SPONSOR’S WELCOME LETTER
The Japanese concept of Seikatsusha – embracing our multifaceted selves – allows individuals and businesses to balance self-interest and altruism so we can change the world for the better
Today, with society becoming more unequal and fragmented, cooperation is becoming more difficult. How can we overcome our differences in positions and interests and work together more deeply? The root principle of our behavior is the same: we want to be happy. Under this idea, I believe people should pursue happiness – but for all stakeholders in society.
Many Westerners who traveled to Japan in the late Edo period (1800s) wrote that Japanese society was full of happiness. The person who played a leading role in opening Japan to the West, Commodore Matthew Perry, also described Japan at that time: “the people seem happy and contented.” The concept of Seikatsusha is key to creating such a happy society. Learning, working, playing, eating – Seikatsusha is a Japanese word that refers to people who live their daily lives in a multifaceted manner. For example, I am a CEO, a consumer, and a grandfather. As a CEO, I aim to improve corporate performance; as a consumer, I choose what I love at the supermarket; as a grandfather, I hope for a future in which my grandchildren live happily. Based on their own multifaceted roles, Seikatsusha take actions considering the overall optimization of their roles. Seikatsusha is a unique Japanese concept that sees the individual from multiple perspectives. It is based on the traditional Japanese code of conduct that balances self-interest and altruism, as symbolized by Sanpo-Yoshi (three-way satisfaction through business transaction: good for the seller, buyer, and society) and Bushido (a traditional Japanese code of conduct). By acting as Seikatsusha, we can achieve happiness for all stakeholders in society by balancing self-interest and altruism.
One form of happiness for human beings would be pin koro, a Japanese concept that means a long, healthy life and a peaceful end. It is the ultimate form of happiness that people facing the social challenges of an aging society desire. As a Seikatsusha in Japan’s aging society, SOMPO is committed to providing elder care, which allows people to achieve pin kor
