Inclusion Criteria:

• Type 2 diabetic patients aged 45 years or more and less than 70 years when their consent is obtained, who meet "both (1) and (2)" or "both (1) and (3)" of the following criteria. Patients who meet all (1), (2), and (3) are also included as subjects.

  1. Glucose level: Patients with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 7.0% or higher, who are on treatment with some of the following treatments:

     • Only diet therapy and exercise therapy
     • Treatment with 1 oral hypoglycemic agent
     • Treatment with 1 alpha-glucosidase inhibitor (alpha-GI) and one of the other oral hypoglycemic agents

  2. Blood pressure (BP): Patients meeting some of the following conditions of casual BP at the time of the ambulatory practice:

     • Systolic blood pressure (SBP) >= 140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) >= 90 mm Hg without use of anti-hypertensive agent
     • SBP >= 130 mm Hg or DBP >= 80 mm Hg on treatment with 1 or 2 medications of angiotensin II receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, or long-acting calcium (Ca) channel blockers.

     Patients who are on treatment with anti-hypertensive drugs other than angiotensin II receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, and long-acting Ca channel blockers are excluded as subjects. This rule, however, does not apply in the case in which these anti-hypertensive drugs are administered for other purposes.

  3. Lipid metabolism: Patients meeting some of the following 3 conditions of fasting levels without use of medication for the treatment of hyperlipemia:

     • Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (calculated by Friedewald's equation) >= 120 mg/dL
     • Triglycerides >= 150 mg/dL
     • High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) < 40 mg/dL.

Even in the case of the use of only 1 medication for the treatment of hyperlipemia, patients meeting any of the above-described criteria may be included in the study. However, fibrates need to be withdrawn at the start of the study in patients who are on an oral medication consisting of 1 fibrate and allocated to the intensive therapy group.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with BP that is poorly controlled in spite of drug therapy (SBP >= 200 mm Hg or DBP >= 120 mm Hg).
• Patients on treatment with insulin.
• Patients with nondiabetic renal diseases.
• Patients who are strongly suspected of having type 1 DM (including slow progressive type 1) and those with suspected DM due to other specific mechanisms or diseases.
• Patients who are confirmed to be positive for anti-GAD antibodies.
• Patients with LDL-C >= 200 mg/dL.
• Patients with suspected secondary hypertension other than renal hypertension.
• Patients with high-risk family histories, who are suspected of having hereditary dyslipidemia.
• Patients on treatment with anti-hypertensive drugs other than angiotensin II receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, and long-acting Ca channel blockers. This rule, however, does not apply in the case in which these anti-hypertensive drugs are administered for other purposes.
• Patients on treatment with at least 3 drugs including angiotensin II receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, and long-acting Ca channel blockers. This rule, however, does not apply in the case in which these drugs are administered for purposes other than anti-hypertension.
• Patients with proliferative retinopathy or more severe retinopathy.
• Patients with renal failure [serum creatinine >= 2.0 mg/dL (males) and >= 1.5 mg/dL (females)].
• Patients with a past history of cardiac failure or those complicated currently by cardiac failure.
• Pregnant or possibly pregnant patients.

• Patients with BNP >= 100 pg/mL, who meet some of the following conditions:

  • Myocardial infarction
  • Angina pectoris (or a past history of angina pectoris)
  • A past history of bypass operation on the coronary artery
  • A past history of percutaneous coronary revascularization
  • Other heart diseases
  • Electrocardiogram (ECG) findings of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH)
• Other patients who are determined to be eligible by investigators.