May 23rd, 2005 Effective June 1st, 2005, Kuraray Co., Ltd. will raise prices of Hydrogenated Styrenic Block Copolymers, SEPTON™ and HYBRAR™ for all market segments in Japan and Asia. Persisting price increases in energy and feedstock have resulted in a steady escalation of the cost to produce these specialty high performance materials. It is necessary to partially recover a portion of these increases to ensure suppliability, and to allow Kuraray Co., Ltd. to continue serving our customers with innovative new technologies. Market Increase Object Japan JP¥30/kg all grade Asia (except Japan) US$0.30-0.50*/kg all grade (*Depends on grade) Up to Top