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However, the end of monetary easing by the US resulted in the weakening of Asian currencies. The yen weakened further with the recent surprise, and the deficits posted by overseas subsidiaries all became profits, ensuring the effect of the weak yen was positive this time. I am not sure if this could be called the fourth wind, so I have called it "Plus one" here, but in this way, the external environment has also developed favorably for us.
Looking at the market environment going forward, the market for high-end smartphones valued at 400 dollars or more is expected to expand from 530 million units this year to 720 million units in 2018. However, there are now slim models available for less than 400 dollars. High-end products are increasing here, but an even greater factor is that high performance components used in high-end products - such as our thin LED backlights - are spreading to mid-range products. We also believe that the OLED format that is the rival technology to the LCD format that requires LED backlights probably won't gain the upper hand for at least another five years. Meanwhile, our strength of making components thinner is becoming more technically difficult, and some have suggested that our rivals will catch up if we are unable to make components thinner, but that is not the case. The same applies to ball bearings, and if asked to make ball bearings of a certain precision, any leading ball bearing manufacturer is able to make small ball bearings. However, Minebea is the only one able to make them (1) with this quality, (2) in this large quantity, (3) at this price and (4) by this delivery date. The LED backlight business is exactly the same now. We are focusing on this and working to quickly recover our depreciation over two years, and aim to establish a model like the ball bearing business model through active investment.