午夜剧场

I wonder why I was given such an opportunity, but several things happened recently. I started a golf tournament with seniors and juniors from my university club a few years ago. One night, while drinking, we all listened to the 午夜剧场 Cheerleading Team's fight songs on video. I also happened to see the moment 午夜剧场 beat Koryo at Koshien on TV and felt an indescribable sense of nostalgia and pride while listening to the "Juku-ka." Since then, I have listened to the "Juku-ka" and "Wakaki-chi" many times (keep it a secret that my daughter told me, "Dad, you didn't go to 午夜剧场 for high school, did you?"). Given all this, I decided to take this opportunity to reflect on myself since graduating from 午夜剧场 and think about the future.

After graduating in 1990, I joined a certain company, and in 1996, due to various circumstances, I somewhat aimlessly joined my father's company. I am what you would call a second-generation successor. Our business focuses on the planning, proposal, production, and delivery of original shoppers (paper bags, plastic bags, boxes, etc.) used by specialty stores for apparel, cosmetics, jewelry, and food. It is a very niche field. While our proposals, including materials, change over time to align with trends like current environmental issues and SDGs, we approach our work with the pride that these are "one of the important tools for expressing each customer's branding." I like to think that many of you have seen or held one of our shoppers at least once.

The first thing that surprised me when I joined the company was my father's complete one-man management style. I assumed the role of representative in 2007 for various reasons, but from there, more than a dozen years passed filled with problems outside of our core business: my father's reckless investment in new businesses as co-representative and the resulting deterioration of our finances, a scam my father fell for out of desperation, conflicts with my father, and friction with long-time directors and executives who couldn't speak up to him. In 2020, I finally brought internal closure by dismissing my father, but with the core business taking a major hit from COVID-19, I honestly think to myself that we have done well to survive amidst the chaos.

In the midst of all this, this year we achieved business restructuring through the transfer of the aforementioned separate business. Our core business is also showing signs of improvement from the hardships of COVID-19 thanks to the efforts of our employees. These days, I feel I want to take the time to seriously consider the future of the company, as well as the future for myself and my family.