159
Komiyama The effects will be enormous, so I really do hope you will put in the
effort.
Uchiyamada Even so, the things that one company can do are small compared to
the problems the world faces. As you said earlier, if everyone makes an effort, it will
create great energy for dealing with the problem of climate change.
Interview 2: Regional Revitalization and New Work Styles
Local Activation for Stronger Competitiveness
Masahiro Sakane
Councilor, Komatsu Ltd
Komiyama There are three topics I’d like to cover today: The transfer of some
Komatsu headquarters functions away from Tokyo, ideas for implementing different work styles in the company, and the kinds of steps that will be needed to achieve
regional regeneration in Japan as a whole.
Sakane I can talk about several things. Before the start of the Abe administration,
when the LDP was out of power, they said “Talk to us when we set up the
Headquarters for Japan’s Economic Revitalization,” which then got started inside
the LDP offices. It was at the first meeting, I believe. What I said was, the two big
challenges for Japan are overcoming deflation and revitalizing the regions, and
when it comes to deflation and regional decline, Komatsu as a company is a microcosm of the country.
Let’s start with how Komatsu is a microcosm for deflation. You know as well as
anyone about our “SMARTCONSTRUCTION” business, which brings new solutions to the worksite by using the internet of things (IoT). The original motivation
for that had to do with the fact that Japan is the least profitable place in the world to
sell construction machinery. We do sell a lot of construction machinery in Japan,
considering the country’s small land area. And that’s because of the organization of
the construction industry, which extends to fourth-tier and fifth-tier subcontractors,
meaning there are a great many companies. They all lease or buy machinery, but the
rates of operation are very low. So, they can’t pay unless it’s cheap, the cheapest in
the world. Three times cheaper than in China, even with the exchange factor.
Interview
Komiyama The effects will be enormous, so I really do hope you will put in the
effort.
Uchiyamada Even so, the things that one company can do are small compared to
the problems the world faces. As you said earlier, if everyone makes an effort, it will
create great energy for dealing with the problem of climate change.
Interview 2: Regional Revitalization and New Work Styles
Local Activation for Stronger Competitiveness
Masahiro Sakane
Councilor, Komatsu Ltd
Komiyama There are three topics I’d like to cover today: The transfer of some
Komatsu headquarters functions away from Tokyo, ideas for implementing different work styles in the company, and the kinds of steps that will be needed to achieve
regional regeneration in Japan as a whole.
Sakane I can talk about several things. Before the start of the Abe administration,
when the LDP was out of power, they said “Talk to us when we set up the
Headquarters for Japan’s Economic Revitalization,” which then got started inside
the LDP offices. It was at the first meeting, I believe. What I said was, the two big
challenges for Japan are overcoming deflation and revitalizing the regions, and
when it comes to deflation and regional decline, Komatsu as a company is a microcosm of the country.
Let’s start with how Komatsu is a microcosm for deflation. You know as well as
anyone about our “SMARTCONSTRUCTION” business, which brings new solutions to the worksite by using the internet of things (IoT). The original motivation
for that had to do with the fact that Japan is the least profitable place in the world to
sell construction machinery. We do sell a lot of construction machinery in Japan,
considering the country’s small land area. And that’s because of the organization of
the construction industry, which extends to fourth-tier and fifth-tier subcontractors,
meaning there are a great many companies. They all lease or buy machinery, but the
rates of operation are very low. So, they can’t pay unless it’s cheap, the cheapest in
the world. Three times cheaper than in China, even with the exchange factor.
Interview