“Golden 2013”

Happy New Year!

As my theme for this year, I have proposed “Challenge: The golden year of 2013.” The year 2013 will mark the end of a three-year cycle. Prospects for 2014 and beyond will be greatly influenced by the state of the industry and corporate business results at that time.

Let me explain my theory of “golden 2013.” I hope that companies and businesspeople in the industry will fully absorb it and that it will help them a little to move positively forward.

First of all, although the situation then was completely different from what it is now, let’s take a look back at the three-year period from 2001 to 2003. At that time, thin-panel televisions were just appearing, and companies were beginning to launch homepages and portal sites on the Internet. They were moving from dawn to a period of growth. There was a strong belief in tomorrow, and the mood was buoyant, although naturally, like the game of life, there were companies that were unable to ride the swell and later inevitably fell by the wayside.

Going back further, how about the period from 1991 to 1993? That was a time when companies felt the brunt of the collapse of the bubble economy in 1990 and boldly faced the challenge of overcoming the dire situation. Domestically conditions were severe, but exports performed well. Again, there were companies that managed to steer their way through the raging waves and companies that were unable to do so.

It seems that the combination of active and passive numbers, that is, odd and even numbers, is related to such phenomena in the world. The reason is that active and passive numbers derive from the relationship between the Sun and the Earth. For example, the number seven is said to be a holy number. There are seven days in the week, the lucky number seven, and in Japan the seven gods of good fortune.

Odd numbers are active and even numbers are passive. Milestones, such as three-year plans, five-year plans, and in Japan the Shichigosan celebration for children aged three, five, and seven years, are expressed in odd numbers. In the family, the active number is the father and the passive number is the mother. My personal view is that the father is offensive and the mother defensive.

The three-year period from 2011 to 2013 has two active, masculine years and one passive, feminine year. In such periods, strangely enough, people begin to look positively toward the future. In 2010 companies at last recovered from the worldwide recession that struck in 2008 and began thinking about going on the offensive. I believe that 2011 is the year in which they will make this move.

Looking back at the past, we can see that, weird as it may seem, there really is a trend here. And as long as the Sun and the Earth exist, human beings no doubt will continue to act in this way. This year, 2011, is a starting line. Whether the three-year period up to the end of fiscal 2013 (in March 2014) goes according to plan or not will depend very much on the first steps that are taken.

I expect some people will point out that the economy did fairly well in 2010 thanks to the eco-point system. However, that was a first experience. While firmly recognizing the benefits, we must think about the Japanese economy and the world economy as a whole. Were the results really so good?

I believe that my theory of “golden 2013” functions not only in business but in the world of politics too. It is my hope that both politics and the economy will return to normal and rise to create a robust Japan.