Shin-Etsu Chemical once again deeply apologizes for the great trouble and anxieties caused to the people concerned as a result of the explosion and subsequent fire that occurred at its Naoetsu plant on March 20, 2007

As we had announced on Saturday March 24, the Naoetsu Plant’s manufacturing facilities other than its cellulose derivative manufacturing facilities, which was the site of the accident, had one-by-one begun operation from 9 a.m. on Sunday March 25. However, due to a strong earthquake that occurred at 9:42 a.m. on Sunday, whose epicenter was off the coast of the Noto Peninsula in north-central Japan, the area in which the Naoetsu Plant is located registered an intensity of 4 on the seismic scale of 7 used in Japan. Operations at the Plant were temporarily suspended and the safety confirmation measures were carried out. Since there were no persons injured, nor any damage to the facilities, each manufacturing facility reinitiated start-up preparations and began operations, except for the cellulose manufacturing facilities.

On-site investigations to determine the cause or causes of the explosion by the authorities are continuing today; however, the cause or causes of the accident have not yet been determined.

Among the 17 persons injured in this accident and transferred to a hospital, as of today, eight persons have already been discharged from the hospital and presently nine persons remain hospitalized and are receiving treatment. We pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured and we will do our best so that they can have the best treatment possible.

We are again making visits to the people in the local area who were troubled by this accident.

We will continue to report further details on the situation as soon as any further information is ascertained, including information about the cause or causes of the accident.