Tetsuya Naruse, President and CEO, Yoshinoya Holdings Co., Ltd.

Challenges bring out individuality, and innovation paves the way to the future

Yoshinoya Holdings Co., Ltd. President and CEO Tetsuya Naruse

■ Profile
He joined Yoshinoya D&C (now Yoshinoya Holdings) in 1988. After serving as a Yoshinoya store manager and planning new business formats, he served as Representative Director and President of Senkichi Co., Ltd., Representative Director and President of Hanamaru Co., Ltd., and Director and General Manager of Asia at Yoshinoya Holdings Co., Ltd. He will serve as Representative Director and President of Yoshinoya Holdings Co., Ltd. from May 2025.

Yoshinoya has stores all over the country and has been providing "delicious, fast, and affordable" food for many years. President Naruse, inspired by the example of his senior colleagues, started out as a part-time employee and became a full-time employee, paving his own way in Yoshinoya's environment, which values ​​fair opportunities and ability. The president, who knows the groundwork, talks about the profound appeal of Yoshinoya and Yoshinoya Holdings.

■What kind of student were you?

I've been practicing kendo since I was in the third grade of elementary school. Back then, there was a very strong relationship between seniors and juniors. As a result, I was a member of the first class at a newly established school, and my free time in high school was fun because I didn't have any seniors. When I moved to a new place to attend university, I came across Yoshinoya. I decided to work there because of the good hourly wage. The store where I worked was the headquarters for the area, and they expected us to be the best in Nagoya. It was tough in the sense that we "just keep going until we achieve it." However, I enjoyed working there, and the seniors there looked cool. When someone from the headquarters above the store asked me if I wanted to become an employee, I decided to become a full-time employee. The coolness of the seniors and the admiration naturally made me think, "I want to be like them." In addition, I helped with recruitment for six months before joining the company. There, I learned about the work at headquarters and the personalities of the employees, and I realized that many of them love Yoshinoya and are very friendly toward it. Looking back, I think one of the reasons I joined the company was because I was attracted to his personality. At the time, there was a system where the color of the paper cap would change as you moved up the ranks. When I first started out as a new employee, I wore orange, but gradually it changed to the same blue as the store manager or a manager's paper cap with a line. This system was a very good motivator for me at work. It was my seniors who taught me these things.

■The appeal of Yoshinoya and Yoshinoya Holdings

One of the reasons I continue to love Yoshinoya is that they have a policy of "fair opportunities and unequal evaluations, regardless of nationality, gender, age, or career history." Opportunities are provided for people who want to take on challenges and grow, and the company supports them.
There is a culture where it is easy to voice your opinions from a young age, and if you achieve results, your efforts are recognized. Personally, I like the fact that you are evaluated based on your performance.
What makes Yoshinoya appealing and different from other companies is the fact that out of every 100 employees, more than 80 of them used to work part-time at Yoshinoya. I don't think there are many companies in the world where 8% of the employees are former part-timers. Despite the challenges unique to the restaurant business, the fact that 8% of employees become full-time employees is because they all love Yoshinoya.
I also believe Yoshinoya's strength lies in its training. Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of foreign nationals who move from part-time work to full-time employees. They are very ambitious, so they work sincerely towards high goals and aim for even greater heights. Once they join the company as full-time employees, they are motivated and thoroughly trained, even while having to grow themselves. I believe this is due to the desire they had as part-time employees to "make as many customers as possible happy."
While many restaurants are raising prices due to rising raw material and labor costs, we can no longer simply raise prices. We strive to provide products that are worth more than the price and to increase customer satisfaction. When people think of Yoshinoya, they think of piping hot rice and beef soaked in sauce, and we would like to use this as a way to differentiate ourselves in the future. We also have excellent sauces and meat, so we are considering how to successfully expand this across the board. Furthermore, Yoshinoya Holdings has recently been focusing on the ramen field. We hope that it will become a big name in the future, following Yoshinoya and Hanamaru Udon, the beef bowls of the past. Ramen is a global business, so we want to provide work opportunities for people who want to work globally.

■What kind of people would you like to work with?

I would like to work with people who have an inquisitive mind. For example, if you're making curry, you don't just need to make a basic curry; you need to explore how to make it even more delicious, such as which spices go well with it, or whether chicken or pork would go well with it. People who are given equal opportunities and who can study even things they've never done before and realize what might work. People who are interested in one thing and can continue to tackle it sincerely. People who can use the knowledge they gain to improve their own performance and the performance of those around them. I think these are the kinds of people we look for.
I also want them to be honest people. As we get older, we may start to be more considerate towards people who are older or in a higher position. That's why I think it's important to be yourself and to say exactly what you think.
Recently, in addition to management training, our company has also been conducting training on communication methods that draw out the thoughts of others. For example, when someone has not submitted work, we value the attitude of asking them what factors prevented them from submitting it by the deadline and working together to unravel the issues.
Through these efforts, we aim to create a comfortable working environment while also placing importance on relationships that allow employees to learn from each other and continue to grow, regardless of their position.

■Message to students

I hope that you will go abroad, whether it's for travel or whatever reason. There are things that you will see by experiencing things differently than you have before. The customs and even payment methods of the place are different from those in Japan, so I think you will be able to understand the pros and cons of your current environment.

Interview with Ayami Matsuyama, a first-year student at Aoyama Gakuin University, published by Student Newspaper Online on November 25, 2025

Sakura Yamashita, third-year student at Tsuda University; Rurika Abe, second-year student at Showa Women's University; Ayami Matsuyama, first-year student at Aoyama Gakuin University