It was around 1986, when I was extremely busy starting up operations in Singapore, that trendy words like "torabaru" (i.e., find and move between temporary jobs through the part-time employment magazine "Torabayu") and "shinjinrui" (i.e., trendy young generation with new ideologies) emerged along with "putsun" (i.e., short-tempered) and "oishinbo" (i.e., gourmet).
Shinjinrui? - People often have difficulty accepting something new.
  Richard Branson, who has repeatedly started companies incorporating the administrative style I am pursuing, enthusiastically conveys through his autobiography that regardless of the company seed, whether a student magazine or record shop, they were all chaos in the beginning.
  It is hard to explain what shinjirui are trying to do because old terms cannot be used to describe them. The use of words like new and unique in fact say that the shinjinrui are different from everything else. The high walls of antipathy, doubt, misunderstanding and indifference surround them. It seems like I inserted the term "shinjinrui" into my own chaos.

  The thinking of the young generation has been addressed within new employee attitude surveys and such long before words like shinjinrui became popular. These individuals, as often complained, lack aggressiveness and responsibility. It is possible that maybe some of you have read the annual releases on typical types of new employees by Sakio Sakagawa, chief of the Modern Communications Center. The following are excerpts from the mid-80s:

• 1984, Copy food... Although it is easy to use, it is far from the real thing.
• 1985, Disposable body warmers... They slowly warm up but malfunction when a little force is applied.
• 1986, Daily set lunch... Lacking in interest due to repeated use of the same materials.
• 1987, Telephone cards... They can only be used one way and make noise when finished.
• 1988, Cultured young yellowtail... Raised in an overly protective environment, they lack the feelings of new company members.

  It is true that these definitions seem to capture the essence of torabaru and shinjinrui people, and it is easy to understand why the mass media takes these classifications up each year in such a humorous manner. However, on the other hand, what has happened to the condition of Japanese corporate society, where today's shinjinrui are looking for employment? Is there any type of energy or flexibility that can stimulate their motivation?

  Japanese companies have entered a period of great upheaval. The merit system is being closely analyzed, and the mass media continues to focus on the symptoms of excessive adaptation among company members concerning companies and the problem of benefits for those who can't adapt to the corporate system. Now the middle-aged to elderly company member groups within companies are being reduced due to the collapsing seniority system and the introduction of early retirement plans. The list of negative aspects that can be discussed seemingly goes on forever, and the conditions remain unchanged.
  In such as corporate society, members of the younger generation tend to hide in their shells and show no expression. This is not abnormal in the least as far as I understand. Rather, the anticipation of company members eagerly entering the door with the spirit of "Ganbarimasu" (i.e., "I'll do my best!") is much more strange.
  Japan has become wealthy. The society has surpassed the era of having to work to eat. The choice available to people is no longer only being a company member, and I believe that even when someone does want to work for a company, his/her objectives for working have become more diversified.
  Today, it is not rare for someone to want to work to make friends or because a certain position offers many days off. Naturally, there are also people who must work to make a living. There must also be people who are interested in their work and find a purpose for living as they have chosen. Even so, although companies are aware of such diversifying needs, they still fail to implement measures to handle diversification among company members. It is rather, "This is how we work. Labor on the product until you sweat, learn from your senior, sell the product and so on." It is still the case that many companies are basically saying, If you don't do it this way, we have no need for you."

  I personally do not believe that there is such a feudalistic society. I don't intend to compare today's society to an era when people were bound as slaves and didn't even have the freedom to move. However, it is not rare for people to have control of their lives taken over by a company, and then conduct the work they are instructed to do over long periods of time, becoming "kintaro candy" (a candy log that wherever you cut the same face appears). Such people lose their zest for life and become like a wet leaf that has fallen to the ground.
  I believe that the reason the young generation has taken an attitude against corporate society is because they see many of these types of people. I believe that they, as shinjinrui, are protesting. They are cultivating new lifestyles, each with its own purpose. Fifty people have 50 different values, and 100 people have 100 different values. Those values are being reflected in the peoples' personalities.
  Everyone has their own values. KS Katoites demonstrated this in their own style and amazed the Japanese management with their carefree attitude towards employment. I am not debating whether this is good or bad. Job-hopping is a reality in a society where we are trying to set up operations, and I have begun to think that it is a change that will definitely come to Japan in the future. However, the "administration based on the premise of company members quitting" that I have continued to conceptualize does not mean that I want to make a style that applies only to Singapore.
  Within the concept of "made in market," it is necessary for us to have 100 or 200 production and sales bases throughout the world. But it is impossible for us to dispatch many leaders from Japan. Therefore, we need to offer to people in each country or region the opportunity to take on a job that doesn't ruin their lifestyle, such as working at the company named Kato Spring. If company members are happy when working, they will learn to like the workplace (the company) and begin to place importance on ensuring the company's future. If this occurs, I am sure that they will devote themselves to their work because they want to. This is how option management was developed.