Shozaburo Nakano, President and CEO, Kikkoman Corporation

Kikkoman Soy Sauce as a global standard seasoning

Shozaburo Nakano, President and CEO of Kikkoman Corporation

Born in March 1957 in Chiba Prefecture. Graduated from the Graduate School of Business Administration at Keio University in 1981. Joined Kikkoman. After working in domestic sales and overseas, he became Managing Executive Officer and Head of Corporate Planning in 2011. In 2012, he became CFO (Chief Financial Officer). In 2015, he became Managing Executive Officer and Director. In 2019, he became Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer. In 2021, he became Representative Director, President and COO (Chief Operating Officer). In 2023, he became Representative Director, President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer).

Kikkoman has been expanding overseas for over 60 years, and now sells soy sauce in over 100 countries. We spoke to President Nakano about the company's leadership and the steady efforts it has made to promote soy sauce use around the world. The challenge of making Kikkoman soy sauce a global standard seasoning is sure to continue.

　I've loved traveling since I was a university student. Whenever I saved up some money, I would take overnight trains to faraway places like Hokkaido. At the time, the Seikan Ferry ran between Honshu and Hokkaido, and steam locomotives ran on local trains - times that are hard to imagine today. When I was on an overnight train, I would sometimes fall asleep and suddenly find an old lady sitting across from me. The scenery I encountered and the people I met on these trips gave me a different perspective than usual.

　During my university days, I traveled, but I also joined a tennis club and worked part-time as a manuscript collector for a newspaper, following my interests. Going to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building or a hotel to pick up manuscripts was a simple task, but it was a job with a lot of responsibility. I couldn't be late for the deadline, and I think it was a job that required perseverance to deliver manuscripts properly within the deadline.

　My family is the founding family of Noda Soy Sauce (now Kikkoman), which was established by the merger of brewers from Noda and Nagareyama, a tradition dating back to the Edo period. However, as the second son, I had considered working for a financial institution. However, when my older brother fell ill, I ended up joining Kikkoman, and went on to graduate school at Keio University to study management. There, I studied business theory, focusing on case studies, alongside older working students. At business school, I believe I gained a multifaceted perspective through discussions with classmates with extensive practical experience.

◾️Challenges in America and the job of president

　After joining the company, he gained experience in domestic sales and was posted to the West Coast of the United States when he was about 30. Kikkoman soy sauce is now widely accepted in the United States, but at the time the company was still small in scale and was in the "gradual expansion" stage.

　The local people are very forthright in expressing their opinions. The culture of not holding back on discussing things like wages and working conditions is something that is very different from Japan, but rather than feeling uncomfortable about it, I thought it was interesting that people were so forthright in expressing their opinions about anything.

　From the beginning of our full-scale expansion into the US, we have not viewed soy sauce as a "seasoning exclusive to Japanese cuisine," but have continued to propose ways to incorporate it into meat dishes and staple household menus that are popular in the US. For example, we would use the idea of ​​teriyaki fish as a source of inspiration to propose recipes for teriyaki-style beef and chicken, which are popular on American dinner tables. This approach was accepted without any sense of incongruity and was well-received by local people. As a result of our steady efforts in developing recipes and selling samples, awareness of soy sauce has gradually increased, and today Kikkoman accounts for more than half of the market share of soy sauce for household use in the US.

　I became president of Kikkoman a few years ago. This coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a sharp decline in business trips and external events, while increasing the amount of time we spent working within the company. This led to the launch of dialogue sessions for managerial staff. Managers from different departments, such as sales, research, and manufacturing, gathered together to present how they could apply the company's overall vision to their own departments and work.

　During the session, participants shared what kind of organization, team, and results they are aiming for in 2030. I heard that they learned from examples in other departments and sometimes got hints that "I think I can apply that method in my own company." This once again reinforces the importance of building a company-wide culture through repeated dialogues like this, rather than just top-down.

◾️People all over the world will be rich and healthy

　Kikkoman's overseas expansion is not limited to America and Europe. We are beginning to venture into not only Asian countries, but also South America, India, and Africa. In order to make Kikkoman soy sauce a global standard seasoning, we believe we need to continue proposing its use in many more countries and regions.

　Soy sauce is a heavy product with a low unit price, so from an efficiency perspective, it is best to build factories in various locations, produce locally, and sell locally. We currently have eight overseas production bases, and a ninth new factory is under construction in the United States. We want people all over the world to use our products to live rich and healthy lives. To that end, we will steadily continue to develop recipes and offer tasting sales, while proposing ways to use soy sauce that suit local food cultures. I believe this will help make our products a long-lasting favorite. I hope that this will gradually spread over a span of 30 or 50 years, rather than 5 or 5 years.

＊message＊

　I want all students about to enter the workforce to have a strong idea of ​​"what I want to do now." It doesn't have to be something that stays the same forever. I want you to work hard to improve yourself by studying, gaining various experiences, and taking on challenges in order to achieve that goal. Also, once you enter a company, it's important to "utilize the strengths of the organization" rather than acting alone. To do this, you need to be flexible. I believe that those who persevere and work towards their goals will be successful.

Student Newspaper April 2025 Issue by Takafumi Yoshida, 4th year student at the University of Tokyo

Narina Ogata, fourth-year student at Rikkyo University; Mai Wakao, second-year student at International Christian University; Yurie Watanabe, first-year student at Josai International University; Hinata Amie, third-year student at Sophia University; Takashi Yoshida, fourth-year student at the University of Tokyo