2025.07.18
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"People as the Source" — Mitsubishi Materials Trading’s Vision for the Future
Mitsubishi Materials Trading Corporation, the core trading company of the Mitsubishi Materials Group, is committed to delivering genuine value to customers both in Japan and abroad. In a recent conversation, President Ryosaku Hashimoto shared his insights into the company’s management philosophy, long-term vision, future prospects, and thoughts on new Our Values.
The Journey of Mitsubishi Materials Trading Corporation
Mitsubishi Materials Trading Corporation was established in May 1947 under the name Ryoko Sangyo Corporation, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Mining Company Ltd. (now Mitsubishi Materials Corporation). We expanded our operations both within Japan and abroad, and changed our name to Mitsubishi Materials Trading Corporation in 2014.
Headquartered in Nihonbashi-Hamacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, the company operates 18 domestic offices from Hachinohe (Aomori prefecture) in the north to Nagasaki (Nagasaki prefecture) in the south, and 8 overseas offices, primarily in Asia and Oceania.
As of the end of March 2025, the group employs 366 people and recorded sales of 80.9 billion yen for the fiscal year ended March 2025.
Headquartered in Nihonbashi-Hamacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, the company operates 18 domestic offices from Hachinohe (Aomori prefecture) in the north to Nagasaki (Nagasaki prefecture) in the south, and 8 overseas offices, primarily in Asia and Oceania.
As of the end of March 2025, the group employs 366 people and recorded sales of 80.9 billion yen for the fiscal year ended March 2025.
A New Management Philosophy and Vision to Illuminate the Path Forward
Our management philosophy is: “Seeking to be admired by society, trusted by our customers, and pursuing happiness for our employees.” Our management vision is: “With employee growth as our central pillar, we aim to be a trading company that is filled with dynamic energy and always ready to face new challenges.”
The key element shared by our philosophy and our vision is the human-centered management style that we have valued throughout our nearly 80-year history. Our human-centered management philosophy views our personnel not as a resource, but as the source. People are the source of the company’s very existence; they create our company culture, create our businesses, and are the driving force behind realizing our philosophy and vision. The people — each of our employees and also myself — all have our own unique hopes and dreams, and we are working together to make those hopes and dreams come true.
Next, I would like to share the underpinnings of our philosophy and vision.
Our philosophy expresses our reason for existence — why we exist in society — and embodies universal values. In formulating this philosophy, we placed particular emphasis on two key perspectives.
The first is our intention to carry on the spirit of our company creed, which was established about 50 years ago: “coexistence and coprosperity,” “trust,” and “improving welfare.” The second is to return to our roots as a trading company — a collective of traders. After much consideration, we settled on the Japanese concept of “Sampo-yoshi (good for all three sides),” which seeks to achieve good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for society.
That is to say, by earning fair profits as the seller, we are able to advance the material and psychological well-being of our employees. Next, we can gain the trust of our customers by ensuring that they — the buyers — enjoy reasonable profits. And finally, we can earn the admiration of our broader society through compliance with rules and regulations, caring for our shared environment, and fulfilling our other social responsibilities. These beliefs are at the heart of what we aim to express through our philosophy.
Moreover, this philosophy is not merely idealism — it reflects our desire to maintain a diligent work ethic. As a symbol of this spirit, we drew inspiration from the spirit of the Omi merchants, who embodied the Sampo-yoshi principle and practiced the “Senryo Tenbin (a traditional image of a merchant carrying goods on a shoulder pole, symbolizing humble beginnings, hard work, and trust-building through travel and persistence).” The Senryo Tenbin represents a merchant who, with a shoulder pole for carrying goods, travels across Japan, enduring sweat and dust to earn the trust of customers in various regions, ultimately building a great fortune. Rather than indulging in luxury, they returned to their humble beginnings and continued their travels. This sincere and gritty attitude toward business is embedded in our philosophy.
Next, I would like to discuss the thinking behind our vision.
Our vision outlines the kind of company that we aim to become over the next five to ten years. In formulating our vision, we incorporated concepts from the Mitsubishi Materials Group’s new Our Values — “Challenge,” “Change,” “Growth,” “Praise and Appreciation,” and “A Better Tomorrow” — along with our focus on human-centered management.
Specifically, we emphasize “dynamism (change)” — flexibly responding to shifting market needs and optimizing our business portfolio. We also aim to create new customers and products by continuously challenging ourselves without fear of failure. For those who drive change and take on challenges, we provide education — including emotional growth —delivered with praise and appreciation, to support their development as employees.
By continuously cycling through this process, we strive to create “A Better Tomorrow” — this is the essence of our vision.
Our philosophy and vision are not intended to be mere decorations posted on the wall of a meeting room — we will instead continuously work to disseminate these ideals and put them into practice throughout the company. We also remain committed to the Mitsubishi Materials Group’s Three Key Priorities: SCQDE, Bad News First, and Free and Open Communication.
(*SCQDE shows the order of priority of our business decisions: Safety & Health, Compliance & Environment, Quality, Delivery, and Earnings.)
The key element shared by our philosophy and our vision is the human-centered management style that we have valued throughout our nearly 80-year history. Our human-centered management philosophy views our personnel not as a resource, but as the source. People are the source of the company’s very existence; they create our company culture, create our businesses, and are the driving force behind realizing our philosophy and vision. The people — each of our employees and also myself — all have our own unique hopes and dreams, and we are working together to make those hopes and dreams come true.
Next, I would like to share the underpinnings of our philosophy and vision.
Our philosophy expresses our reason for existence — why we exist in society — and embodies universal values. In formulating this philosophy, we placed particular emphasis on two key perspectives.
The first is our intention to carry on the spirit of our company creed, which was established about 50 years ago: “coexistence and coprosperity,” “trust,” and “improving welfare.” The second is to return to our roots as a trading company — a collective of traders. After much consideration, we settled on the Japanese concept of “Sampo-yoshi (good for all three sides),” which seeks to achieve good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for society.
That is to say, by earning fair profits as the seller, we are able to advance the material and psychological well-being of our employees. Next, we can gain the trust of our customers by ensuring that they — the buyers — enjoy reasonable profits. And finally, we can earn the admiration of our broader society through compliance with rules and regulations, caring for our shared environment, and fulfilling our other social responsibilities. These beliefs are at the heart of what we aim to express through our philosophy.
Moreover, this philosophy is not merely idealism — it reflects our desire to maintain a diligent work ethic. As a symbol of this spirit, we drew inspiration from the spirit of the Omi merchants, who embodied the Sampo-yoshi principle and practiced the “Senryo Tenbin (a traditional image of a merchant carrying goods on a shoulder pole, symbolizing humble beginnings, hard work, and trust-building through travel and persistence).” The Senryo Tenbin represents a merchant who, with a shoulder pole for carrying goods, travels across Japan, enduring sweat and dust to earn the trust of customers in various regions, ultimately building a great fortune. Rather than indulging in luxury, they returned to their humble beginnings and continued their travels. This sincere and gritty attitude toward business is embedded in our philosophy.
Next, I would like to discuss the thinking behind our vision.
Our vision outlines the kind of company that we aim to become over the next five to ten years. In formulating our vision, we incorporated concepts from the Mitsubishi Materials Group’s new Our Values — “Challenge,” “Change,” “Growth,” “Praise and Appreciation,” and “A Better Tomorrow” — along with our focus on human-centered management.
Specifically, we emphasize “dynamism (change)” — flexibly responding to shifting market needs and optimizing our business portfolio. We also aim to create new customers and products by continuously challenging ourselves without fear of failure. For those who drive change and take on challenges, we provide education — including emotional growth —delivered with praise and appreciation, to support their development as employees.
By continuously cycling through this process, we strive to create “A Better Tomorrow” — this is the essence of our vision.
Our philosophy and vision are not intended to be mere decorations posted on the wall of a meeting room — we will instead continuously work to disseminate these ideals and put them into practice throughout the company. We also remain committed to the Mitsubishi Materials Group’s Three Key Priorities: SCQDE, Bad News First, and Free and Open Communication.
(*SCQDE shows the order of priority of our business decisions: Safety & Health, Compliance & Environment, Quality, Delivery, and Earnings.)
We value people-centered management
Launching a New Medium-Term Management Strategy
Starting in the fiscal year ending March 2026, we launched a new medium-term management strategy. At the core of this strategy is the establishment of a broad framework within which each employee is encouraged to “think and act independently.” This framework can be visualized as a pasture enclosed by white fences in Kusasenri, Aso, an area known for its beautiful grasslands in Japan.
The framework consists of the following three elements:
1. Thought Framework (Management Philosophy & Management Vision = Group Values)
We create a common framework to guide our employees in their thinking, and create shared standards for their actions and decision-making, thereby fostering a sense of unity within the organization and facilitating smooth collaboration among our employees.
2. Business Framework (Business Domains, Portfolio)
We clearly define our business domains and act as the vanguard of the Mitsubishi Materials Group in the market. Our portfolio is structured with business domains on the vertical axis and operating profit × market growth rate on the horizontal axis, serving as a basis for resource allocation.
3. Work Systems Framework (Organization, Human Resources, Education)
In April 2025, we reorganized based on the business framework. We optimized personnel placement, clarified roles, and carefully designed incentive schemes to motivate all employees, including those in management positions. We measure and provide feedback on performance, and our educational programs — including emotional development — are centered around hands-on training by external instructors, on-the-job training (OJT), and 1-on-1 sessions. Through these efforts, we aim to support employee growth and promote both material and emotional well-being.
I would like to share one final thought:
This spring, our headquarters underwent a major transformation to reflect the spirit of the Reiwa era. We also welcomed new colleagues from Material Eco Refine Co., Ltd., further strengthening our organization.
We hope this change inspires each employee to take initiative, embrace change, and continue to challenge themselves with a positive mindset. And in this Reiwa-era office, we aim to create opportunities this year for partners, children, parents, siblings, and friends to feel proud and say, “That’s cool,” or “I’m proud of you.”
The framework consists of the following three elements:
1. Thought Framework (Management Philosophy & Management Vision = Group Values)
We create a common framework to guide our employees in their thinking, and create shared standards for their actions and decision-making, thereby fostering a sense of unity within the organization and facilitating smooth collaboration among our employees.
2. Business Framework (Business Domains, Portfolio)
We clearly define our business domains and act as the vanguard of the Mitsubishi Materials Group in the market. Our portfolio is structured with business domains on the vertical axis and operating profit × market growth rate on the horizontal axis, serving as a basis for resource allocation.
3. Work Systems Framework (Organization, Human Resources, Education)
In April 2025, we reorganized based on the business framework. We optimized personnel placement, clarified roles, and carefully designed incentive schemes to motivate all employees, including those in management positions. We measure and provide feedback on performance, and our educational programs — including emotional development — are centered around hands-on training by external instructors, on-the-job training (OJT), and 1-on-1 sessions. Through these efforts, we aim to support employee growth and promote both material and emotional well-being.
I would like to share one final thought:
This spring, our headquarters underwent a major transformation to reflect the spirit of the Reiwa era. We also welcomed new colleagues from Material Eco Refine Co., Ltd., further strengthening our organization.
We hope this change inspires each employee to take initiative, embrace change, and continue to challenge themselves with a positive mindset. And in this Reiwa-era office, we aim to create opportunities this year for partners, children, parents, siblings, and friends to feel proud and say, “That’s cool,” or “I’m proud of you.”
New office (Left: Rest area, Right: General reception)
