Know MC's People

At the end of 2020, I was seconded overseas to an apparel firm that's one of MC's portfolio companies. When I began my assignment there, I was interviewed by the company's president, and this was the first thing he asked me. It seemed a very simple question, but I couldn't give him a good answer. I ended up just providing him with a rough explanation of my career to date.
After that secondment, changing circumstances in local business climates afforded me more and more opportunities for self-reflection. I would ask myself, "Why am I here? And what can I do for this company's employees?" It was during that self-reflection that it hit me how I should have answered the question I'd been asked by the president of that apparel company. Because he hadn't wanted to know who I was, but rather what kind of person I wanted to be, and in that sense what I wanted to do for others, the company, and society at large.
Considering how times, work, stakeholders, and all manner of things are changing, being asked what we want to bring to others through our work is a profound question, and one that has made me think hard about my personal convictions. Nowadays, I ask myself this question whenever I'm faced with a difficult decision, and I always try to give a more convincing answer than I did at the start of that secondment in 2020.

I was born in a rural community, and I was always driven by a desire to spread my wings and see the wider world. During my ten years at MC, I've been to a lot of different countries and regions, and I've been blessed with opportunities to meet all kinds of different people. I've also faced some challenging circumstances, including those brought on by the global pandemic and international tensions. Through all of those encounters and experiences, my desire to know the world has gradually evolved into a desire to change the world.
My ambitions at present are to deliver genuine value to society and create businesses that all members of society can be proud of.
I have quite a bit of life and business experience outside Japan, having studied and interned overseas for six years and had postings during my career with MC in two countries. That experience has made me wonder quite keenly about how we can get visitors to Japan to fall in love with our country and culture, and I'd like to use it to one day help commercialize and grow brands, concepts and other "intangible value" that is uniquely Japanese.
I'd love for Japan to broaden international awareness of its value and add just a bit of unique flavor to the lives of people all over the world. That's the kind of world I want to realize, and I think this business can help make it possible!