Japan 5A MAN FOR ALL SEASONINGS
Few executives anywhere have seen as many economic cycles as the head of the world’s best-known maker
and purveyor of soy sauce and other global seasonings.
He’s not as young as he used to be, but he still
cuts a dapper figure in person. At 84, he is one
of the elder statesmen of Japanese business,
not merely by virtue of age, but due to the
widespread respect he commands both at
home and abroad.
Yuzaburo Mogi, the Honorary CEO and
Chairman of the Board of Kikkoman Corpora-
tion, is in many ways the face of the company.
Back in the early 1970s, he pushed the tradi-
tional soy sauce maker to set up a factory in
the U.S.—years before Japan’s giant electron-
ics companies and automakers did the same.
His strategy of local manufacturing, local sales
and responding to local needs was decades
ahead of its time.
How does this farsighted executive feel
about changes in Japan today? For example,
many Japanese companies set 60 as their
mandatory retirement age, but are now hik-
ing it to 65 in response to the growing labor
shortage. How does Mogi see that change?
He is quick to respond: “There are lots of
people who are still vigorous and want to
work until 70 or even 75. Why should they be
forced to retire? Older workers have a wealth
of knowledge and experience. Putting those
assets to work, perhaps by having older work-
ers teach younger ones, is a smart policy. It’s
good for the company, good for the workers
and good for society. Everyone wins.”
Regarding Japan’s labor shortage he says,
“The short-term answer is simple: we must
make the best possible use of our existing
resources. That means providing better work-
ing opportunities for both seniors and for
women.”
Many Japanese companies are now putting
a strong emphasis on hiring employees with
IT or technical skills. As Kikkoman is deeply
involved in biotechnology, does Mogi share
that emphasis on technical expertise and IT
skills?
He thinks a moment and replies, “Of course,
IT skills are important today, but for most work-
ers, they’re only a tool. Business is fundamen-
tally about people, not technology. To succeed
in business you must understand people.”
“I hear some executives say that history, lit-
erature, philosophy and so on have no value
in the business world. I disagree. I believe
our education system is too specialized; it
has forgotten the importance of liberal arts.
If you don’t understand the background ofsomething, the human perspective, you can’t
really understand anything in business today.”
His most incisive comments were about
rapid change, risk and middle managers’
inability to deal with both: “One thing I notice
is the increasing pace of change. Of course,
there is change in any era. But now the busi-
ness cycles are much faster. There is greater
pressure for companies to make changes
quickly. Management must adapt. However,
today’s middle managers have never experi-
enced a period of strong economic growth.
To use another sports analogy, they’ve never
been on a winning team, so they don’t know
how to win.”
“In fact, top management isn’t much bet-
ter—in many cases senior executives are just
as risk-averse as middle managers, afraid to
invest even when doing so is necessary for
a company’s growth. Simply put, people are
afraid of risk," he says.Yuzaburo Mogi is a descendant of one of the founding families of Kikkoman, which is among
the oldest continually running businesses in Japan. He became company President in 1995, was
named Chairman in 2004, and assumed the title of Honorary CEO and Chairman of the Board
of Directors in 2011. Mogi holds an MBA from Columbia University.
Yuzaburo Mogi
Honorary CEO and Chairman of the Board
of Directors, Kikkoman CorporationWhat should be done? Mogi replies
quickly that “both employees and
managers should be given a wider
range of experiences to broaden
their outlook.”
Bold, decisive men such as Mogi
helped to build Japan into the eco-
nomic giant it became in the 1970s
and beyond. To continue growing in
this century, the nation needs more
leaders with his values, insight and
vision.SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION