FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Schedule for Transfer of Hitachi’s Hard Disk Drive Businessto Western Digital (update)Tokyo, Japan, December 5, 2011 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501) today
announced a change in the schedule for transfer of Hitachi’s hard disk drive businessto Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC, “WD”), following WD’s announcement
issued on December 1, 2011. WD now expects to close the transaction by March2012 subject to the completion of obtaining approvals from European Commission
and other regulatory authorities, according to the announcement by WD. It had
previously been announced that the transaction was expected to close in the quarter
ending December 2011(*1).
On March 7, 2011, Hitachi and WD entered into a definitive agreement to transfer all
shares of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies’ holding company, Viviti Technologies
Ltd. to WD, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory
approvals(*2).
*1 In May 2011, Hitachi announced that Hitachi and WD expected to close the transaction in thequarter ending December 2011 due to the European Commission’s determination to enter aPhase II review of the transaction. Please see “Schedule for Transfer of Hitachi’s Hard Disk Drive
Business to Western Digital” (dated May 31, 2011).
http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/f_110531b.pdf*2 “Hitachi Transfers Hard Disk Drive Business to Western Digital” (dated March 7, 2011)
http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/f_110307a.pdf

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading
global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal
2010 (ended March 31, 2011) consolidated revenues totaled 9,315 billion yen ($112.2billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which
includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental,industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as thesophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on
Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

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Cautionary Statement
Certain statements found in this document may constitute “forward-looking statements” asdefined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such “forward-lookingstatements” reflect management’s current views with respect to certain future events and financial
performance and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current
fact. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “intend,” “plan,”“project” and similar expressions which indicate future events and trends may identify“forward-looking statements.” Such statements are based on currently available information andare subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materiallyfrom those projected or implied in the “forward-looking statements” and from historical trends.
Certain “forward-looking statements” are based upon current assumptions of future events which
may not prove to be accurate. Undue reliance should not be placed on “forward-lookingstatements,” as such statements speak only as of the date of this document.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in any“forward-looking statement” and from historical trends include, but are not limited to:•economic conditions, including consumer spending and plant and equipment investment in
Hitachi’s major markets, particularly Japan, Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as
levels of demand in the major industrial sectors Hitachi serves, including, without limitation,
the information, electronics, automotive, construction and financial sectors;•exchange rate fluctuations of the yen against other currencies in which Hitachi makes
significant sales or in which Hitachi’s assets and liabilities are denominated, particularly
against the U.S. dollar and the euro;•uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to access, or access on favorable terms, liquidity orlong-term financing;•uncertainty as to general market price levels for equity securities in Japan, declines in which
may require Hitachi to write down equity securities that it holds;•the potential for significant losses on Hitachi’s investments in equity method affiliates;•

increased commoditization of information technology products and digital media-relatedproducts and intensifying price competition for such products, particularly in the Components& Devices and the Digital Media & Consumer Products segments;•uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to continue to develop and market products that incorporate
new technologies on a timely and cost-effective basis and to achieve market acceptance forsuch products;•rapid technological innovation;•the possibility of cost fluctuations during the lifetime of, or cancellation of, long-term contracts
for which Hitachi uses the percentage-of-completion method to recognize revenue from sales;•fluctuations in the price of raw materials including, without limitation, petroleum and othermaterials, such as copper, steel, aluminum, synthetic resins, rare metals and rare-earth
minerals, or shortages of materials, parts and components;•

fluctuations in product demand and industry capacity;•

uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to implement measures to reduce the potential negative
impact of fluctuations in product demand, exchange rates and/or price of raw materials or
shortages of materials, parts and components;•

uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of its strategy tostrengthen its Social Innovation Business;•

uncertainty as to the success of restructuring efforts to improve management efficiency bydivesting or otherwise exiting underperforming businesses and to strengthen competitivenessand other cost reduction measures;•

general socioeconomic and political conditions and the regulatory and trade environment ofcountries where Hitachi conducts business, particularly Japan, Asia, the United States and- more -3Europe, including, without limitation, direct or indirect restrictions by other nations on imports
and differences in commercial and business customs including, without limitation, contract
terms and conditions and labor relations;•

uncertainty as to the success of alliances upon which Hitachi depends, some of which Hitachi
may not control, with other corporations in the design and development of certain keyproducts;•

uncertainty as to Hitachi’s access to, or ability to protect, certain intellectual property rights,
particularly those related to electronics and data processing technologies;•

uncertainty as to the outcome of litigation, regulatory investigations and other legal
proceedings of which the Company, its subsidiaries or its equity method affiliates havebecome or may become parties;•the possibility of incurring expenses resulting from any defects in products or services ofHitachi;•the possibility of disruption of Hitachi’s operations in Japan by earthquakes, tsunamis or othernatural disasters, including the possibility of continuing adverse effects on Hitachi’s operations
as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011;•

uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to maintain the integrity of its information systems, as well as
Hitachi’s ability to protect its confidential information or that of its customers;•

uncertainty as to the accuracy of key assumptions Hitachi uses to evaluate its significant
employee benefit-related costs; and•

uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to attract and retain skilled personnel.

The factors listed above are not all-inclusive and are in addition to other factors contained in Hitachi’s
periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in other materials publishedby Hitachi.

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to change without prior notice.
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