A1 : Our basic understanding is that conditions in the North American market are holding strong. Another reason for growth is that, at the musical instrument trade show on the U.S. West Coast in January, our new products met with positive acclaim and orders received for them have been favorable.
In the audio equipment business, we have experienced delays in achieving market penetration as high as in the European market, but we are assuming that new product launches will proceed smoothly. Based on a preliminary report in January for our U.S. subsidiaries, sales in local currency are expanding at double-digit rates as we had assumed. Along with this firm sales performance in the North American market, growth will also be supported both by expansion in the market overall and the positive impact of new product sales.