As stated in <Principle 1.7: Related Party Transactions>, the Company has established a "Special Advisory Committee" composed of independent officers (outside directors and outside Audit and Supervisory Board Members who do not have conflicts of interest with general shareholders). This committee verifies the appropriateness of management policies based on requests from Rakuten Group, Inc. for group business strategies, mutual personnel matters related to our bank group and Rakuten Group, and transactions and actions with Rakuten Group from the perspective of ensuring the sound and appropriate operation of the Company's business and protecting minority shareholders. The committee must be consulted in advance or reported to afterward to verify the appropriateness of various partnerships, ensuring that the Company's independence is not compromised and the interests of minority shareholders are not harmed. [...] Management policies based on requests from Rakuten Group, Inc. for group business strategies, mutual personnel matters related to our bank group and Rakuten Group, and transactions and actions with Rakuten Group that exceed the authority of the president as stipulated in the division of duties and authority table are pre-consulted with the Special Advisory Committee to ensure that they do not hinder the sound and appropriate operation of the Company's business and the protection of minority shareholders.