Face to Face Talk: Sowing the Seeds for a Sustainable Future, While Expanding Ties and Cooperation

Koike: On March 14, 2012, we delivered about 2,300 handmade bags, Brother's 500 self-generating flashlights, and five home sewing machines to Shichigahama-machi, a town just south of Shiogama City in Miyagi Prefecture which was struck by the huge tsunami. We were lucky to have a connection with the town through a non-profit organization based in Nagoya City, which has focused on reconstruction efforts in Shichigahama-machi, and have been working with this NPO.

Kato: What made you decide to start the activities?

Koike: Since the earthquake in 2011, the Brother Group has been helping the reconstruction in various ways, with the assistance of group companies around the world. Some employees in a department responsible for the home sewing machine business volunteered to start a project for delivering handmade goods created using sewing machines, which are what Brother first started producing. They invited other employees to join the project by distributing guidebooks on how to create handmade goods. Eventually, the project involved sales and manufacturing subsidiaries, sales partners such as dealers, and customers who use Brother sewing machines both in and outside Japan. More than 2,300 handmade items were collected, far beyond the initial target of 1,000, and were delivered to elementary and junior high-school children and people living in evacuation shelters in Shichigahama-machi.
The self-generating flashlights, which are eco-friendly and suitable for long-term storage, incorporate our proprietary shake-charging technology which harnesses vibration energy. Power is generated simply by shaking the flashlight. These self-generating flashlights don't require batteries and so are useful in an emergency. The town mayor was very pleased.

Kato: Self-generating flashlights? Amazing! Talking about sewing machines, my mother used to work as a dressmaker, but sewing machines have become much more convenient over the years.

Koike: Yes. In the affected areas, many people have become reclusive in their temporary homes due to the psychological shock of the earthquake and fears about the future. This is not good for their mental health. We thought that sewing machines could help them communicate with each other, create something, and refresh their soul, so we delivered our sewing machines in the hope that craftwork would help motivate them. As you mentioned, sewing machines today are very convenient: it's easy to thread the machines; users can scan images and enjoy easily making decorative embroideries. Some people who learned from us how to use the machines were surprised by the functionality and ease of operation.
By the way, I heard you have visited the affected areas many times to talk with the local people.

Kato: Yes. The TV reports on the affected areas immediately after the earthquake reminded me of the situation after World War II. When I was young, I was held in a concentration camp in Manchuria. Eventually I was put on a freight train and returned to Japan on a repatriation ship, and that's when I started. I was overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia and felt very close to the people who appeared on TV. They were on the edge of survival. Pictures of babies in the arms of their mothers in evacuation shelters reminded me of my childhood. That sense of closeness prompted me to write a song "Ima Dokoni Imasuka" in one week. The song reflected the simplest form of myself, eliminating all unnecessary things in my life. When I was small, although there were hardships, I found my mission to sing songs. In that sense, 3/11 marked a major milestone in my life by taking me back to where I began.
Last year, I visited the affected areas several times. In February 2012, I went to Miyagi Prefecture and found lively temporary markets throughout the prefecture with unique names such as "Yume Ichiba" (Dream Market) or "Kaze Ichiba" (Wind Market), which sound encouraging and amusing. At a market in Ofunato City, I found that a community with a nice atmosphere had been created with a boardwalk (a wooden walkway) which I was told had been donated. When I served as UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, I visited Sri Lanka and Thailand after they had been hit by the tsunami caused by the earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. Large markets were created around temporary home communities, and were packed with people printing designs on T-shirts and making clothes with sewing machines.

Koike: When I visited Shichigahama-machi, I was impressed by the character of the town mayor. He has been staying with his relatives because his house was destroyed by the tsunami. When I asked when he was going to rebuild his house, he replied, "I'll think about it when the issue of relocating the town to high ground is solved and all the temporary shelters are gone." I was greatly impressed to see such integrity in today's world. In the town mayor election held this year, he was re-elected uncontested, but he will have to work hard for another four years in a difficult situation. He really amazed me.

Kato: I too have met many upstanding people in the Tohoku region doing great work, like the mayor.

Koike: In 2010, a donation presentation ceremony of the Ink Cartridge Return Project was held in conjunction with the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10). Thank you very much for visiting Brother Communication Space as UNEP Goodwill Ambassador.

Kato: Thank you for inviting me. How is the project going?

Koike: Six printer manufacturers have been collecting and recycling used ink cartridges through post offices and some public offices. About 1.6 million ink cartridges have been recycled annually. In Europe, North and South America, and Asia, the Brother Group is collecting and recycling cartridges via unique systems in the respective regions.
Incidentally, energy issues have attracted much public attention since 3/11. In the 1970s, you built Kamogawa Shizen Ohkoku (Kamogawa Natural Kingdom) with your husband in Chiba Prefecture, showing your stance on such issues based on your own experience. Which types of energy are you most interested in now?

Kato: I am seriously considering introducing a low head hydropower system near Kamogawa, and have been doing some research. Last year, I visited the Kingdom of Bhutan with my friends, and was surprised to learn that the country produces four times more electricity than it uses, so it exports some to India. The electricity is generated by low head hydropower systems utilizing the steep mountains and abundant snowmelt in the Himalayas. Unlike Japan, Bhutan does not have big cities or large industries that need a lot of electricity, so they do not need to build large dams. When I learned about these things, I thought we can learn from Bhutan's approach. Japan may be different from Bhutan in terms of economic scale and socioeconomic system, but it is similar in being mountainous with many mountain streams and high annual precipitation.

Koike: Regarding the Himalayas, I understand that the glacial lakes have been melting due to global warming and that villages in low-lying areas are at risk of flooding. Prevention of global warming is a top priority of the Brother Group, and we have been working hard to enhance the energy efficiency of our products and meet CO₂ emissions reduction targets at manufacturing facilities and offices in and outside Japan, under the global slogan of "Brother Earth".

Kato: We really need products to help communities become self-sufficient in electricity, although battery capacity is an issue. Self-generating flashlights surely have huge potential. I hope you will create a big market for this product.

Koike: Yes. In fact, our engineers have been working to solve the challenges to broaden the range of applications in future. For example, our technology could mean that mobile phone users don't have to struggle to find a power outlet when the battery runs out – they could generate electricity and recharge their phones simply by shaking them. Recently, we have launched a new high-quality video conferencing system using cloud computing. These systems help reduce energy consumption for long-distance business trips, for example, thus reducing global warming and improving the work-life balance by efficient time management.

Kato: In Japan, technologies tend to be developed to assist people who need help. This is a wonderful approach.
In many Asian countries today, the rich natural environment is being destroyed in the rush to modernize, making the same mistake Japan did several decades ago. However, Japan learned a lot from environmental mistakes and has developed world-class green technologies. Japan's technologies should be transferred to Asian countries to help protect the beautiful nature and create business opportunities, and the local people would be grateful to Japan. The concept of "Brother Earth" should be reflected in this context.

Koike: You debuted 47 years ago and yet you still perform often, hosting tours such as Horoyoi Concert, appearing on TV and radio programs, writing books, doing interviews, and taking care of the Kamogawa Natural Kingdom. Where do you get the energy?

Kato: I think I am destined to do all of these things. I do not have intentions; things happen in the natural course of events. I have liked rivers since my childhood and I used to spend a lot of time by rivers. The water rushes down a river, and from the same riverhead flows to diverse destinations. If you drop a leaf on the surface of a river, you can watch it bump into rocks and circle around and around going nowhere, but eventually it will move on and flow down. I feel like that flow. If there is someone who needs me, when I am asked to come, I think I can go. I decide to do things based on that simple principle.
So, when I come across an event, I try to face it honestly. If I meet someone by chance, I try to communicate with sincerity, visit them as much as possible, and do whatever I can. This is my style. Memories of events and people I have met properly and courteously can last for 10 or 20 years. At a concert in an affected area, I met someone who had been to one of my concerts 20 years ago. The person vividly remembered the concert and so did I, and we both commented on the fun we had had. In 2011, I discovered on many occasions that I am still connected to people whom I met 20 years ago, even though we have never exchanged letters over the years.
This experience totally changed my attitude toward people I meet by chance. I try to do my best for the people I meet. Over the years of my life, there have been undercurrents of water, and I have felt the joy of discovering the water flowing to the surface and forming a spring. In that sense, I am very grateful for my decades as a singer.

Koike: Our history resembles yours. One hundred and four years ago, Brother started out as a repairer of imported sewing machines. With the ambition of turning the import industry into an export industry, Brother succeeded in manufacturing sewing machines in Japan. Later, while forecasting changing needs, we switched our main products one after another, from knitting machines and typewriters, to machine tools, printers, and multifunction devices. Today, our sales outside Japan account for about 80 percent, and we sell products in more than 40 countries and regions. Over the years we have made numerous mistakes, but our predecessors always embraced the challenges without hesitation.
So our philosophy is not "Neither too much nor too little." We do a lot, even if it is too much. It is important to correct any mistakes and change course to survive, otherwise we cannot keep up with the changing times.

Kato: You mentioned sewing machines and printers as examples. How are they related to each other technologically? Are they linked, say, on a family tree?

Koike: Yes. For example, when a product is developed, other technologies are generated in the process. These technologies may grow into a big branch, blossom, and bear fruit. Through such processes, some businesses grow into large, mature trees, while other businesses are like young, skinny trees growing rapidly. These businesses are related to each other and form the big forest of Brother. Every tree inherits Brother's genes and continues to grow from one generation to next. This applies to our employees. People of diverse generations, races, and nationalities are united as "global Team Brother" and work with pride and mutual respect. I believe that such unity makes Brother worth working for and will help ensure a long, successful future.

Kato: I too am committed to expanding ties and cooperation. Last year, I released a CD titled "Nuchi-Yui", and decided to focus on Nuchi-Yui in my activities. "Nuchi" is an Okinawan dialect that means life, while "Yui" is an archaic Japanese word that means ties for sustaining communities. I coined "Nuchi-Yui" to communicate the message of keeping ties among people and connecting the past with the future to pass on the baton of life. I will keep singing to deliver this message.
Japan has been quick to abandon its past, but I believe that constancy in "constancy and change" as described in Zeami's Kadensho should be handed over properly to the next generation. In that sense, there is a lot to learn from Bhutan's approach. While actively introducing cutting-edge technologies, the country is committed to preserving its traditions and customs. People of our generation have a duty to connect the past with the future. So, I will continue to sing until I become 100.

Koike: I agree. I do not intend to retire when I turn 60. I will continue to work as a senior volunteer or something similar. This type of personal commitment will revitalize our nation. Thank you very much for today.