About

A heavy air hangs over Japan today, with no way out in sight. "Whatever we do, nothing will change." That quiet resignation, taking root across this country, is what I fear most. In Ikuru, the book I keep always within reach, there is a phrase: tenka shōfuku — turning misfortune into fortune. A way of living that takes the hardships life brings and, by force of will, turns them toward a higher destiny. Misfortune is not something to avoid; it is the fuel that draws out what people are truly capable of. I take those words as my compass. What troubles me now is where this country stands in international trade. Fractured supply chains, dependence on single countries, rising geopolitical risk. As companies worldwide rethink how they source, those working on the ground in Japan still face three deep-rooted problems. Latest prices, quality data, transaction history — none of it visible. Opacity of information. No way to know whether the other side can be relied on, unease shadowing every deal. Absence of trust. Long, complex procedures that keep consuming people and time. Heavy transaction costs. "Commerce with the world," which carried Japan's economy from postwar recovery onward, is beginning to shake at its foundation. This is the situation we will turn, with our own hands, into fortune. We bring fractured transactions together into one. We turn that fragility into force that carries us out into the world. Not waiting for time to solve it, not waiting for someone else to change it — through our own energy and action, we will turn this misfortune into fortune. Without fail. With gratitude and respect for the history our predecessors built, we will create a business and an organization we can hold up with pride before the people who matter most to us.