Tokyo Seimitsu has announced that it will separate the roles of Chairman (C.E.O.) and President (C.O.O.) from 1 April 2003 and reflect this in the titles of its two most senior Executive Directors. The aim is to differentiate responsibility for the strategic management of the company from management of its day to day operations and thereby further streamline the decision making processes.

Until now, Mr. Hideo Ohtsubo has a title which corresponds to both company Chairman, responsible for corporate strategy, and company President in charge of all company operations. (While there is much variation in the application of such titles across corporations and countries, this would be widely recognized as the role of both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer.)

Mr. Ohtsubo will continue as head of the Tokyo Seimitsu group as a whole, focusing on leading the company's mid and long term corporate strategy. Responsibility for operations and product development and control, are delegated to the head of each of Tokyo Seimitsu's three autonomous internal companies; the Semiconductor Company, the Metrology Company and the Administration Company. This structure was consistently enhanced to ensure that decision making remains close to the product/customer interface and is timely and flexible. Overarching this, Mr. Suzuki will now be appointed as President (C.O.O.) of Tokyo Seimitsu - a role he will fulfill concurrently with his role as C.O.O. of the Semiconductor Business.

New titles are as follows

Chairman (C.E.O.) Mr. Hideo Ohtsubo
(Currently, Chairman, President and C.E.O.)

President (C.O.O.) Mr. Sadakatsu Suzuki
(Currently, Representative Director and C.O.O. - Semiconductor Business)