Member of the House of Representatives Sakon Yamamoto

2022.09.12

Making Japan a better place by utilizing my experience in F1 and welfare work

■ Profile

Born July 9, 1982, 40 years old. Originally from Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture. Graduated from Toyohashi Minami High School and attended Nanzan University. Started his racing career at age 11. Traveled to Europe alone at age 19, and made his debut as the youngest Japanese F1 driver at the time at 24. After returning to Japan at age 30, he entered the world of medicine, nursing care, and welfare. Ran as a candidate endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party in the 2019 regular election for the House of Councillors (proportional representation), but was defeated. Ran as an endorsed candidate for the 2021 general election for the House of Representatives (Tokai block proportional representation), and was elected for the first time. From August 12th, he has been Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Reconstruction. *As of September 12th, 2022

Sakon Yamamoto, a former F10 driver, was elected to the House of Representatives last year. Since his teenage years, he has continued to achieve his goals, keeping in mind the words, "Humans do not dream of things they cannot realize." We spoke to him about his path to becoming a politician and his work as CEO/DEO at the Sawarabi Group.

■ He started racing at the age of 11 after prostrating himself to his parents.

My racing career began when I was 11 years old, in the fifth grade of elementary school, and applied to the school run by former F1 driver Satoru Nakajima. My parents were strongly opposed to my attending the school. However, after persistently begging and prostrating myself, they finally gave in and allowed me to attend for one year. As soon as I started attending the school, I decided that I wanted to become an F1 driver 10 years from now, at age 22. I then wrote down my goals, counting backwards from 22. By working backwards from the future to become an F1 driver, I was able to more clearly visualize my dream. Of course, there were many challenges and many things that didn't go as planned, but with the support of many people, I was able to make my debut as Japan's youngest F5 driver at the time, at the age of 24.

■The appeal of the Sawarabi Group

I happened to have the opportunity to inspect the work of the Sawarabi Group when I returned to Japan for a short visit after turning 30. Until then, I had been facing my own life through racing in the intense, ultra-competitive world of F1, but I found value in work that involves facing the lives of others, such as medical care, nursing care, and welfare, and decided to take up the role of managing the Sawarabi Group at the turning point of 30.

The Sawarabi Group is a Toyohashi-based corporation that provides integrated medical care, welfare, and nursing care services. Founded by my parents before the aging society, the corporation celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The Sawarabi Welfare Village, operated by the group, was conceived and launched by my visionary father in 1977 with a project scale of 34 billion yen, which would be equivalent to over 10 billion yen today. It was unthinkable for my father, a private local doctor, to spend such a huge amount of money to build such a large facility. Apparently, he encountered strong opposition from the medical association and hospital staff. Despite this, my father pursued his goal of creating a place where people could live happily. The welfare village is welcoming, and visitors feel as if they are in another world. I believe this is due to the system in place where people of all ages, regardless of disability or illness, live in the same space and help each other. This system realizes the group's philosophy of "everyone's power, everyone's happiness." There are many corporations larger than ours. However, places like welfare villages, which combine multiple functions in one location, have been gaining attention in recent years as a model.

A politician who continued to pursue his goal of changing Japan even after losing the election

Last fall, I ran for the House of Representatives election and was elected in the Tokai proportional representation block. One of the reasons I decided to become a politician was my experience living in Europe from age 19 to 30, traveling around the world, and seeing Japan from the outside. Between 2002 and 2012, Japan's presence in the global community declined. Every time I saw this, I felt frustrated. For example, I saw Japanese company signs in European cities in 2002 being replaced by foreign companies by 2012. Also, while working at the Sawarabi Group, I began to see common issues across Japan, such as an aging population and a declining population. Japan faces many of these challenges, and I wanted to change them through politics. Seeing Japan's decline and the challenges it faces, I developed a desire to enter politics and change the world.

Three years ago, I ran for the House of Councillors election, traveling around the country and promoting my policies. I received 78,236 votes, but lost the election, which was painful. Even after losing, however, my desire to improve this country and leave a strong Japan for future generations of Japanese people and our children grew stronger, and I never gave up on politics. This unyielding determination was a major factor in my victory this time. Another factor in my election was the sympathy of voters. I used my experience as a racing driver to advocate for policies to achieve carbon neutrality while preserving the strengths of the local automotive industry in the Tokai region. Voters saw something new in this and sympathized with it, which I believe led to greater support than ever before.

■ massage

Since I was 14, my motto has been "Humans don't dream of things they can't realize," a phrase taught to me by a senior at school. I believe in this saying, and have continued to pursue my dream of becoming an F1 driver, despite being one of only 20 people in the world to do so. I urge all of you to never give up on your dream. No one can judge whether what you are aiming for is achievable. You all have potential. It is important to think about how to make that potential a reality and then act on it. To that end, envision your future and do what you need to do now every day without regret. You will likely face difficult times and obstacles. I urge you to cherish the people around you who support you through those times.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on July 30, 2022 by Satoshi Okawa, a fourth-year student at Tsuda University