Toru Tokushige, CEO of Terra Drone Co., Ltd.

Know yourself, take on challenges, and create an aviation industry

President and CEO of Terra Drone Co., Ltd.　Toru Tokushige(Tokushige Tooru)

■ Profile
Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1970. After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering at Kyushu University, he joined a major non-life insurance company where he was responsible for product and sales planning. In 2000, he obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Thunderbird School of Global Management in the US and launched a company supporting venture companies in the US. After returning to Japan, he founded Terra Motors Inc. in 2010 and Terra Drone Inc. in 2016. With the aim of creating a Japanese mega venture that can compete in the global market, he has been focusing on overseas expansion since the company's founding.

Terra Drone Inc. was ranked number one in the world in the 2024 "World Ranking of Drone Service Companies." Behind this remarkable achievement is the passionate belief and experience of Tokushige, who left a large company and took on challenges in Silicon Valley. We spoke to Tokushige, who is sounding the alarm about current Japanese society and creating new industries and value, about how he views society.

■ Traveling the world and reading were positive experiences during my student days

The experiences I had as a student that I believe have had the strongest influence on me today are traveling the world and reading. I grew up in a village in Yamaguchi Prefecture with a population of about 6000. It was an environment where I had never even encountered a foreigner, so I wanted to see more of the world, and after entering university I traveled to dozens of countries.
I also made it a point to read a lot of books by great people and business leaders. I started reading books when I failed my university entrance exams. As I read, I realized that although many misfortunes befall everyone, it is those who think positively about things who ultimately succeed. What's more, all of these people were entrepreneurs. They have a lot of grit, and I admired their never-give-up mentality and way of life, so I began to admire entrepreneurs. From there, I developed the core values ​​of "doing something global, doing something big, and enjoying life."
However, when it came time to look for work, my father told me to go to a large company with a local branch, so I joined a major non-life insurance company. Every day was fulfilling and I learned a lot. However, at a discussion meeting in my fifth year at the company, when I mentioned that I wanted to appeal directly to management because the voices of the field were not being heard by those at the top, I was met with a series of objections, with people saying, "I have a wife and children too, so I don't want to be put in a worse position." I was shocked by the attitude of those around me and decided to quit.
From there, I decided to follow my dream of starting a startup, and declared to those around me that I would start a business in Silicon Valley, and tried to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, however, I was unable to attend a university near Silicon Valley. Although I felt frustrated with myself for not being able to keep my word, I earned an MBA from Thunderbird Business School in the US, and my desire to work in Silicon Valley continued to grow. That desire bore fruit, and I ultimately achieved my dream of starting a business in Silicon Valley.

■ Ventures create industries

At the time in Japan, ventures were still strongly associated with speculators who deceived people, but in Silicon Valley, it was already commonplace for venture companies to create new industries. Startups like Google grew rapidly, sparking innovation, creating new jobs, and contributing to the country through increased tax revenue. Then, members of these companies spun off to found new companies, creating a similar trend. This was the very essence of industry creation, and the very worldview I was aiming for. The more talented the people who worked there, the crazier they were, and they had a strong desire to truly change the world. The image of startups in Japan was very different.
The first of these I started was Terra Motors, a company that handles two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles. From the beginning, my main theme was how to develop a large-scale venture globally, and how to create a company that could win globally in a new industry. Just as Konosuke Matsushita popularized what were then luxury home appliances in Japan, I value a public-facing mindset of "doing business to improve Japanese society." "Venture" does not mean "niche."
To expand into major businesses in the global market, it is important to seize the opportunity when the very structure of technology is undergoing major changes. For example, this means capturing market share when a new, huge industry, like the Internet, is emerging and in a growth phase. Based on this idea, we have launched Terra Drone, which develops hardware and software such as drones for surveying, inspection, and agriculture.

■ What we aim for beyond becoming No. 1 in the world

Drones can be broadly divided into three areas: hardware, software, and services, and there is also the platform business of flight management. Chinese companies are strong in the hardware field, but Terra Drone is a leader in the services and platform business.World No.1Our next goal is to make drones a major industry like the Internet. Drones are still in their infancy, so we want to be the starting point to revitalize them. Currently, we have data on autonomous vehicles on the ground and in space, but the low-altitude area is still unexplored. As the term "low-altitude economic zone" suggests, in the future, we will create with our own hands a world view in which flying cars and drones fly more and more. We want to do this not only in Japan, but in the global market as well.

■Message to students

In today's Japan, people are reluctant to have dreams. Looking around the world, I feel that Japanese people have extremely high potential. However, poor systems, strict rules that force people to do things they have no choice but to do, and an atmosphere that makes people feel oppressed all lower that potential. I feel that this is a real shame.
When I was in high school, 15 of the top 20 companies in the world by market capitalization were Japanese companies. Now, Toyota is the only company in the top 50.
Getting into a company that's ranked high in job hunting rankings doesn't guarantee success. It's important to analyze what you're curious about and what you want to become, and then choose a company that seems like it can help you realize those dreams. In today's world, it's important to truly develop your skills, but there aren't many places in Japan where you can take on challenges. In that sense, if you have a dream you want to achieve, I think going to a startup is a good choice. Even if someone tells you otherwise, believe in yourself and take on the challenge. I wasn't able to do that at first, but even after I ended up penniless in Silicon Valley and ate McDonald's every day, I was able to get to where I am today because I continued to hold on to my dreams. I encourage all young people to have dreams and take action.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on April 21, 2025 by Yuka Matsuzaka, a fourth-year student at Keio University

■ Information
A non-fiction book depicting Tokushige's actions and thoughts, "Deviate from Common Sense" (by Masayuki Yamaguchi), will be published by President Inc. on June 3rd.
https://terra-drone.net/21686

Yuka Matsuzaka, fourth-year student at Keio University / Yurie Watanabe, second-year student at Josai International University / Satoru Sudo, fourth-year student at Rikkyo University