As I reported to you before, due to the Corona disaster, we lost our regular events at the beginning of the year so I used the free time to go around to each of our locations and give my New Year's greetings before the emergency declaration was issued in January.

After the greeting speeches, I was approached by the union branch leaders at the Fuji Susono Plant and then at other plants.

I was very happy to receive them.

Due to infection control measures, we could not gather in large numbers, so we had to have remote conversations with some people, but I was able to talk with many representatives of the union for about an hour.

At the Matsusaka Plant, I stepped into the union office, located in a secluded area, for the first time.

It was also the first time for me to enter the union's main conference room at the Komaki Plant, which is also our home.

I was sitting in the front of the large conference room, surrounded by spaced out representatives, and to be honest, I was a little scared at first, wondering what they would say to me.

However, the main purpose of the dialogue was to get to know each other, as it was the first step in communication.

What we talked about at Komaki Plant (some of it)

Question: What are the key points in uniting the organization and what are our challenges?

Answer: As I always say, I believe that communication is the most important.

It is necessary to create a culture and build a relationship where we can discuss things honestly.

For example, I think it is important to have a relationship of trust and a culture in which we can call each other as "A-san" rather than calling each other or sending E-mail by our job title such as "Manager Mr. A".

Question: You have experienced many companies before joining our company, what is your impression of our company?

Answer: There are many serious people.

And I felt that each department is working with its unique style because you know what to do without exchanging words. Actually, in the past, many of the employees were from around Komaki city, so I think this unique working style added a sense of unity.

However, as the company grows, more and more members, including young people, are coming from various regions and countries.

For these people, there are times when they feel confused because they have not been able to share your ideas verbally and visually.

On the other hand, people who have been working for many years do not understand the problem itself specifically.

Therefore, I have been talking about the importance of communication since I took office.

In any case, I believe that it is important to make communication part of our working habit.

Question: What is the work-life balance of the president?

Answer: I have rarely worked overtime in the past 20 years.

I use my time after work to socialize with customers and employees, and I had dinner at home only four or five times a year on weekdays (before the Corona pandemic).

Since my children I used to play with every week aren’t interested in spending time with me, I try to enjoy “Recreation Volleyball” which has no attack every weekend.

We talked about a lot of things, and in the end, when both sides simultaneously said, "Let's go for a drink (Nominication) after the Corona is over.”, I was honestly very happy.

I strongly believe it is very important for management, employees, and the union leaders who represent them to have honest discussions about the future of the company.

Since we could have such a good start as the first step, I would like to talk with them more casually and more specifically next time.

Of course, I am always willing to communicate with anyone, not just union people, so please contact me anytime.

2021.02