The word "inspire" has as its etymology, the Latin preposition in and the Latin verb spirare, meaning "to breathe". As well as meaning "to breathe in", and "to encourage", it also has various meanings associated with life itself, such as "to uplift the spirit" and "to invigorate". Nothing was put after the word "Next" in order to inspire our stakeholders and all those that read our Corporate Statement to imaginatively fill in the blank that follows with a word like "Era", "Society", "Idea", "Product", "System" or "Solution".
Having others share in the composition of our Statement is one its primary aims.

"Inspire the Next" refers to Hitachi being a new breath of air that will infuse the next generation and future societies, and expresses our attitude of applying the "pioneering spirit" of the Hitachi Group to confront the challenges of that next generation. The "Brand Platform" states the intention that, "Hitachi intends to be the catalyst for a changing society. As society changes, so will Hitachi". This statement embodies Hitachi's intention to continually transform itself through constant innovation as we move into the next generation.