午夜剧场

"The Illusion of Idealism"—this refers to a misunderstanding I had when I was stationed on a tropical island as a corporate employee. The manageable size of the country and the perceived immaturity of its people and society led me to believe, "I can surely do 'something' to change this country and its people."

More than ten years ago, I became involved in an effort to revive Sri Lanka's legendary coffee through personal meddling. At the time, it was like a small group of passionate people playing in a sandbox, misunderstood by others. However, because we kept playing even after falling down time and again, the quality eventually reached a level where it won an award at an international coffee competition (IIAC 2016). In a country so famous for tea, the fact that coffee is beginning to establish itself as a brand by borrowing that prestige is quite thrilling.

It is also delightful and exciting to have launched products like Coffee Leaf Tea (Ceylon Te Cafe), made from young coffee leaves, based out of the coffee business and cafe we established in the World Heritage hills of Kandy. However, the "Illusion of Idealism" I mentioned at the beginning is a troublesome thing.

Almost all the employees and production union members I work with on this island are women. Even if they appear to want to be rescued from poverty, the reality is often not that desperate. In fact, I feel that they instinctively understand the simple essence of wealth better than Japanese society, which is inviting a decline in desire by pursuing uniform convenience. The reason they look like they want to be saved might just be a tropical attitude of wanting money or things if they happen to fall into their laps easily.

Consequently, those who arrive in this country loudly proclaiming social business goals while misunderstanding how to handle wealth often end up disappointed and lose interest. There are many cases where, a few years later, it looks like the "morning after the festival." Therefore, we, who wish to work quietly for the long haul, must exercise self-restraint and self-reflection. This is especially true when starting new initiatives with local people.

While maintaining the coffee company locally, I established Tamaki no Mori Co., Ltd. in Japan as a risk control firm. This was to help Japanese companies and entrepreneurs who head to South Asia with an "Illusion of Idealism" avoid the dangerous traps they are fated to encounter. This is my second act of meddling, following the coffee business.