primary reason for the continued strong performance of the GC business is the uninterrupted launch of competitive products into the market. Please look at the top graph. Since July 2023, around the time when we announced the K27 plan and structural reforms, Kao's share in the toiletry market has increased compared to the same month of the previous year for 24 consecutive months. Contributing greatly to this share expansion are the Laundry Detergent and In-bath Hair Care categories. In laundry detergents, the use of digital transformation and Scrum-based product development have enabled us to significantly accelerate launch of new and improved products such as Attack ZERO, Antibacterial EX, Perfect Stick, and New Beads. We achieved No. 1 category share in June 2023 and continue to grow our share. At the end of June this year we made price adjustments for Antibacterial EX in line with its enhanced value. We expect its effects to materialize even more strongly in the second half. We have also seen a significant increase in market share in the In-bath Hair Care category since we entered the high premium market in 2024. Page 16. Hair Care Business Reform. Under the business vision Hair the Power of Life, we restructured our brand formation which had previously been built around functional value to focus instead on fundamental human emotional needs as shown in the diagram. While focusing on emotional needs, we also leveraged our 100 years of expertise in hair care research, incorporating cutting-edge technology into each brand to drive product development. As a result, both the first and second product offerings achieved about twice the planned sales in the first half of 2025. We successfully captured sharply defined target consumers with substantial increase in both trial and repeat purchases. Users have given high reviews that the concept, naming, user experience, fragrance, and finish all come together at a high level. The answer won 27 Best Cosmetics awards at @cosme, Japan's largest online beauty and cosmetics portal, including the Grand Prize, the first time a hair care product was bestowed with the top prize. Of the six parts, we haven't been able to fill the red part; that is what we will target with our third offering. This will complete our hair care brand formation and further strengthen Kao's presence in the market. Next, please turn to page 17. In the Cosmetics business undergoing structural reform under a new organization since January this year, we clarified the issues to address and implemented a Scrum approach across organizational barriers, which led to profitability in the first half f or the first time in three years. In Japan, by focusing investment and sales activities on six focus brands, we succeeded in creating a strong in-store presence. New products such as Curel and Sofina iP are performing well. We also focused on expanding our own E-Commerce to strengthen our base in the channel. As a result of these efforts, sales of the six focus brands increased 115% year- on- year, and directly operated E-Commerce sales grew substantially by 134%. Meanwhile, through streamlining efforts such as the organizational restructuring carried out since last year, we reduced fixed costs by JPY 3.8 billion. Regarding our global expansion focus, we have clarified three directions. First, expansion in ASEAN, second, rollout in Europe, and third, the introduction of brands from Europe into Asia. We are building the necessary foundation for this. For expansion in ASEAN, sales of the six focus brands progressed steadily, reaching 111% year- on- year. In Thailand, where we are putting particular focus, sales grew significantly, reaching 127%. For our expansion in Europe, we have begun rolling out Curel, leveraging the brand assets built through Sensai. Also, we are accelerating the introduction of the European-grown Sensai into Asia a round our flagship store in China. We have built an integrated operational structure for Japan, China, and TR, with Travel Retail, and with steady introduction into Indonesia, sales in Asia increased 2.4x year- on- year. Our China business is generally progressing well. Sellout is growing as planned, and selling prices at unofficial E-Commerce stores are moving within the expected range. Locally produced products that we are cultivating have also grown 1.8x year- on- year, indicating steady overall growth of the China businesses. Next, please turn to page 19. From here, I will explain the earnings forecast for fiscal 2025. In light of the strong results in the first half, we have revised our full-year forecast upward. Net sales forecast is also up by JPY 20 billion- JPY 1,690,000,000,000, and operating income is up by JPY 5 billion- JPY 165 billion. With the planned share repurchase, ROE is projected to improve by 0.9 points from the original plan to 11.7% and earnings per share are expected to increase 13% year- on- year to JPY 262. Please turn to page 20. In Japan, we aim to further enhance profitability through offering high value added products i n Fabric Care and elsewhere. Outside Japan, we are working for recovery through growth in cosmetics and new product offerings in health beauty care. A mong other measures, t he JPY 20 billion upward revision of full-year net sales is due to strong sales in Japan. Page 21. Regarding raw material prices, the expected JPY 10 billion cost increase in Q1 has been revised down to JPY 9 billion due to falling domestic NAFSA prices which are linked to crude oil markets. On a year- on- year basis, though prices for natural fat and oils remain high and in the second half we expect JPY 3 billion higher cost over last year. Please turn to page 22. Now I will explain the JPY 18.4 billion increase in operating income between JPY 146.6 billion in fiscal 2024 to JPY 165 billion r evised fiscal 2025 forecast which has been being raised by JPY 5 billion. First, regarding earning power, we expect the rise in raw material costs by JPY 9 billion to be offset by JPY 15 billion in gains from pricing adjustments. There is further improvement of about JPY 10 billion from cost of sales reductions. As a result, we expect profit increase by enhanced earning power to be more than JPY 16 billion. In the growth category, including cosmetics, we expect a positive impact of about JPY 20 billion from higher volume. After deducting higher marketing, personnel, and other general administrative expenses, we forecast a net gain of around JPY 4 billion. Cost reductions from structural reforms will be about JPY 5.5 billion. Also, there is JPY 1 billion increase for the Chemicals and a negative impact of JPY 7 billion in currency translation and others. The negative impact of JPY 1 billion for the GC business has been factored in as the direct effect of tariff revisions in the U.S. Of the JPY 12 billion increase in SG&A, about JPY 10 billion is related to marketing investment, t he remaining JPY 2 billion includes higher personnel and operating expenses and fixed cost reductions from structural reforms. For Chemical, we factor in a direct tariff related risk of around JPY 500 million. We revised our earnings forecast slightly downward based on first half results and recent market deterioration, but the promotion of higher value add and customer acquisitions for the new tertiary amine plant in the U.S. in Q4 onward are progressing smoothly. Negative impact of currency, taxation, and others is mainly due to the absence of one-time gains from asset sales recorded in the previous year. Page 23, this chart shows the three business areas year-on-year changes for sales growth rate, operating income improvement, and ROIC improvement in the first half. In the stable earnings, sales grew by 3.5%, operating income increased by JPY 3.8 billion, and ROIC improved by 2.4 points. In the growth driver, sales rose by 5.4%, operating income increased by JPY 4.1 billion, and ROIC improved by 0.5 points. In the business transformation, sales remained almost flat at -0.1%, but operating income rose by JPY 2.2 billion, and ROIC improved by 1.4 points. Overall, each area is progressing largely in line with expectations. Going forward toward the full year, we will steadily proceed toward achieving ROIC targets in each area, focusing on capital efficiency improvements. Page 24, with today's upward revision of operating income and the implementation of a share repurchase of up to JPY 80 billion, ROIC is expected to reach double digits at 10%, and EVA is projected to significantly exceed JPY 40 billion. We are making steady progress toward achieving the goals of K27, and we intend to continue driving profitable growth. Lastly, please turn to page 25. You see the progress toward the K27 targets in the graph when the revised outlook for fiscal 2025 is applied. I believe this clearly shows that we are making steady progress. That concludes my explanation. Thank you for your attention. Now our President and CEO Hasebe, will speak about our further strategic initiatives. Good afternoon. Thank you very much for coming despite your busy schedules. I will explain the progress of our mid-term plan K27, including the strategic mechanisms we have introduced for K27 and the results for 2024. This slide shows our net sales and operating income trends since 2019 when we posted record profits. Since the announcement of K27 in 2023, we have achieved a steady and significant improvement in our operating income. Structural reforms through K27 helped us offset major impacts of the macro environment such as COVID-19 and soaring raw material prices. Please turn to page 28. Next, let me explain how we are reforming our management structure from the business structure as of 2019 when we achieved record profits. The chart on the left shows the operating income structure by business in 2019. At that time, we were highly dependent on the Chinese market, which made us vulnerable to changes in international affairs. Furthermore, the Fabric and Home Care and Skin Care, Hair Care segments, which were mainly focused on Asian markets including Japan, were facing slower growth due to a lack of countermeasures against competitors' moves. Under these circumstances, there were three major management issues: global growth, earning power, and human capital revitalization. The challenges that became apparent were external factors including the disappearance of inbound demand and soaring raw material prices, and internal factors such as insufficient allocation to strategic investments. To address these issues, we implemented business portfolio management, value-based pricing, in other words, strategic price increases, and ROIC management to push forward well-balanced and focused management reform. We also focused on loyalty marketing to increase support from customers and monitored the results of such marketing through data-driven management. The driving force behind these efforts is company-wide Scrum style activities. To achieve these goals, we have set clear KPIs for each management issue and formulated the K27 plan. Please turn to page 29. Here we share the concept of a well-balanced and focused business strategy portfolio. Kao's focus is on customer perspective and business characteristics. Here, Kao's business categories are organized from the consumer's perspective. On the far left is cosmetics. The main beauty care category on the right is Sanitary and Hygiene Living Care on the right, t he priority is to solve the challenges of or eliminate the pain points in cleanliness and hygiene. Specific products tend to be chosen continuously. Consumers' choices are based on absolute benefit of products rather than comparison to others. On the other hand, in Cosmetics and Health Beauty Care, consumers tend to try many products because they are looking for new experiences and satisfaction of curiosity or something to gain. Consumer loyalty tends to be lower. Consumers want to compare and find the product most suitable for themselves. Furthermore, in general, the categories on the right tend to have heavier capital investment burdens, while those on the left tend to have heavier marketing burdens. Therefore, in the problem-solving categories on the right, we will strengthen basic functions and improve c onsumer loyalty in areas where the brand has high penetration. In categories on the left where switches are more likely to occur, we adopt a lean startup approach. First, we find and focus on features that we assure appeals to the consumer and expand based on initial learnings. Once what makes a product a must-have is identified, the consumer can no longer do without the product because of its benefits, which leads to enhanced consumer loyalty. We call this the Gain to Pain strategy. Our technical capability will be perceived as high quality by the customer, and once they experience it, they will continue to choose it. Because we are confident about this, we can take this strategy. Please turn to page 30. Here are some examples of our success, a lthough not exhaustive. T he two on the left in green, Social Significance and Exclusive Uniqueness, are the strategic pillars which demonstrate Kao's strengths leading to competitive advantage. Lean Startup and Gain to Pain tactics on the right are essential to expand each area globally. As necessary, the tactics will change, but Social Significance and Exclusive Uniqueness on the left-hand side will not change because they are our strengths, t he foundation of our business. Biore, UV, Curel, Melt, and The Answer, are all proposed as very attractive offerings by Kao. Once customers try them and experience a quality, the products become pain products which they cannot do without, leading to expansion of business. Please turn to page 31. Once again, w e present the concept of Kao's Global Sharp Top strategy. Global refers to scale of sales, Sharp refers to loyalty ratio and profitability, and Top refers to presence or market share. With these three, we intend to establish a global presence. Today I would like to talk about three growth businesses. Please turn to page 32. I will now talk about a category that will be a growth driver based on this strategy: the Skin Protection category. Demand for skin protection from environmental factors such as global warming is growing. Today is hot with strong sunshine. This is not just in Japan, but this is a globally expanding trend. External factors that are relevant in protecting the skin include sunlight, heat, and pests. Demand for higher protection against these will increase, and cosmetic factors related to beautification include tanning and brightening. These two factors would be skincare and makeup for the face, but they apply to body care as well and are complementary to each other. From this perspective, Kao's brand assets, Jergens and Bondi Sands, together hold an overwhelming Global Sharp Top position. The share in the United States is 51%, and globally it is 20%. A 20% share globally is very high for Kao's business lineup. Biore is a top brand in Japan in UV Care and Thermostress Care, which fights against sunlight and heat. Unfortunately, the brand is not strong globally. How to combine these two assets is strategically important. We are leveraging our exclusively unique technologies to develop synergistic and complementary businesses in potential core market areas. Please turn to page 33. Next is one of our growth drivers, the Chemical business. The Chemical business is well suited for the global Shop Top strategy as strategies for each business segment can be clearly defined. On the far left, there are global top businesses that are facing increasing price competition. In these areas, we aim to enhance value by further sharpening features. In the lower right, we have sharp top businesses with strong domestic presence while they are top in the core market of Japan, g lobal rollout is insufficient. We are therefore accelerating expansion in overseas markets. For globally sharp but small scale businesses such as Inkjet and Asphalt, we are focusing on securing large strategic customers. For every business, w e are aiming to be global sharp top and we are implementing initiatives to strengthen their positions. Each category is steadily moving forward with a clear strategy. Please turn to page 34. I will briefly explain the Cosmetics Business Reform and Growth Strategy. In the cosmetics business, we are aiming to build a self-sustaining cycle of capital acquisition and investment for sustained growth. We are first working on the optimization of production systems and enhancement of operational efficiency. With cross-sectional use of our assets, w e are aiming to create and develop strategic star products. This is to become more sharp. While these two initiatives are strongly oriented toward improved soundness, the gains they generate allow us to invest in business expansion. We are focusing on six focus brands as global growth drivers and working to establish their presence in each market. This cycle is now beginning to work effectively. Global expansion, the development of sharp uniquely focused brands, and well-honed business streamlining to achieve Global Top, these three are now starting to move in a cycle. This system is the very backbone of our Global Sharp Top strategy for cosmetics. Its positive effects have already begun to appear in 2025 and we expect the momentum to grow further toward 2027. Page 35. I will now explain the current progress of our portfolio management and our vision for the K27 plan. Currently, we are managing our businesses categorized in three areas. In the stable earnings, performance is exceeding expectations. In the growth driver, we are applying Lean Startup style tactics which require time to generate results. In the business transformation, we are beginning to see positive outcomes from business reform in the Hair Care and Sanitary businesses. However, as we indicate with triangles in skin care, global expansion is taking time. Likewise, expansion of hair salon business in Europe is also requiring more time than expected. Nevertheless, we are committed to achieving global expansion through both the stable earnings and growth driver areas t owards the K27. P age 36. T oward achieving the K27 target for overseas sales, we are aiming to grow by more than JPY 95 billion over three years, with contributions coming equally from the three segments. This approach includes Cosmetics, Health Beauty Care, and Chemical Hygiene Living Care, each playing a role w ith the shares shown here. O n the right, you find a table listing the main initiatives and the regions to be strengthened. We have about two years and five months remaining and at this stage I believe we are progressing well. Page 37. I'd like to speak about our target for operating income. We are now in a positive where we can discuss our outlook with some confidence. We are targeting over JPY 65 billion in operating income growth over three years, with contributions from the three segments expected to be fairly evenly weighted. That said, the meaning behind the breakdown differs slightly from what I mentioned earlier about sales. On the right side of the slide you'll find a table of our main initiatives and visions to be strengthened. Please refer to them later. As mentioned earlier by Negoro, profit recovery in the cosmetics business is progressing very well. Cosmetics inherently have high gross margins and this recovery is a strong source of encouragement for us. Cosmetics and Health Beauty Care together account for about 60% of beauty care and the core part of these would always include not only Japan, but global growth as well. We believe this area will serve as a testing stone of our success. We encourage you to closely monitor our progress here as a benchmark. Page 38, to summarize what I have shared so far, this is how we look at the profit structure. 2019 and 2024 are actual structure and it shows how we envision in 2027. While we are aiming to achieve operating income in 2027 that exceeds that of 2019, the structure is entirely different. As I mentioned at the beginning, 2019 was our strongest year in terms of performance, but it was also marked by considerable uncertainty in social conditions. In contrast, what we aim for in 2027 is a strong, stable foundation in the global market. It's a structure adaptable to changing social conditions and a management system that promotes cutting-edge digital transformation. I believe that our advanced management system is now operating at a top-tier level within the industry. If you look at this year's progress in cosmetics reform and business growth in Skincare and Hair Care, I believe you will feel a strong sense of confidence in our ability to achieve the K27 targets. Page 39. T his slide is one we share regularly, but I'd like to re-emphasize the importance of the Global Sharp Top strategy. We are strengthening our efforts in R&D, DX investment and the use of AI, and we are fully united as a company in our pursuit of the K27 goals. Each of the strategies listed here has been carefully selected as a direction we are confident will lead us to the successful achievement of K27. Please turn to page 40. This was explained earlier by Negoro. I will not repeat the same points. However, I'd like to reiterate that the core of the K27 strategy is transforming to build robust businesses through investment. This includes enhancing our exclusive uniqueness through R&D, making this essential DX investment for global expansion, and driving various business transformations using AI. At present, many employees are working in a Scrum, doing high-level work in a steady manner. I am confident that we are regaining our earning power and shifting firmly toward growth potential. With about two years and five months remaining to achieve K27, I believe we are not only on track but progressing at an even faster pace. Finally, please turn to the next page. Our cosmetics business is now gaining strong momentum. We plan to hold the Cosmetics Business strategy briefing on September 19th. Our new leader, Executive Officer Tomoko Uchiyama, will be presenting at the event. Today, I touched on cosmetics with just a single slide, but I believe she will be able to provide full insights into the areas you are most interested in. Please look forward to that briefing. Thank you very much for your attention.