Koichi Saigo, President and Representative Director, Yakuodo Holdings Co., Ltd.

What I value most is "being positive, honest, and a good person."

Takahito Saigo, President and Representative Director, Yakuodo Holdings Co., Ltd.

■ Profile
Born in Yahaba-cho, Iwate Prefecture in 1978. After graduating from university, he worked at Kao Corporation for five years. In 2012, he joined Yakuodo Co., Ltd. He held various positions including General Manager of Sales Planning, General Manager of Product Planning, and Head of Corporate Planning Office, and since 2019 has been in charge of management strategy at Yakuodo Holdings Co., Ltd. In 2024, he was appointed Representative Director and President of Yakuodo Co., Ltd. From May 2026, he also serves as Representative Director and President of Yakuodo Holdings Co., Ltd.

Yakuodo Holdings Co., Ltd. operates drugstores primarily in the Tohoku region. Before inheriting the company from his parents, President Saigo thoroughly reformed the company's management by applying his own experiences studying abroad and the management philosophy and organizational development he learned at Kao Corporation. We spoke with President Saigo, who is actively incorporating AI and practicing management that overturns conventional wisdom in the retail industry.

After graduating from a Japanese university, I studied at Northeastern University in Boston, USA, where I learned about entrepreneurship and business. Looking back, I think the biggest lesson I learned wasn't academically, but rather becoming stronger as a person. When I first started studying abroad, I couldn't speak English, and I experienced the frustrating feeling of being treated like an underachiever just because of that. However, once I became fluent in English, the reactions of those around me changed completely. From that experience, I realized that if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded. Because I experienced such a big setback, I stopped being afraid of failure and no longer had any resistance to taking on challenges.
I also can't forget meeting my Korean-American roommate, with whom I lived in the dormitory. She was very talkative, so we chatted almost every day, and her support helped me grow not only in English but also as a person. I believe that life changes dramatically when you meet people who support you and work hard together.

■The importance of a rocket start, as learned at Kao

After returning to Japan, I worked at Kao Corporation for five years before taking over the family business. As far as I know, Kao is one of the top companies in Japan. A culture of everyone working towards the same goal and under common rules was deeply ingrained there. The experience I gained in America proved useful from the moment I joined Kao. I think I was able to take that first step without hesitation, asking questions at the general meeting on my first day and actively talking to people I met for the first time.
In the professional world, first impressions are often what people remember, and initial actions significantly impact subsequent evaluations. That's why I believe it's crucial to take that first step in a new environment without fear of failure. Even in my current company, employees in their late 20s and early 30s are taking the lead in new projects. Their willingness to act without fear of the unknown engages those around them and leads to significant results.

■ Reforms to management that don't force people to overwork themselves.

After returning to the family business, I challenged myself to change the ways our company had taken for granted. Previously, we tried to increase sales by frequently changing the store layout, increasing promotions, and strengthening customer service. I suspect that the industry as a whole had a similar trend.
However, behind the scenes, employees are working long hours and bearing a heavy burden. I believe it is the manager's job to reduce the workload of employees. By reducing unnecessary tasks such as not changing the sales floor as much as possible, not changing prices frequently, and not engaging in excessive promotions or customer service, the stores become cleaner and employees have more free time. As a result, the stores become easier for customers to shop in, and sales continue to grow steadily year after year. The biggest challenge in the management reform was not dealing with the employees, but with my parents, the founders of the company. They didn't immediately understand my decision to change the management style that they had built up over many years as founders. Nevertheless, I was able to push through the reforms by showing results with numbers and improving the working environment for employees.

■ New ways of working through the use of AI and communication tools

Currently, we are also focusing on utilizing AI and are developing our own proprietary AI agent.
We aim to create an environment where AI handles everything from sales analysis and inventory management to labor cost analysis and various other data analysis, allowing employees to obtain the necessary information simply by conversing with the system.
Furthermore, we primarily use Slack for internal communication, and I rarely use email. Rather than frequently visiting the field, we make management decisions based on information and data shared in real time.
In the future, we anticipate reducing workloads by hundreds of hours annually through AI, allowing people to dedicate more time to their core responsibilities. In the coming era, using AI will no longer be special, but commonplace. That's why we want students to develop AI-savvy skills from an early age.

■ Become a positive, honest, and good person.

The motto I cherish most is, "Be positive, be honest, and be a good person."
A sincere person is someone who can accept change, and a good person is not simply a kind person, but someone who is supported by those around them. Work cannot be done alone. People who naturally receive help when they are in trouble are those who regularly help others and build trust. Such people can thrive for a long time, and colleagues will gather around them when they take on new challenges.

■Message to university students

I strongly encourage all university students to try internships. You can gain practical experience that you can't get from part-time jobs, and experience communicating with diverse people. This will be a great advantage when you become a working professional.
Furthermore, I strongly encourage you to become proficient in using AI. In the future, I believe that the speed of growth will largely depend on whether or not you can utilize AI.
On the other hand, AI alone cannot create value. Soft skills such as communication skills, initiative, and a willingness to take on challenges are equally important. In this day and age, academic qualifications alone do not determine one's life. I believe that not being afraid of change, taking on new challenges, becoming someone who is supported by others, and accumulating these experiences will become one's unique strengths and the power to forge one's future.

Student Newspaper Online September 15, 2026 Interview by Reina Inomoto, a first-year student at Kyoto University of the Arts

Yurie Watanabe (3rd year, Josai International University) / Reina Inomoto (1st year, Kyoto University of the Arts) / Risa Ukita (3rd year, Tokyo Women's University)