The third Thursday of May each year is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. This is a day to talk, think and learn about accessibility and the people who need it.

Sony's Purpose, which expresses why we exist, is to "fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology." It is said that one in six people, more than 1.3 billion people, in this world have some kind of disability.

By combining creativity and technology, Sony Group is driving initiatives to improve accessibility so that people with diverse needs can enjoy our products, services, and experiences.

For example, in the area of games, we have rolled out "accessibility tags" in the PlayStation®Store so that you can easily see what accessibility features the game you want to play has. Project Leonardo, an accessibility controller kit for PlayStation®5 that we announced earlier this year, aims to make gaming more accessible for people as much as possible. We will continue to explore features that address the needs of a diverse range of gamers.

Through Sony's digital imaging products, we also aim to contribute to expanding the creative potential of people with visual impairments. We offer people with low vision*1 our retinal projection camera kit, which consists of a Sony compact camera and QD Laser viewfinder that uses laser retinal projection technology*2. We have also implemented initiatives such as installing a "screen reader" function on the new vlog camera, taking on board feedback from employees and users with visual impairments.

To further promote inclusive initiatives, it is also essential to enhance the awareness of each employee. At Sony, we are engaged in measures to raise this awareness, and by the end of the 2022 fiscal year, approximately 50,000*3 Sony Group employees had taken e-learning courses designed to deepen their understanding of accessibility. We plan to continue to provide such learning opportunities for our employees going forward.

Based on our corporate direction of "getting closer to people", we intend to deliver even greater accessibility, and through our diverse businesses contribute to even more people being able to share Kando (emotion).