New Year Greetings – and towards the new Mitsue-Links –

As we welcome the New Year, on behalf of Mitsue-Links, I would like to extend my heartfelt greetings to all. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to those who've supported our company.

Last year was a one of significant change for Mitsue-Links – our company saw the retirement of our founder, Mr. Masashi Takahashi, our acquisition by Dentsu Soken Group, and the formulation of our first-ever medium-term business plan. Simply listing such developments reminds me of just how substantial these changes were. I am deeply thankful to all our staff who have supported us through these transitions.

Since our acquisition, over the past eight months, I have had the opportunity to deeply reflect on the question, "What is Mitsue-Links?" Well, valuing technology and quality, Mitsue-Links has positioned itself as a Smart Communication Design Company. Since becoming a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), we have built our service foundations on the aforementioned non-profit organization's recommendations - leveraging universal technology and quality to thrive in the rapidly evolving world of web technologies. Looking at Mitsue-Links today, I can see that this strength continues to be a foundation of our work and that W3C recommendations, regardless of how times they are updated, remain specifications of enduring value.

On the other hand, in contrast to those that are universal, there are technologies that continue to evolve. Serverless, Jamstack, CI/CD, automation, AI, and other web-related technologies are expected to undergo even further advancements. Within our company, I feel there is still significant opportunity for these technologies to be more widely adopted. With this in mind, we plan to establish a dedicated team this year to drive such initiatives forward.

Meanwhile, even the more universal technologies that have been our strengths are experiencing changes - or perhaps a rebirth. One notable example are newly emerging documents from the W3C that align with the needs of the current era. Among these, the Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG)—though still in draft form—stand out as a guideline warranting close attention. As highlighted in Executive Fellow Kazuhito Kidachi's Column, "Web Quality Contributes to Environmental, Social, and Economic Sustainability" our society and economy are fundamentally built upon the environment. With the global economy expanding, awareness of environmental issues is growing day by day, and web production, a core aspect of Mitsue-Links, is no exception. The WSG provide insights into sustainable approaches to developing for and managing web content from various perspectives. Fortunately, qualities that Mitsue-Links has long focused on—such as accessibility and rendering performance—are listed as key items to be checked within the WSG. However, there remain many areas that require greater awareness. Some of these align with the adoption of evolving technologies mentioned earlier, making it all the more important for us to actively incorporate such advancements.

This year, Mitsue-Links aims to mark the first year of updating its universal foundations and evolving elements with a focus on sustainability. Our parent company, Dentsu Soken, changed its name in January last year to reflect its vision of facilitating "society's evolution." Mitsue-Links joined the group in last April and our shared goal remains to drive societal evolution through the web. Moving forward, we are committed to further addressing universal social values and continuing to contribute meaningfully to society's sustainable progress.

We sincerely look forward to your continued guidance and support throughout the coming year.