Our company has continued growing together with women. It did not have a macho environment since its establishment, and so the structure wherein femininity was easily accepted has deeply rooted in our company. That is why things just flowed naturally when Esawa was appointed as a director. Rather than becoming a major change, it further encouraged women to actively take part in the company. However, depending on the department, there are still areas in the company that are dominated by men such as merchandising. Since that department tends to have a male-oriented perspective, we would expect that such an environment will be mitigated and that more perspective from women will be taken in the future through appointing women leaders like Esawa in the management.

I believe that Esawa's appointment from a part-time employee to a director is something typical of Smiles and Soup Stock Tokyo. When I say "typical", it is about the climate that enables our employees to express their individuality regardless of gender and to be able to freely give their opinions irrespective of age and position. For that reason, I always tell my employees on a daily basis to regard their work as their own. For example, tasks done upon receiving instructions from their senior or boss is work, but the work itself must be done through your own ideas and must be done in such a way that it is created on your own. That way, you will have more fun at work, and you will always feel rewarded. It is because we delight in seeing our employees working freely and spontaneously more than anything else. Esawa and all of our other employees are practicing the concept of doing their work as their own.

And as a representative of this organization, I also hold in regard the spontaneous opinions of each of our employees, and I want to hear more and more of it. In terms of holding the opinions and decisions of our employees in high regard, I believe that one of the features of our company is the promotion of a mechanism that allows us to have free time in the form of shorter work hours. Because of that, we do not impose restrictions on women's special needs, which includes childcare and maternity leaves. I believe that everyone should have the freedom to choose their working style regardless of gender. In fact, one of our male employees works in reduced hours to pursue his long-time dream of becoming a game artist. It is a good example of how our employees can try new things while working.

It is normal to take leaves or to have reduced work hours for childcare and childbirth; however, each person has a different lifestyle, so it would be great if they could enjoy freedom at work according to it. For that matter, there is no need to differentiate men and women. The rest shall depend on what they want. We are not in the position to decide the kind of life that our employees want through giving them options. I believe that such a high degree of freedom at work is essential for women to be more active in society in the future.