Hideo Yoshimi, Director and Managing Executive Officer, Service Area and New Business Division, East Nippon Expressway Company Limited

Making expressways more accessible and comfortable through cooperation and a challenging attitude

Director and Managing Executive Officer, Service Area and New Business Division, East Nippon Expressway Company Limited
Hideo Yoshimi

■ Profile
Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1964, he joined the Japan Highway Public Corporation in 1987. After serving as Sales Manager of the Management Business Headquarters and Accounting and Finance Manager of the General Affairs and Accounting Headquarters at East Nippon Expressway Co., Ltd., he was appointed Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Service Area and New Business Headquarters in 2022. He will assume his current position in June 2024. Since June of the same year, he has also served as Representative Director and President of NEXCO East Japan Area Tract Co., Ltd., which manages and operates commercial facilities such as service areas and parking areas.

NEXCO East Japan supports Japan's social infrastructure. Its service areas are more than just rest areas for expressway users. They are bases for revitalizing local areas, testing grounds for new businesses, and even have the potential to serve as takeoff and landing hubs for flying cars. Director Hideo Yoshimi, who is at the forefront of this innovation, talks about NEXCO East Japan's vision and strategy.

■ Fascinated by competitive dancing

During my student days, I was a member of the competitive dance club and devoted myself to it for four years. Competitive dance is a sport in which male and female pairs wear numbers on their jerseys and compete in competitions. Although it may seem like a glamorous sport, in reality, it required rigorous training and the overcoming of many challenges. In particular, in team competitions, all members need to be united in their goal; if individual performance is too strong, the whole team will not function. For this reason, as the club representative, I took on the role of talking to younger members and comforting those who were thinking of quitting.
At the same time, I worked part-time at a cram school to cover the costs of club activities. I was also a director of the Student Competitive Dance Federation, and devoted myself to club practice, which kept me busy. I believe that this experience helped me hone my time management and ability to prioritize tasks. The perseverance and interpersonal skills I developed through competitive dance are also very useful in my current job.

■ It all started with a family trip

My decision to join NEXCO East Japan was strongly influenced by an experience I had as a child. My father loved driving, and on his days off, he would take our family on trips to all sorts of places in his car. What particularly impressed me was the comfort of driving on the expressway and the fun of service areas. Every time my father stopped the car, I would excitedly get out of the service area, buy some snacks at the kiosk, and enjoy a meal. Meanwhile, the expressway network at the time was incomplete, and we had to get off onto local roads along the way. Compared to the winding mountain roads and regular roads with their many traffic lights, the smoothness and comfort of the expressway was striking, and as a child, I thought, "I wish there were more expressways." Those memories suddenly came back to me when I graduated from university, and I strongly felt that I wanted to work in a position that would provide the same moving experiences, so I applied to NEXCO East Japan.

■Redefine the service area

The appeal of NEXCO East Japan lies in its innovative approach to creating new value while supporting the social infrastructure of expressways. One example is its efforts to transform service areas from mere rest stops into destinations. Dramatic Areas, developed as part of this initiative, feature local specialties and culturally themed products, allowing visitors to fully enjoy the area simply by visiting. Furthermore, multi-store service areas known as Pasars offer the appeal of a shopping mall, with famous ramen restaurants and cafes. Furthermore, the establishment of walk-in gates accessible to local residents is a groundbreaking attempt to strengthen ties with the local community. These gates are designed to allow local residents to access the area from the local road without using the expressway. This allows service areas to function as regional hubs, rather than simply passing through.
My dream is to evolve service areas from mere resting facilities into the core of the community. For example, looking ahead to a future in which flying cars will become widespread, one idea would be to use service areas as ports for flying cars. The Chojabaru Service Area on the Tohoku Expressway has a track record of operating tourist helicopters, and we aim to use this as a model for further development. We are also considering the role of service areas as logistics hubs for transporting supplies in the event of a disaster.
As a company involved in public infrastructure projects, environmental considerations are also an important issue. To achieve carbon neutrality, we are working to install rapid chargers to support the spread of electric vehicles (EVs) and to alleviate traffic congestion through highway construction. We will continue to create systems that contribute to the sustainability of local economies and society, and pursue the shape of future highways.

■ I want to work with people who have "cooperativeness and ideas"

We are looking for students who are cooperative and respect diverse values. Expressway projects require collaboration with many departments and stakeholders, and require the ability to communicate one's own opinions while understanding the other person's position. Furthermore, because our company values ​​new challenges, we particularly welcome people with flexible thinking. For example, in our "Dorapla Innovation Lab," which we are working on with startup companies, we actively embrace innovative ideas. We hope that students will also cherish their own ideas and values, and work with those around them to create new possibilities. We look forward to meeting such people and creating new value together.

■Message

I would like all university students to act with the key phrase "co-creation over competition" in mind. The coming era will see new value being created by working together with a variety of people, transcending the barriers of industry and generation. Don't be constrained by stereotypes, connect with many people, and act with a flexible mindset. While modern Japan has sometimes been called the "lost 30 years," I believe we can make the next 30 years a brighter era. An increasing number of the current generation of managers are seeking change themselves, so I believe we can advance innovation across generations. To achieve this, the challenges of the younger generation are essential. I truly look forward to creating a new future together with all of you, who will lead Japan into the future.

Student Newspaper Online August 19, 2024 Meiji University Graduate School 2nd Year Student Sakai Yaku

Reina Inomoto, 1st year student at Kyoto University of the Arts / Mayuka Kato, 3rd year student at Otsuma Nakano High School / Yurie Watanabe, 1st year student at Josai International University / Yaku Sakai, 2nd year student at Meiji University Graduate School