I've loved weather and geological phenomena since I was a child. Another big influence was the flooding of the Tama River caused by heavy rain in 1974. I lived near the Tama River at the time, so I witnessed the damage caused by the flooding, and even as a child I had a strong desire to "reduce this kind of weather damage even if only a little."

The biggest factor was the words of Ishibashi Hiroyoshi, the founder and president of Weathernews. Ishibashi originally chose the meteorological field because he believed his mission was to "protect the lives of sailors." When I visited the company during my job search, Ishibashi asked me, "If you had to choose between a job that is so busy you have no time to sleep but is fulfilling, or a job with no overtime and where you can value your private life, which would you choose?" When I hesitated to answer, Ishibashi saw through and said, "You're the former." "Because 'Weather never sleeps.' You probably want to work in the weather. If so, you'll want to work without even sleeping." Those words were exactly what I was thinking, so I was completely captivated.

Yes. Mr. Ishibashi gave me a lot of important advice. When I succeeded Mr. Ishibashi as president, he told me, "The company will go under when the president gets emotional or when the company runs out of cash." Since then, I have made it a rule to remember that "if you get emotional, you lose," and I treasure a smile. Regarding cash management, we gathered members who are skilled in accounting and finance and put in place a system. There are also some points that I changed from Mr. Ishibashi's way of doing things. Mr. Ishibashi was a charismatic type who started a company based on his own driving force, but I have a collective management system with colleagues who have strengths in their respective fields.

Yes. Especially when I was younger, I was very conscious of showing respect to older people. This is another word from Ishibashi-san: "Older people are your 'seniors in life'. You should never forget that even when you become a leader." Now that I'm on the older side, I try to proactively talk to younger employees. Outside of work, I want to be "friends" with everyone in the company. I try to build trust by communicating with them in my private life as well, for example by joining the company's baseball team.

In my case, if the junior has no doubt that "this will definitely produce results," I will let them try. If they fail, they must take responsibility and set a deadline, and I think it is the role of a leader to make a responsible final decision. On the other hand, if the other person's intentions are uncertain, I will thoroughly discuss the matter.

"Are our services serving the world and people?" Weathernews was founded by Ishibashi because he wanted to "protect the lives of sailors," and he continues to work on weather and environmental issues with that same desire. In terms of corporate survival, private weather information companies will be eliminated if they are not truly serving the world. Looking back now, I think this attitude of mine is something I learned naturally from the teachings of "servant leadership" that Aogaku upholds. It's hard to realize the significance of this when you're a student, but once you enter society there are many occasions when you come to appreciate what you have learned.

There were many difficult situations. Weathernews did not get to where it is today without any problems. I'd like to talk about two representative ones. The first was a problem with corporate culture. As the business expanded, we started to hire mid-career employees, and the culture that had been in place since the company's founding began to waver. At the heart of Weathernews is the desire to "be useful to people," but some of the mid-career hires did not share this corporate philosophy.

First, we clarified our corporate culture, and after going through the process of embodying that culture through our actions, we made sure to carefully explain our corporate culture so that it would reach each and every employee. However, those who were still incompatible with Weathernews' corporate culture were ultimately asked to leave. This was a final decision. But this decision also came with risks. If more people left, the profits of that department would decrease. However, when I suggested that we should "protect our corporate culture even if it meant accepting a decrease in profits," Mr. Ishibashi, who was the president at the time, said, "I understand. Don't worry about it, I'll take the blame." From there, we were able to gradually restore Weathernews to its original form.

This could be called "from personalization to organization." Personalization means that "only certain people can do that job," which would cause inconvenience to customers, so we promoted organization so that anyone could do the job. Some people were afraid that organization would weaken their expertise, so there were times when friction arose, but we persevered and made improvements.

Yes. Recently, weather disasters due to the effects of climate change have been increasing, but at the same time, there are still many areas in the world where meteorological infrastructure is not yet in place. In light of this situation, I feel that my mission is to work to improve meteorological literacy throughout society. I will retire as president and become chairman in June 2024, so I would like to focus on this area as well.

There are advantages to both.

Thank you. I hadn't thought of starting a company as an option. If I start my own company, I think I'll start as a small organization, but what are the key points for a small organization to beat a large company?

If you are considering starting a business that utilizes your expertise as a researcher, is there anything you should be aware of?

AI has been evolving rapidly in recent years. How can you use AI to start a business?

What does this mean specifically?

What kind of person was Professor Komoda?

I have been researching next-generation 3D printing technology in the Tasaki Laboratory since my fourth year of undergraduate studies. I wanted to further my research, so I went on to the Master's program at the Graduate School Graduate School of Science and Engineering, but in my first year I was quite worried about my future path, such as finding employment in a company. After repeatedly asking myself questions, I realized that it was because I was a student that I could devote myself to the research I wanted to do purely and thoroughly, and my desire to continue my research grew stronger, so I decided to aspire to go on to the doctoral program.

What gave me a big boost in deciding to go on to a doctoral program was the AGU Future Eagle Project (AGU FEP), a doctoral program student support project. If you are selected as an AGU FEP encouraged student, you will receive a young researcher scholarship (effectively free tuition), as well as a monthly living support allowance of 180,000 yen and a yearly research allowance of 250,000 yen. This system, which allows me to devote myself to my research without financial worries, was a great help in pushing me to go on to a doctoral program. Because I am provided with research funds that I can use for my own research, I am highly motivated and am conducting my research independently.

My future goal is to create a manufacturing platform centered on 3D printing technology, where engineers can grow and children can have a place to interact with technology, and I want to make it a production base that incorporates cutting-edge 3D printing technology.

Thank you. Mr. Kusabiraki, how did you spend your time outside of your studies?

If I'm thinking about starting my own business in the future, is there anything I should do while I'm a student?

Lately, I've been so busy with my research that I feel like I don't have time to enjoy my hobbies.

Is there anything else I should do as a student?

Although it wasn't an internship, I worked part-time at a venture company that handled 3D printers for three years while I was an undergraduate. There, I learned the joys and difficulties of working in a small organization. In addition to how to approach work, I also learned how to get along with people and communicate. Through those experiences and my interactions with many people in the lab, starting my own business became familiar to me, and it became an option that I wanted to try myself.

Yes. I think it was a valuable three years in which I was able to grow a lot. And lastly, how about the improvement of your English skills?

I also had little experience giving presentations in English in my first year of master's studies, and struggled with things like falling silent during question and answer sessions at international conferences. Since then, I have gained experience little by little, and now I can speak comfortably in everyday conversations and at the level of question and answer sessions at academic conferences.

Yes. AGU FEP provides support for overseas travel, and the experience of being in an English-speaking environment was valuable. AGU FEP also provides short-term study abroad support and workshops, and is committed to cultivating international perspectives and English language skills, so I would like to actively take advantage of these opportunities.

Finally, please give us a message for Aogaku are aiming to realize their dreams.

Today's talk has broadened my horizons greatly. Thank you very much for today.