午夜剧场

I resigned from Mitsubishi Corporation, where I had worked since graduation, at the age of 40. Declaring the expansion of consumer and media businesses in Asia as my life's work, I established a business entity with a local partner in Thailand.

That said, at the beginning, we had no core business or medium-term business plan. Starting from zero, the first few years were a cycle of searching for, implementing, and reviewing various business ideas.

Without the prestigious 'Mitsubishi Corporation' brand behind me, I felt deeply that personal relationships of trust were my greatest asset. Over the past five or six years, two businesses have finally taken shape.

The first is a sweets business called 'Yufuin Milch.' My Thai partner commented, 'Yufuin is well-known among the wealthy in Asia as a stylish hot spring resort. The sweets from a place called Milch in Yufuin are delicious and a hot topic on social media.'

Someone I knew through another job happened to know the president of that manufacturer and arranged an initial meeting for me in Yufuin. However, the response was cold: 'We haven't even expanded to Tokyo yet; expanding to Thailand is premature.' Undeterred, I visited again with samples of ingredients that could be sourced in Thailand. They told me, 'No one else has come to a business meeting this prepared. This must be fate, so let's consider it.' Today, we are successfully operating four stores in Thailand, including a branch at Bangkok International Airport.

The second is a talent content business called 'BNK48.' Regarding content such as music and drama, Japan's presence in Thailand was virtually non-existent. In that environment, I heard from an acquaintance at the AKB48 management company that they were looking for a business partner in Thailand. I raised my hand on the spot, but we weren't certified immediately. We presented our enthusiasm and our network in Thailand, and were compared against other candidate companies. Despite major Thai entertainment companies also applying, I believe we—who had no track record in this type of business—were chosen because they valued our 'enthusiasm.'

This business also faced numerous trials from the start. However, in less than a year since the debut of the first-generation members, our single reached over 80 million views on YouTube, we were appointed as the official cheer squad for the Thailand national football team, and we secured annual contracts with about ten major sponsors. It has become a great success.

Feeling the importance of connections and enthusiasm every day, I intend to continue driving business development in Asia.

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.