Please tell us about your current position and role, as well as the work you have been in charge of in the past.

I joined Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (headquartered in Osaka) in 1967. After being stationed in the United States and the United Kingdom, I became president in 2004 and in 2017 I became chairman of the board and chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation, positions that I hold to this day. I currently serve as Vice President of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition and President of the Osaka Athletics.

What do you think of discussing issues common to management functions (divisions/regions) with companies active in different sectors?

The Kansai Region Board of Councilors is mainly composed of members from the Kansai region who are active in the fields of human resources development and manufacturing technology, including human resources and production technology. We exchange opinions on the association's activities and subcommittee activities in the Kansai region, we listen to each company's thoughts on management issues, and then select certain themes for further discussion in the subcommittees. Corporate management issues tend to share many similarities in spite of originating in different industries, and a free exchange of opinions between companies may help solve them. Going forward, the Board of Councilors is planning to discuss "human resource development" to ensure the active participation of diverse human resources, and I look forward to seeing what kind of output can be obtained from exchanges that transcend sectoral boundaries. Also, with the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition coming up, I would like to discuss ways to motivate the Kansai region to work together towards this event.

Tell us about the topics you would like the Board of Councilors to address in the future.

In May of this year, Sumitomo Electric, where I serve as chairman, formulated its long-term vision, the "Sumitomo Electric Group 2030 Vision," which identified maximizing the individual characteristics and abilities of our diverse human resources within the Group as a management issue. I believe that the active participation of diverse human resources is also an important management issue for many of the companies participating in the Board of Councilors, and I would like for participating companies to introduce their initiatives in these areas and to exchange opinions with them.