Contributing to Improving QoL for People throughout the World by Creating Social, Environmental, and Economic Value

We are living in unpredictable times as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread globally. First and foremost, we would like to wish all those who have been affected by COVID-19 a speedy recovery, and we express our deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones. We are also very grateful for efforts by governments around the world, our employees and the public to prevent the further spread of the virus.

The pandemic lasting more than 10 months has brought changes to our daily lives, such as masks and social distancing. The question of how to live well under such circumstances, in other words, how to improve people’s quality of life (QoL), has come to be recognized as a major challenge for society.

Hitachi is striving along with its customers and other partners to generate social, environmental, and economic value as the company seeks to improve people’s QoL by realizing a pleasant society under the keywords of safety, health, and comfort. Examples from everyday life include contributing to the eradication of fatal traffic accidents through advanced driver-assistance technologies for vehicles, facilitating a richer life through the provision of connected appliances and air-conditioning systems, and prevent global warming by reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from products through electrification and the Internet of Things (IoT). Through initiatives like these that the company has engaged in over many years, it is contributing to improvements in people’s QoL around the world. In terms of new initiatives, Hitachi is also working to deliver social innovations motivated by human happiness in the hope of making our societies better places to live.

In the health and medical sector, Hitachi is contributing to improving the QoL of medical practitioners as well as of patients and their families by providing advanced diagnostic systems such as blood testing equipment to help doctors choose the right treatment plan, by providing cancer therapies that minimize discomfort to help people to remain active in the community even while undergoing treatment, and by providing systems for regenerative medicine to support the treatment of previously incurable diseases.

Along with specific examples of past initiatives by Hitachi aimed at enhancing QoL, this issue of Hitachi Review also describes how these will be further built upon in the future. By combining advanced digital technology with products and services that are deeply embedded in people’s lives and in society, Hitachi is helping to create a society where everyone finds it easy to live a safe, healthy, comfortable, and prosperous life.