Business Begins with Excitement

Photographed at the salt fields in Kandla, India

Photographed at the salt fields in Kandla, India

Photographed at the salt fields in Kandla, India

Ever since my student days, my decision-making process has been driven by a desire to experience the excitement of taking on new challenges. For example, I played baseball in middle and high school and considered continuing in college, but ultimately I decided to try something new and join the college’s American football team. I felt that I could have new exciting experiences, open up my possibilities, and expand my potential by learning how to compete in a new sport.

I brought my thirst for new experiences and excitement to the job search. After researching various industries, I finally decided that I wanted to join a Japanese general trading company. Trading houses greatly appealed to me because they handle a diverse range of businesses, and employees can acquire all sorts of new experiences through departmental transfers. When I spoke with upperclassmen who went on to work at general trading companies, I got the sense that each trading company had its own distinctive culture even as companies within the same industry. Sojitz employees I met were a huge motivation behind my application to the company. I felt compatible with the Sojitz culture as the employees I met were down-to-earth and genuine, and I imagined that it would be interesting to work together. My dream came true when I was offered a job at Sojitz, which was my top choice. Even after joining the company, I find that Sojitz’s culture enables all employees to interact in a frank and honest manner with one another.

When I joined Sojitz in 2009, I naturally expected to be assigned to a business division as I was outgoing and played team sports in university. To my surprise, the Human Resources Department placed me in the Accounting Department. I had wanted to work in a client-facing role, so I felt a little perplexed with my assignment. When I asked why I had been assigned to Accounting, HR explained it would be better for me to develop a clear understanding of the inner workings of the company and business framework from the vantage point of corporate accounting. After the conversation I went on to work hard on accounting calculations. I only realized the importance of the skills I gained during my two years in the Accounting Department after I was assigned to work in a business division. In the Accounting Department, I learned about various business models through my involvement in trading and business investment projects. My background was advantageous in the business division because I didn’t need to consult the Accounting Department on related tasks. I had opportunities to use my own judgement to make on-the-spot decisions, and this resulted in smoother communication with clients. Now, I am profoundly grateful to the HR team for placing me in the Accounting Department at the beginning of my career.

In 2011, my wish to work in sales came true when I was transferred to the Chemicals Division where I could focus on new and exciting work. For the first seven years, I was involved in the import and sale of lithium compounds used to fabricate lithium-ion batteries for the Japanese market. Later, I went on assignment to Thailand and while working there, I experienced two challenges unique to overseas business that I might not have encountered in Japan. First, I was assigned to a company where I was responsible for all varieties of petrochemicals and related products. While in Japan, I was in charge of one chemical product, and I was expected to achieve a specialist’s knowledge and high degree of experience within that particular market. However, I was suddenly responsible for a range of 50 to 100 different petrochemical products in Thailand. I began by memorizing the names of each and every product and diligently acquiring new knowledge in my usual fashion. But this time, instead of focusing on having an in-depth knowledge of each product, I focused on getting an overview of the petrochemical industry as a whole in order to develop a framework for understanding the balance between product supply and demand. I learned how to conduct business by first establishing an overview of the industry, and then working piece by piece to understand the details, as if putting a puzzle together.

The second challenge that I faced was bringing my team together as a manager. Of course, I recognized that every country has its own cultural characteristics and business practices. Changing careers is considered the norm in Thailand, and I noticed that Thai and Japanese employees have different ways of thinking about work and differing views on company loyalty. As a manager, I used trial and error to find ways to motivate everyone to achieve organizational goals in addition to their personal goals. In order to overcome our cultural differences, I initially made efforts to communicate earnestly with my team and attempted to create a positive work atmosphere that would be conducive to mutual respect and understanding. I used techniques to boost team morale and motivation, such as holding presentation competitions once every fiscal quarter and awards ceremonies based on the final results. The lessons I learned in Thailand were just as important as the lessons I learned in the Accounting Department, and those experiences have made an incredibly positive impact on my career.

From 2023, I returned to the Chemicals Division at Tokyo HQ to oversee our industrial salt business. In addition to regular table salt, there is industrial salt, which has a surprisingly wide range of applications. Industrial salt refers to a raw material that is indispensable for manufacturing industrial products including soap, vinyl products, and glass. Sojitz has over a century of history operating in the industrial salt business, and the salt industry operates on an enormous scale to support a multitude of global industries.

I am able to utilize the experiences gained in my previous assignments to great effect in my work for the industrial salt business. For example, I have a strong financial background thanks to my time spent in the Accounting Department. I can adapt to situations and take a bird’s eye view approach, which I learned to do on assignment in Thailand. I use my expertise to deliver the correct quantities of industrial salt required by clients on schedule every day. In order to transport industrial salt, we use large-scale dry bulk carriers.* These ships can carry a cargo of around 2,000 to 4,000 shipping containers each measuring 20-ft long. We handle 4 to 4.5 million tons of industrial salt annually, and we must anticipate and prepare responses for natural disasters, accidents, and international incidents which can occur without warning. My section is tasked with the critical job of ensuring that products arrive on schedule. We coordinate on a daily basis with suppliers, marine vessel companies, import ports, and our clients. I think that the most interesting part of working in the industrial salt business is balancing the weight of responsibility with the excitement of operating a large-scale business.

*Dry bulk carrier: Marine vessels which transport large quantities of unpackaged bulk cargo, including raw materials such as iron ore, coal, grain, salt, aluminum pellets, and copper ore.

In July 2024, I became the Deputy Section Manager of Inorganic Chemicals Section 1 of the Inorganic Chemicals Department. I will use my experience managing teams in Thailand here in my new role in the Inorganic Chemicals Department. I aim to raise the motivation of each employee in our section by engaging in honest communication in all cases and by creating a working environment where each of our talented section members can leverage their skills.

Sojitz has a very long history in the industrial salt industry, so in terms of my present role in the Inorganic Chemicals Department, my goal now is to lead Sojitz to the top of the industrial salt field. Going forward, I have multiple aspirations and goals that I want to achieve in the future. I would like to go on overseas assignments a few more times and I am also interested in working on a business investment project from start to finish.

As for my personal dream, someday in the future, I would like to live in the countryside and lead a peaceful life farming. The potential of plants fascinates me, and I enjoy the idea of growing something and reaping the rewards for the effort and care you put into your work. Although I have no experience with farming, I think I will remain true to my personal ethos of always experiencing new things.

The experience of moving departments and partaking in overseas assignments is not only fun, but also rewarding because you can develop as an individual and create growth for Sojitz in the process. When you move to an unfamiliar environment, you must also adopt new approaches to adapt, and this expands your capacity to handle new situations. Going forward, I will continue to take on new challenges by seeking out interesting and exciting work.