Tatsuo Ueho, Director and Public Relations Manager, Tachihi Holdings Co., Ltd.

Profit comes second, contributing to the community comes first.

Director and Public Relations Manager, Tachihi Holdings Co., Ltd.　Tatsuo Ueho(Uwabotatsuo)

■ Profile
Born in Tokyo on August 3, 1969. Joined Tachihi Enterprise Co., Ltd. in 1993. After the group reorganization in 2012, he served as the Public Relations Manager of Tachihi Holdings Co., Ltd. before assuming his current position in 2024.

The Tachihi Group owns a site of approximately 980,000 m², which is about one-twentieth the size of Tachikawa City, Tokyo. Formerly Tachikawa Aircraft, the group is currently engaged in business development for the development of the local community, focusing on real estate rental and development in Tachikawa City. We spoke to Director and Public Relations Manager Tatsuo Ueho about the appeal of Tachihi Holdings, which also places emphasis on education, culture, art, and sports.

■ Modern sensibilities cultivated during student days

When I was a student, my parents ran an abacus cram school, with classes held four days a week from 3pm to around 7:30pm. I also had an abacus qualification, so when my university classes finished early I would help out at the cram school until around 6:30pm. At the time I was teaching a variety of children, and so I unconsciously developed a sense of teaching while observing the children's personalities. Nowadays, various forms of harassment, such as power harassment, are a problem, but I think I was already aware of harassment back then.

■Starting and finishing work on time was rare at the time

When I graduated from university, it was right at the beginning of the employment ice age. Initially, I was aiming for a stable civil service career, but by chance, someone from my school's career center recommended Tachihi Enterprises (now Tachihi Holdings). After doing some research and consulting with my family, I felt it was a great company, so I took the entrance exam, passed, and was able to join. The first thing that surprised me when I joined the company was the working hours. Working hours were basically from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, but with a few exceptions, most employees left work by 5 PM. I was hired on-site, so I was in charge of facility management, but even in that role, my boss would urge me to "go home early" at 5 PM. What surprised me even more was that in the department next to mine, the lights in the rooms were turned off at 5:05 PM and everyone went home at the same time. While being able to go home earlier was certainly a good thing, I also had mixed feelings, wondering if it was really okay to go home that early.

■ Transfer to a new department that utilizes your experience

After working in the facilities management department, I gained experience at group companies and the real estate department, and then moved to the finance, public relations, and planning department. I'm currently in charge of the public relations department. While in the real estate department, I handled contract negotiations and daily liaison with tenant representatives from approximately 100 companies. I often received various inquiries from tenant representatives, such as issues with rental properties or when they were considering fixtures for tenant construction. My experience in facilities management in my previous department allowed me to respond quickly, which gave me confidence. Later, when I was assigned to the finance, public relations, and planning department, I was able to understand the company's revenue and expenditure structure and how rental income from tenants, which at the time accounted for the majority of our revenue, was used. I feel this experience has allowed me to grow significantly. In my current public relations department, my responsibilities are primarily building relationships with the media, company branding, and widely disseminating various company information. Communicating about the company requires a deep understanding of the company itself, so I believe the knowledge I gained from my previous experience in various departments has been a valuable asset in conveying the company's appeal.

The appeal of Tachihi Holdings

The Tachihi Group owns a nearly unified 98 square meter site north of Tachikawa Station, with two Tama Monorail stations located in the center of the site. One of these stations is named Tachihi Station, which is quite unusual. Thanks to our vast company-owned land in Tachikawa City, we are able to develop facilities such as LaLaport Tachikawa Tachihi, Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, and Green Springs at our discretion. I don't think there are many companies that can independently develop such a diverse range of facilities. At Tachihi, employees are actively involved in large-scale projects regardless of age or experience. Another distinctive feature is the close relationship with the top executive (CEO). Even new employees have access to the CEO's office, and in addition to attending company New Year's parties and social gatherings, we may also have private conversations with the CEO if he is available. I don't think there are many companies that offer such opportunities for interaction with the CEO.

■ Revitalizing the local community through sports

One of our company's corporate visions is to contribute to the local community in the field of sports. Specific measures include the construction of Arena Tachikawa Tachihi and Tachihi Beach in 2017, and Dome Tachikawa Tachihi in 2018. During the construction of Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, Toyota Alvark Tokyo, a basketball team in the B1 League, requested permission to use Arena Tachikawa Tachihi as their home court, and we did so for a time. We currently support a variety of sports teams, and we often have local residents come to Arena Tachikawa Tachihi and Tachihi Beach to support their games, which we feel helps to liven up the town.

■For the sake of the community, not for short-term profits

Tachihi Holdings owns a vast amount of land, but we view this land not just as our own asset but as a social asset, and we believe it is necessary to create things that benefit the local community. President Masamichi Murayama has always said, "The key to this is not to pursue short-term profits." Tachikawa had a military base before the war, and the U.S. military was stationed there after the war, so it has long been associated with the image of a "base town." Our company was originally founded in Tsukishima in 1924 as Ishikawajima Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd., but relocated to Tachikawa in 1930 (renamed Tachikawa Aircraft Co., Ltd. in 1936) at the behest of the then-Army. Our history of manufacturing airplanes next to the base led to a period of disapproval from some local residents. Today, we continue to operate with a strong commitment to contributing to the community, and by actively participating in various local meetings, we are increasingly involved with the local community, particularly with the Chamber of Commerce, police, and fire departments.
We would like to continue to carry out development that will please local residents, and ideally, people will realize in the future that "Tachihi was actually behind that project."
Tachihi Holdings celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. We would like to give back to the local community by holding various events, and do what we can now to achieve our vision for 50 years from now.

■Message to university students

We recommend that you build a wide network of connections, valuing not only the friends you made at school during your student days, but also those you met in university clubs and extracurricular activities, and seniors and juniors at your part-time job. By continuing these relationships even after entering the workforce, you can exchange information with people working in the same industry as well as those in different industries. When you hit a wall at work, having friends and reliable people around you who will listen to you makes it easier to ask for advice and get hints on how to solve the problem. Even as you gain experience and get older, you're sure to find things to learn from people outside of your personal relationships, and ways to cooperate with each other at work. That's why it's important to cherish your connections with others.

Interview with Student Newspaper Online on March 3, 2025 by Toraki Mochizuki, a first-year student at Tokyo Keizai University

Tokyo Keizai University, 1st year student Toraki Mochizuki / International Christian University, 2nd year student Mitomo Maruyama / Josai International University, 1st year student Yurie Watanabe / International Christian University, 2nd year student Mai Wakao