In 1995 it became possible to view on the Internet images of Halley’s Comet taken by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan as it approached Earth in 1986. I took photocopies of the vivid and beautiful photos and distributed them to all of our employees, telling them in a loud voice that “From now on the world is going to change fast!”
I recalled a long time ago walking with my mother for nearly an hour to get to the local post office, and then waiting for nearly another hour until it was our turn to use the phone. After that, of course, telephones became commonplace in our village, and every household had one. But I realized that before long not only would every single person have a phone, but they would have Internet access too. Communication, I told our employees, was going to expand to such an extent that, through online sales, Mitsukoshi Department Store would reach even remote villages in Kyushu.
I keenly realized that this great wave was going to hit the publishing and newspaper industries as well and that they would suffer colossal damage. Therefore, to practice our company’s ingrained philosophy of contributing to the constructive development of the industry, I thought it was necessary for us to quickly launch a portal site specializing in the audiovisual business.
In March 1999 we registered the Phile-web site, taking the name “phile,” which means “love,” “to have an affinity for,” or “enthusiast” in Greek, from the Home Theater Phile magazine that our company issued. At the same time, we registered “.jp” and “.com.” Furthermore, to respond to copyright and other complaints, we took thorough precautions by concluding a contract with a lawyer who was strong in this field.
We planned to post audiovisual contents on the specialized site and update them every day, week, or month. Our news sources would be Senka 21 and other audiovisual magazines that we published, as well as original contributions by our editorial staff and critics. We prepared to start with a firm determination to contribute to the prosperity of the industry with first-class accuracy and management.
After we had visited related makers and obtained their agreement, the site was commercially launched in June 2000. Eighteen years later, it now has more than 1.7 million unique users and is highly evaluated for its accurate content and sound management. As an infrastructure for the development of the industry, we must further strengthen the site. And for that purpose, it is important for us to return to the starting point.
Our starting point has always been one of thinking about the happiness of people and firmly fulfilling our mission as a mandate from heaven. Ever since the founding of our company, our corporate philosophy has been to think about our industry and contribute to its constructive development. Recognizing that the essence of the industry is products and goods, we have devoted our efforts toward market creation. While our company’s business development has attracted attention from many quarters, though, I believe that we are still only in our infancy. This year I want us once again to return to our starting point and genuinely contribute to the development of the industry (makers, distributors, and users). I look forward to your continued cooperation in this endeavor.