Translated from 日本語 • View original My benefactor, Mr. Aoki, passed away the other day.
Mr. Aoki retired at the end of March this year as the representative director of Nexty Electronics Co., Ltd., one of the world's largest semiconductor trading companies, at my old home, Toyota Tsusho, a group company, and has been an advisor since then.
I took a train and bus from Nagoya to the funeral for two hours, but I have a feeling that the various things I thought there would have a big impact on my future, and I want to write down what I am thinking now, so I will write a blog.
After I finished writing, it became long when I read it. However, I thought everything was important to me, so I will post it as it is. Please forgive me for the long post.
Meeting Mr. Aoki and a shocking episode
Mr. Aoki was a senior in the department next door (electronics-related business) in the 1990s when I joined the company as a new graduate. I was Pepe, and Mr. Aoki was already a heavyweight.
At that time, I had the impression that Mr. Aoki was a super hard worker who worked until midnight every day.
At that time, I didn't have much to do with work, but the greetings at the drinking party were just Omoshiroi people.
This is a story about when we did karaoke with about 40 people in the department.
Mr. Aoki sings Yemon and somehow enters everyone.
As I was wondering what I had started, Mr. Aoki looked around and took out about three people who were older than him in front of him, and on top of their heads, he waved his hands and said, "Yes, everyone, join us."
"The sun is burning." ♪
That's right. The people who were brought in were seniors who were a little lonely. It was so rude that everyone was taken aback, and then burst into laughter.
The company is a trading company with an athletic temperament, and this outrage against a senior.
Oh no, this person.
I don't feel like I can complain even if I get beaten, but Mr. Aoki, who is a charming character and is the type of person who gets scolded by those around him, couldn't get angry and smiled bitterly.
Looking back, it's a story that seems to be on fire, and it's an unavoidable episode. I'm sorry if you read it. Please forgive me for this story from more than 25 years ago.
Anyway, the character "Mr. Aoki" is special and strong.
Don't decorate yourself, always smile. That was the image of Mr. Aoki for me.
Düsseldorf branch manager
Mr. Aoki was stationed in Germany in his 40s, where he became a branch manager. In 2004. I was stationed at the Düsseldorf branch, where Mr. Aoki became the branch manager, and I became Mr. Aoki's subordinate.
Mr. Aoki as the boss at work was a completely different person from his previous image. Anyway, it's fine. Noisy, noisy.
Looking back now, it was a wonderful side of Mr. Aoki, who was good at taking care of him, but for me in my 30s, I always thought, "Again, don't say such details anymore."
However, in fact, Mr. Aoki's point made me rethink it many times, and I was saved by it many times, so I would like to tell me at the time not to think that it was noisy. Laughter
Although it is a snake's foot, Mr. Aoki's eyes are narrow and drooping, so it is difficult to see his expression. It always looks like it's smiling.
But as we dated for a long time, I thought, "Oh, Mr. Aoki, you're not smiling. I gradually understood that. Laughter
The relationship between expatriates was intense.
On New Year's Day, everyone gathers at Mr. Aoki's house every year. Every day, after work, I would go to Mr. Aoki's desk to talk, and other than that, I would often take him out for drinks, consult with him, and listen to his complaints.
Two years of public and private care.
At the end, when Mr. Aoki returned to Japan, I decided to separate the department I was in and turn it into a separate company. When the business plan was approved by the head office in Japan and Europe, and all that was left to do was to establish it, a problem occurred.
Various problems in the past, such as ERP failures and lack of accounting for sample loans to customers, led to the discovery that there was no inventory of 10 million yen.
I turned blue and consulted Mr. Aoki.
I will omit the details, but as a result, the performance of the branch that year was quite bad. Originally, it was a mistake on site, and I think it was only a nuisance for Mr. Aoki, who will return to Japan that year.
I was frightened by the fact that Mr. Aoki was too much of a nuisance and the size of the loss.
To me, Mr. Aoki said, "I'll be responsible for everything, so Omae should start the new company with clean finances anyway," and gave instructions to the accountant and carried it out.
Mr. Aoki protected me even though I was tarnished by my achievements in the last year of my assignment, explained to the super scary big bosses in Japan, European executives, and got really angry.
From this time on, I began to want to repay this kindness to Mr. Aoki someday.
Karakul Era
Mr. Aoki returned to Japan in 2006 and returned to the electronics department.
I returned to Japan four years later in 2010 and was seconded to Carakul, which was acquired by Toyota Tsusho at the time.
At first, we had almost no work relationship, but when Mr. Aoki became the head of the electronics department, he returned to me as an auditor of Karakul.
At that time, Karakul had just escaped from the deficit and was in a hurry. For three years, every time we met, Mr. Aoki asked, "How about Cage, are you in trouble? He always asked. As always, Mr. Aoki was a reassuring presence for me.
After that, Mr. Aoki became the president of Nexty Electronics Co., Ltd., and as he became even busier, he had fewer opportunities to meet and talk.
Speaking of me, around 2018, I started talking with my parent company, Toyota Tsusho, about whether Karakul would become independent from the Toyota Tsusho Group. Becoming independent means that I myself will retire from Toyota Tsusho.
When I was feeling depressed because I couldn't get understanding from the people around me, the situation was chaotic, and I was being criticized by many people, Mr. Aoki suddenly contacted me.
"Cage, let's go to Meshi."
Mr. Aoki was very worried about me as I was about to quit the company.
Rather than taking such a risk, I wondered if I could somehow do I do what I wanted to do in Toyota Tsusho, "What if I do this? He thought hard.
After talking to him several times, when he realized that I was determined to do so, Mr. Aoki talked to various people in the company and did everything he could to make things go well.
(I later heard that Aoki came to me to talk about Omae.)
What I learned from Mr. Aoki
When Mr. Aoki retired from Nexty Electronics Co., Ltd. in March, we started talking again, and just as he was talking about it, he was about to meet him.
What's going on, Mr. Aoki, you said you would contact me again.
You said let's drink tea and talk about piling up.
You said that you would watch over Karakul's success with pleasure.
It's sad. It's very sad.
Why are you so sad? Are you sad that you can't repay the kindness you received at all?
Or is it the disappointment of Mr. Aoki's untimely death, who was supposed to still work and contribute to the world?
I talked to a senior. He expressed Mr. Aoki in this way.
"Even though it was a story that could be done with other people's affairs, there was no one who lent me so much kindness and help. I think it's amazing that I can't do it."
I see. The reason why I respect and admire Mr. Aoki must have been Mr. Aoki's stance.
Once again, I strongly felt that life is about "how you relate to the people around you".
I think Carakul's vision of "Color Your Work with Excitement" is not just about succeeding in business and making an impact on the world.
As I feel for Mr. Aoki, it is important to work hard so that in the process of accomplishing a big task, we can have a relationship where we can deeply appreciate each other.
This incident gave me the opportunity to think deeply about the meaning of life and work.
Thank you, Mr. Aoki. I, like Mr. Aoki, will do my best to become a person who can be thought of by those around me. See you soon. At that time, I hope I can talk slowly again. I've been in a daze thinking about this for the past few days, but I would like to put a break from what I wrote and move forward again.