What do you think is important in order to optimize marketing and the use of digital technology?

The use of digital technology is necessary for implementing digitalization, and thanks to technological advancements it has now become possible to collect information at a fairly high speed. However, in marketing, it is equally important to be able to read and analyze the information and discern how to use it. Statistical knowledge is also necessary, and it is important to constantly keep on learning.

What are some of the activities that the Marketing Department Board of Councilors is involved in?

The Marketing Department Board of Councilors set up two subcommittees last year. We resorted to scenario planning to analyze the impact of the covid pandemic and the conflict between the United States and China, and also to examine the issue of "food and regional revitalization." Food and regional revitalization is a theme that originated from discussions on how the power of marketing, as well as marketing concepts and methods, can be used to solve social issues. The various opinions offered by councilors in the course of the discussion were presented at a stage seminar during FOODEX JAPAN 2022.

What do you think of discussing issues common to management functions (divisions/regions) with companies active in different sectors?

For example, if discussions on food and regional revitalization were conducted only by people in the food industry we could go into a lot of detail, but the discussions would probably remain within the boundaries of our what�fs considered common sense in our sector. I believe that it was precisely thanks to the participation of members from different sectors, like the IT industry and parts manufacturers, that we were able to take a multifaceted look at food and come up with various ideas that transcend sectoral boundaries. Opinions from people in different industries and with different specializations are very important, and by mutually sharing experiences and knowledge we can solve marketing problems. I believe that such cross-sectoral sharing of knowledge is extremely useful wherever executive-level people gather, for example in the Boards of Councilors.