News

Kuraray Co., Ltd. announces the following management structure reforms and executive personnel actions.

1. Management Structure Reforms

Kuraray has to date implemented various initiatives to secure corporate governance suitable for its global-scale operations. These initiatives included the introduction of an executive-officer system, the strengthening of corporate-auditor functions by appointing three external corporate auditors in addition to two standing corporate auditors and the establishment of the Management Advisory Committee, an advisory body for the Company's president.

With the aim of more clearly dividing the functions of managerial decision making, oversight and execution and thereby enabling stronger corporate governance, Kuraray will implement management structure reforms as described below.

(1) Appointment of External Directors

To ensure management transparency and objectivity, Kuraray will appoint independent outside specialists who do not have particular interests in the Company as its directors.

(2) Redefinition of the Position of Director and Executive Officer

To more clearly divide the functions of managerial decision-making, oversight and execution, Kuraray will redefine its managerial positions as described below.

• The current classifications of senior managing director and managing director will be abolished. Henceforth, the Company's Board of Directors will consist of the president; the chairman; directors who are concurrently appointed as executive officers; and external directors.
• The current classifications of senior executive officer and executive officer will be abolished and be replaced by the following new classifications: primary executive officer, senior executive officer and executive officer.

2. Executive Personnel Actions

(1) Rationale

Toward further growth, Kuraray will establish a new management and execution structure to ensure a successful conclusion to the current GS-21 medium-term business plan in this final year and to formulate and implement a new medium-term business plan.

(2) Change of Representative Director (Scheduled effective date: Date of this year's General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in June 2008)

New Position	Name	Current Position
- (Scheduled to be appointed Standing Corporate Auditor)	Junsuke Tanaka	Representative Senior Managing Director

(Reference)
Kuraray previously announced the following changes in representative director positions in January 2008.(Scheduled effective date: April 1, 2008)

New Position	Name	Current Position
Representative Director and Chairman	Yasuaki Wakui	Representative Director and President
Representative Director and President	Fumio Ito	Managing Director

(3) Changes in Director Positions (Excluding Representative Directors) (Scheduled effective date: Date of this year's General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in June 2008)

New Position	Name	Current Position	Remarks
Director and Primary Executive Officer	Yoichi Ninagawa	Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer	Change of position
Director and Senior Executive Officer	Shiro Kataoka	Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer	Change of position
Director and Senior Executive Officer	Hiroaki Yoshino	Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer	Change due to reclassification
Director and Senior Executive Officer	Toshihide Sakai	Director and Senior Executive Officer	Change due to reclassification
Director and Senior Executive Officer	Kenzo Sawada	Senior Executive Officer	New appointment
External Director	Kensaku Aomoto	Counselor, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Counselor, Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd.	New appointment
External Director	Takafusa Shioya	Management Committee Member, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation	New appointment
- (Scheduled to be appointed President of Kuraray Techno Co., Ltd.)	Seiji Wajiki	Managing Director	Resignation
- (Scheduled to be appointed President of Kuraray Trading Co., Ltd.)	Osamu Asaba	Managing Director	Resignation
- (Scheduled to be appointed President of Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd.)	Nobuo Iwawaki	Managing Director	Resignation

(4) Changes in Corporate Auditor Positions (Scheduled effective date: Date of this year's General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in June 2008)

New Position	Name	Current Position	Remarks
Standing Corporate Auditor	Junsuke Tanaka	Representative Senior Managing Director	New appointment
Corporate Auditor	Hiroki Yamada	Deputy President, DIAM Co., Ltd.	New appointment
-	Tsutomu Yabuta	Standing Corporate Auditor	Resignation
-	Hirotaka Ikuno	Corporate Auditor	Resignation

(5) Changes in Executive Officer Positions (Excluding Those Concurrently Posted as Directors) (Scheduled effective date: Date of this year's General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in June 2008)

New Position	Name	Current Position	Remarks
Senior Executive Officer	Hideo Tomita	Senior Executive Officer	Change due to reclassification
Senior Executive Officer	Takayoshi Ohsaki	Senior Executive Officer	Change due to reclassification
Senior Executive Officer	Mitsuaki Manabe	Executive Officer	Change due to reclassification
Executive Officer	Osamu Yamada	Associate Director	New appointment
Executive Officer	Takao Akagi	Associate Director	New appointment
- (Scheduled to be appointed Managing Director of Kuraray Engineering Co., Ltd.)	Tokio Aikura	Executive Officer	Resignation

(6) Complete List of Directors, Corporate Auditors and Executive Officers (Scheduled effective date: Date of this year's General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in June 2008)

• indicates a new appointment
• indicates a change in position

No mark indicates either a continuation in office or reappointment to that office.

	Representative Director and Chairman	Yasuaki Wakui
	Representative Director and President	Fumio Ito
	Director and Primary Executive Officer	Yoichi Ninagawa
	Director and Senior Executive Officer	Shiro Kataoka
	Director and Senior Executive Officer	Hiroaki Yoshino
	Director and Senior Executive Officer	Toshihide Sakai
	Director and Senior Executive Officer	Kenzo Sawada
	External Director	Kensaku Aomoto
	External Director	Takafusa Shioya

	Standing Corporate Auditor	Junsuke Tanaka
	Standing Corporate Auditor	Tadahiko Kujime
	Corporate Auditor	Toshimitsu Kitagawa
	Corporate Auditor	Hiroo Onodera
	Corporate Auditor	Hiroki Yamada

	Senior Executive Officer	Hideo Tomita
	Senior Executive Officer	Takayoshi Ohsaki
	Senior Executive Officer	Mitsuaki Manabe
	Executive Officer	Noboru Yanagida
	Executive Officer	Katsuya Hashimoto
	Executive Officer	Mitsuo Matsumoto
	Executive Officer	Kohei Maeda
	Executive Officer	Yuichi Kawarasaki
	Executive Officer	Keiji Murakami
	Executive Officer	Shinzo Takemura
	Executive Officer	Noritsugu Nagatomo
	Executive Officer	Takaaki Fukumori
	Executive Officer	Kazuhiro Tenkumo
	Executive Officer	Yasuhiro Yamamoto
	Executive Officer	Gerd Lepper
	Executive Officer	Jean-Marie Baetens
	Executive Officer	Nobuya Tomita
	Executive Officer	Osamu Yamada
	Executive Officer	Takao Akagi

3. Career Summaries of New Directors and Corporate Auditors

(1) New Directors

Name	Kenzo Sawada
Date of Birth	March 24, 1948
Education	March 1970	Graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University (School of Sociology and Social Work)
Career Summary	April 1970	Joined Kuraray
	June 1999	Deputy General Manager, EVAL Division, Kuraray
	October 2001	Vice President, Kuraray Specialities Europe GmbH
	June 2004	Executive Officer, Kuraray
	April 2006	General Manager, Office of Global Business Development, Kuraray
	June 2006	Senior Executive Officer, Kuraray (current position)
	April 2007	General Manager, Poval Resin Division, Kuraray (current position)

Name	Kensaku Aomoto (External Director)
Date of Birth	December 21, 1940
Education	March 1963	Graduated from The University of Tokyo (Faculty of Law)
Career Summary	April 1963	Joined Export-Import Bank of Japan ("EIB")
	June 1989	Director General, Loan Department IV
	April 1991	Director General, Policy Planning and Coordination Department
	October 1993	Resident Executive Director for Europe, the middle East and Africa
	January 1995	Senior Executive Director, EIB
	June 1998	Deputy Governor, EIB
	June 2000	President (Chief Executive Officer), Japan Institute for Overseas Investment
	January 2005	Counselor, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Counselor, Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. (current positions)

Name	Takafusa Shioya (External Director)
Date of Birth	May 13, 1941
Education	March 1966	Graduated from The University of Tokyo (Faculty of Law)
Career Summary	April 1966	Joined Economic Planning Agency of Japan ("EPA")
	July 1987	Director, Commercial Policy Division, Industry Policy Bureau, Ministry of Trade and Industry ("MITI")
	July 1990	Director, Minister's Secretariat Division, EPA
	June 1993	Deputy Director-General, Social Policy Bureau, EPA
	June 1995	Director-General, Planning-Coordination Bureau, National Land Agency
	July 1997	Director-General, Coordination Bureau, EPA
	June 1998	Administrative Vice-Minister, EPA
	February 2000	President, National Institute of Research Advancement
	May 2005	Management Committee Member, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation (current position)

(2) New Corporate Auditors

Name	Junsuke Tanaka (Standing Corporate Auditor)
Date of Birth	September 17, 1944
Education	March 1969	Graduated from Osaka University (School of Engineering Science)
Career Summary	April 1969	Joined Kuraray
	June 1999	General Manager, EVAL Division
	June 2000	Director, Kuraray
	June 2003	Managing Director, Kuraray
	June 2006	Representative Senior Managing Director, Kuraray (current position)

Name	Hiroki Yamada
Date of Birth	January 13, 1944
Education	March 1967	Graduated from Kobe University of Commerce (School of Economics and Business Administration)
	June 1970	Awarded Master of Business Administration from New York University ("NYU") (Graduate School of Business Administration)
	June 1975	Awarded PhD in Corporate Finance from NYU
Career Summary	September 1973	Joined Chase Manhattan Bank N.A. in New York
	April 1976	Joined Industrial Bank of Japan, Limited ("IBJ")
	April 1980	Assistant to Director, International Loan Department I, IBJ
	April 1982	Assistant to Director, Loan Department V, IBJ
	January 1986	Senior Director; IBJ International Limited in London
	August 1991	Joint General Manager, International Finance Department, IBJ
	June 1994	General Manager, IBJ Chicago Branch
	June 1998	Director and General Manager, IBJ London Branch
	June 2001	Managing Director, Head of Securities and Asset Management, Mizuho Financial Group
	April 2002	Deputy President, DLIBJ Asset Management Co., Ltd. (now DIAM Co., Ltd.) (current position)

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