Message from the Deputy President

We are operating in an era in which the geopolitical landscape is increasingly driving economic and financial fragmentation. In this environment, I strongly believe Japan holds a unique position as it connects as a trusted partner across each of the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. As a financial institution with deep relationships with Japanese companies and a growing global footprint, Mizuho too has an increasingly important role to play: to connect markets, industries, and cultures responsibly, and to support our clients as they navigate both risk and opportunity.

Over the past year, we have moved forward in turning our aspiration of becoming a truly global financial group with Japanese heritage increasingly into execution. Progress has been tangible in both business and corporate functions. Cross-regional collaboration has strengthened, and while we have always had excellence in various functions in selected geographies, in the past year we have raised the consistency and speed of how we work across borders. Just as importantly, we are seeing momentum build in the organization's mindset: we are visibly shifting from "global presence" to "global operating capability."

At the same time, we recognize that we are still on the journey. To expand Mizuho's role in a fragmenting world, we must accelerate globality further—focusing on areas where being connected delivers the greatest impact for clients and for the group. Two themes are particularly important.

First, AI is reshaping our industry—requiring leaders to adapt their infrastructure and business models. Mizuho is focused on innovation across all our business segments through the delivery of safe and secure solutions to our clients globally. This is being actively built upon a foundation of strong governance and controls. Second, the importance of energy and transition continues to rise. Supporting stable supply, investment, and transition pathways on a global basis will remain critical for our clients and for society.

Mizuho's contribution is maximized when we connect capabilities across regions—linking our Japanese as well as other global client relationships with global solutions and execution. Talent is a key enabler of our transformation. We have taken meaningful steps to broaden leadership pathways—both by appointing leaders who hold group-based global roles while remaining in-region, and by increasing inbound mobility into Tokyo, including department head-level appointments. These moves are not symbolic. They reflect our commitment to operate as one team, to learn from diverse perspectives, and especially to build a Head Office environment that drives global collaboration at scale.

Ultimately, true globality is not achieved through structure alone— it is achieved through mindset and the way we work. Given strong support from my Head Office colleagues, I am confident that we will continue to see a strengthened global mobility and talent development so that high-performing colleagues can contribute across borders, deliver measurable outcomes, and transfer learnings back into the organization. As we do so, we will remain anchored in Japanese strengths—trust, integrity, and craftsmanship—while continuously improving how we operate with speed, openness, and global best practices.

In a world with pressures to fragment the global economy, Mizuho's role as a trusted connector becomes more important— not less. We remain committed to our transformation to be truly global, and we continue to value the ongoing support and engagement of our stakeholders.