Hello Everyone,
It's been pretty hot recently in Japan, but how are you all doing? I think that a lot of people in the US and Europe are traveling for their summer vacations. We’ve moved from the season of hydrangeas to sunflower season. When I hear "sunflower," I think of the movie starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. It tells the story of a wife going from Italy to Ukraine to look for her husband, who never came home after World War II. This year, I am surprised and saddened that human nature can let the same kind of tragic events happen all over again in Ukraine. I sincerely hope that this cruel war will come to an end soon.
In late June, I went to Europe for the first time in two years to hold town hall meetings at our European group companies. My plan was to visit RITE first, then ROP and MILabs, and finally RESE, so Prague was my first stop. I have traveled hundreds of times overseas for business, but this was my first visit to the Czech Republic, so I was very much looking forward to it. We had a town hall meeting at RITE on Friday and the following Saturday we visited many historic sites, such as Strahov Monastery in Prague, Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge. In many European cities, the scars of war remain and it seems that old buildings are rarely preserved as they are. But in Prague many historic sites are preserved in their original state. As it is registered as a World Heritage Site, I had high expectations.
However, being distracted by such a wonderful tour of the old places, I suffered the misfortune of having my passport stolen. After that, I needed to get a special travel permit issued by the Japanese Embassy in Prague, and I needed to return directly to Japan. I heard that ROP had prepared various things to welcome me, so I went ahead and held a town hall meeting remotely with them on the morning of the day I returned to Japan. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone at ROP for all of their preparation. I would also like to sincerely apologize to everyone at MILabs and RESE for canceling the event suddenly. I would like to complete the European Town Hall Meetings when you are back from summer holidays.
For our team in China, I did the Town Hall remotely because of the strict regulations on travel due to coronavirus infections. Once the travel situation improves, I hope to meet you all in person. Beyond that, I will schedule Town Halls with RESE, MILabs and XwinSys as soon as possible.
Whilst I’m no musician, I love watching ballet, opera and classical concerts, and I listen to classical music at home when I have time. One of my favorite pieces of classical music is Smetana's "My Homeland," so I had further reasons to look forward to my visit to Prague. "My Homeland" was composed as a six-song work over seven years starting in 1872. It is said that Smetana completely lost his hearing by the end of 1874, so the songs after the first one, "Vysehrad," were composed without hearing. The first song expresses the rise and fall of the great powers surrounding the ruined Vysehrad Castle of the Kingdom of Bohemia, and it makes you feel the past greatness of Bohemia. The second song, "Vltava," is the most famous and I listen to it the most. It is a song about the transition of the landscape from along the banks of the Vltava River, which flows from east to west through the Czech land into the Elbe River. When I first saw the slow flow of the Vltava River through the center of Prague, I really felt the echoes of this song. Someday I would love to return to Prague for the Spring Music Festival, which is held every year in commemoration of Smetana.
Many people around the world want to improve their lifestyles while preserving their respective cultures and traditions. But small countries and small nations have often been at the mercy of more powerful neighbors, and could not always control their destiny. The wave of globalization after the end of the Cold War was a trend that threatened the uniqueness of our diverse nations. However, the policy of emphasizing diversity, which is also incorporated into Rigaku's mission and values, is linked to the idea of preventing tragic history from being repeated, by emphasizing respect for individuality and ethnicity. In the past, capital markets simply required listed companies to make profits efficiently. Under this way of thinking, it was important that global group companies were organizations that operated efficiently, like the gears of a large machine. But things are changing, and investors are more sensitive to the social implications of corporate activities. That is why I am aiming for a new corporate model as a group of companies that can make a genuine contribution to a sustainable society, while making the best use of the unique characteristics of each company in the global Rigaku Group.
Once again, I call for everyone to join the challenge of creating a new corporate culture together.
