A RETURN OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

As Japan finally emerges from a long period of slow growth, soy sauce producer Kikkoman continues its global advance.

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IN FEBRUARY 2024, THE NIKKEI Stock Average in Japan surpassed the record high that it set in 1990. To some, this peak signified that the country could finally put the “lost decades” of deflation and anemic growth behind. Yuzaburo Mogi, honorary CEO and chairman of the board of Kikkoman, is cautiously optimistic about this milestone. With a generational shift in motion, he sees Japan’s leadership regaining some of its old dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit.

“Business leaders who are now in their sixties and seventies were in middle management when Japan’s bubble economy collapsed,” says Mogi. “They became afraid to take risks or make big investments. But now, as upcoming managers take over as CEOs, they can make decisions coolly, unaffected by bad memories.”