After winning the first prize in the prefectural competition of the Skill Olympics, I had the chance to become a research student at Waseda University. The company has always given me chances for research and study.

I graduated from an industrial high school in March 1973, and entered Yamato Seisakusho at the end of that month. From the start, I worked on the front line of the foundry. At that time, the factory environment was very much harder than today.

After two years in such a tough environment, I had the opportunity to participate in the "Skills Olympics." I won the championship in the prefectural competition, and became the first participant from our company in a national competition. Because of this, the company sent me to the Casting Research Laboratory of Waseda University as a trainee for two years. There I met Masahiro Murayama (current Executive Director) who was a student of the university.

After returning to the company, I was assigned to the technical section for casting. I worked on the development of starch molds and molding machines to sell the new process in the world market with the then president, Mr. Hama. We got a patent for the mold made of sand and starch, developed to reduce environmental impact and to improve the strength of the mold. I will always treasure those days, when I could devote all my time on research, while the company invested generously in the development of new processes. I think I also contributed to the company.

Afterwards, I was involved in the aluminum plant in the early stage of making exterior products, which was a growth area. With Akio Ashizawa (the current President), I worked on the development of various products and improvement of production by V Process, which was our major manufacturing line. Now, exterior products is one of our major business areas.