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Hitachi Comments on ITC Investigation

NEW YORK, May 14, 2002 -- Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) today announced that the United States International Trade Commission agreed to begin an investigation based upon EMC Corporation's complaint that certain data storage products made and imported by Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Data Systems Corporation (HDS) allegedly infringe six United States patents asserted by EMC. The ITC's action is procedural in nature and—as the ITC itself indicated—does not suggest that the data storage products infringe any of the asserted patents, or reflect upon the ITC's views on the merits of this matter.         The ITC complaint is but one of the several patent disputes pending between Hitachi and EMC. Hitachi and its subsidiary Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc. (HICAM), located in Norman, Oklahoma, filed suit against EMC in the Western District of Oklahoma, alleging that EMC's data storage products infringe eight Hitachi and HICAM patents covering at least EMC's Symmetrix and CLARiiON product lines.         Hitachi is one of the leading innovators in the world, and was ranked by the Intellectual Property Owners Association as one of the top 10 U.S. patent owners for 2001, having been granted nearly 1,300 U.S. patents by the U.S. Patent Office this past year.         Hitachi has stated from the outset that it looks forward to the successful resolution of these matters on the merits.         Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 2001 (ended March 31, 2002) consolidated sales of 7,993.7 billion yen ($60.1 billion*) The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com * At an exchange rate of 133 yen to the dollar.

WRITTEN BY Corporate Communications Division