Initiation Speeches
January 26,2005
Mr.Noburou Matsuoka
Mr.Tatsumi Yoda
President of Sealed Air Japan Ltd.,
Mr.Noburou Matsuoka
"Reliable wrapping material"
My classification is ‘Manufacture and Distribution of Wrapping Machines’. Our Head Office is located in New Jersey, U.S.A. and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
We have offices in 51 countries with more than 100 factories with 18,000 employees. The cushion material you see when you open a can of cookies is our leading article and we invented and developed the article. From the late 50’s to the early 60’s it was the age of vacuum tube computers, and how to transport a large number of such tubes without damage was a problem. Shock resistant packing was undeveloped, so we started out by selling the Aircap, and thus gave birth to the concept of product protection.
It is normal that production does not take place where the product is used and therefore transport is needed. It is our role to minimize the damage to products during transport. Therefore we produce articles which can be used for this purpose according to the need.
Hitherto, our thinking was almost entirely passive ー trying to protect, but this has changed, and I wish to give you a few examples.
1. Ecological concerns:
We stopped using furon which is a risk to the ozone layer. We have established a recycling network for our goods including the manufacture of reusable material and material which returns to soil after use.
2. For human protection. Enhancing traceability of food by noting the origin of the product and record its processing on the wrapping material. Prevention of alteration packaging. Such measures and that of easiness to open are in opposite to each other, but packaging has been devised where the record remains after opening.
3. A corporate effort to overcome the world food shortage. A project team has been organized to study this issue. In advanced countries, 30% of the food is wasted, while in developing nations where the food is needed, only 30% of that available is being used effectively. If we could improve this ratio, much of the problem could be solved without improvement in production. In countries where is no cold chain sanitary packaging can enable high protein foods to circulate at normal temperatures and reach the mouths of the ill and infants which will be a big step towards the elimination of hunger.
Hitherto, packaging was considered to be used to protect its contents, but we feel that by looking externally we can contribute much to this field and thus defend our reliability.
However, packaging is only used when there is matter to be packaged, and we are a side player. The main object is our customers’ goods, and we will continue to play our role to see that customers’ businesses prosper.
President of TY Ltd.
Mr.Tatsumi Yoda
Inventions, ideas, designs, creative producers of motion pictures and music create intangible assets using human taste and intelligence, and by using them gain profits and we call them ‘intellectual assets.
20th Century Japan used technology to create a hyper technological society.
However, the 21st Century calls for a new industrial structure, and in 2002, Prime Minister Koizumi called for creating an intellectual asset oriented social structure, in which intellectual assets will be the base for our international competitiveness and expansion of our industry.
Within these intellectual assets we must include what we call entertainment contents. Simply stated, this includes motion pictures, music, animation, games and entertainment and the policy is to promote these as national strategy.
Our neighbor, Korea has been eminently successful in this endeavor, and I am sure you have seen their ‘Winter Sonata’. As this example has proven, such works that are enjoyed and appreciated by other counties can be effective as a goodwill ambassador.
In Korea, President Kim Dae Jung in 1998 strongly promoted the contents industry. They budgeted the sum of 8.5 billion yen for this purpose. China has followed this example and we will see the results very soon.
The scale of the contents business in Japan is said to be 11 trillion yen in 2001, or 2% of our GDP. In America, it is 5% of their GDP.
The Japan Management Association has caught the interest of our business leaders by forming an Entertainment Contents Industry Development of which I am the Chairman. This Department is formed by members in publishing, broadcasting, motion pictures, games, music, toys, production, distribution, etc. and their various business organizations. This is the first time in their 60 year history that the Japan Management Association has taken up the content industry seriously.
I intend to continue our conversations with the Government’s Intellectual Assets Promotion Strategy Headquarters.
The fact that interest is growing in the contents industry on the part of government and industry is a strong tailwind for us, and on the other hand we must respond to the anticipations of the general public. Therefore we will do our best to promote our nation’s contents industry.