Mr. Hiroshi Tomita, a former corporate executive officer and chief of the Personnel Administration Department of Itochu Corporation.

 

 Itochu Corporation, founded in 1858, is one of Japan's leading sogo shosha (trading houses) that deals in textiles, machinery, metals, energy, chemicals, foodstuffs, etc. It has 70,000 employees who work at 130 locations in 66 countries across the world. The company reported approximately 12 trillion yen in consolidated sales in fiscal 2012.

 

 Hakumon Herald chose Mr. Tomita for its first in a series of interviews with members of society which it planned to mark its resurrection in 2012 after 15 years of suspension in hopes of enlightening our student readers. Mr.Tomita retired in 2012 after working for Itochu and its subsidiary companies.

 

伊藤忠商事は１８５８年創業の、繊維、機械、金属、エネルギー、化学品、食料などを扱う総合商社。世界６６カ国約１３０の拠点に７万人の従業員がおり、連結で約１２兆円の売り上げを誇る。新生白門ヘラルド第１回の社会人インタビューは、この伊藤忠商事で執行役員、人事部長を務め、その後、伊藤忠商事の関係会社勤務を経て昨年退職した富田博さんに登場願った。

 

 

―What do you think the charm of Itochu is?

 

―伊藤忠グループの魅力はどんなところにあると思われますか。

 

Mr. Tomita: I think one of Itochu's charms is its free and unfettered corporate style. As compared with other trading companies Itochu assigns more important works to its young employees which help them have a lot of experience.　That is also Itochu’s charm.

 

富田博氏（以下/富田）：自由闊達なところだと思います。他の商社に比べても若い頃か重要な仕事を任せてもらえ、多くの経験を積むことができました。

 

―What does the Personnel Administration Department do?

 

―人事部の仕事とは何でしょう。

 

Tomita: Its primary task is recruitment. We make a pitch and arrange an exam in order to get excellent guraduates. Another important job we do is to train and nurture them. Students have few chances to develop their work skills in school days. So after they joined us, we encourage them to build up their experiences and learn their trade. We give them a lot of training and help them grow up as business persons. One of things we also do at the Personnel Administration Department is to build a system to develop human resources. For example, at Itochu, we make it a rule to change our people's work assignments once every five years. We want them to experience different environments, learn various values and grow bigger in capacity. Another role we play is to promote the corporate metabolism by making the flow of personnel more fluid.

 

富田：まずは人を採ること。優秀な学生に来てもらうために宣伝し、採用試験を実施します。それから人を育てること。学生時代に仕事のスキルが磨かれるわけではないので、入社して経験を積みながら仕事を覚え、研修もしてもらいビジネスマンとして育てます。この人を育てるための仕組みづくりをするのも人事部の仕事。例えば伊藤忠商事では、５年に一度仕事を変わってもらうようにしています。環境を変え、色々な価値観を知ってもらうことで、その人のキャパシティを大きくしていきます。また、人を流動化させることで社内の新陳代謝を図るのも人事部の役割です。  

―When you hire new graduates, what particular do you see in them?

 

―新卒採用に当たって、学生のどのような点をみていますか

 

Tomita: First of all, we see if they are serious and earnest. It is very important to know whether they can make serious efforts. We also see if they have devised ways to achieve a result after making necessary efforts. Next, we check their aggressiveness. After joining a trading company, they sometimes may have to work in tough conditions. It is quite important for them to be positive and cheerful and do things proactively. It's also important for them to be independent rather than simply following others.

 

富田:まずは真面目さです。真面目に努力するというのはとても重要です。また努力をしたうえで結果が残せるように工夫してきたかどうかもみています。次に積極性です。商社は厳しい環境の下で働くこともあるので、前向きな明るい性格で、何事にも積極的であることが大切です。それから、ただ従うのでなく、自主性も重要になります。

 

―Has the number of female employees increased?

 

―女性社員の数は増えましたか。

 

Tomita: Since the enforcement of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in 1986,the ratio of female employees has risen to 25-30% from a low 2-3%. But while many competent women come to work with us, we have some difficult problems. One of them is that some of them discontinue their career along the way for reasons of marriage or child rearing.

 

富田：１９８６年に男女雇用機会均等法が施行されて以来、新卒採用では２、３％だった女性社員の割合も、今では２５～３０％くらいになっています。多くの優秀な女性が働いてくれるようになった一方で、結婚や子育てによってキャリアが途中で切れてしまうという難しさもあります。

 

―We hear you worked for long in New York. Has that experience changed you?

 

―富田さんはニューヨークに長らく勤務されていました。その経験を通して何か変わったことはありましたか。

 

Tomita: When I got my assignment in New York, it was not a common practice yet for Japanese business people to work abroad. I had a lot of culture shocks, such as the difference of languages and cultures. I think my experiences in New York have helped me acquire an ability to adapt myself to different cultures and communicate with people having different language and cultural backgrounds.

 

富田：当時は今のように海外に行くのが当たり前の時代ではなかったので、言葉や文化の違いによるカルチャーショックが大きかったです。その中で異文化に対応して適応する力や言葉や文化の違う人とコミュニケーションを取る力が身に付いたと思います。

―What do you think has made Japan a leading economic power after World War II?

 

―戦後、日本が世界有数の経済大国になった要因は何だと思われますか。

 

Tomita: I think one of the factors is the Japanese people's character that prompted them to work hard to catch up with other countries. Another factor was that Japan had an abundant work force, that is, the baby-boomer generation. And I think the good teamwork between labor unions and the management was also greatly helpful.

 

富田：ひとつは、世界に追いつかなければと、真面目に努力してきた国民性だと思います。次に団塊の世代という豊富な労働力があったこと。そして労働組合と企業が一体となっていたことだと思います。  

 

―What message do you have for the new students who are joining their university in April?

 

―新入生に向けてメッセージをお願いします。

 

Tomita: I advise them to work on something in real earnest during their limited four years. That can be study, club activity or something else. I think they should consider what they really want to do and just do it with a clear-cut sense of purpose.

 

富田：4年間という限られた期間の中で、勉学やクラブ活動など、何かに一生懸命励んでください。その中で自分が何をやりたいか考えて目的的に活動すればよいと思います。

 

―Could you express yourself with a single kanji character?

 

―最後に富田さんご自身を漢字一文字で表してください！

 

Tomita: That kanji will be "makoto (sincerity)." I think sincerity and seriousness are all important. That will make people trust you and that will help your business and organization go well.

 

富田：「誠」です。誠実さや真面目さはすごく大事だと思いますし、それが信頼を生み、ビジネスや組織運営がうまくいきます。

 

―Thank you very much.

 

―ありがとうございました！

 

 

Interviewed by: Kento Isogai & Sakurako Ogami