That said, I do have a second hometown, Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. I lived and worked there from 1997 to 2000, while also attending university to study Arabic. While there, I learned the importance of international exchange and the means to achieve it, and focused on language acquisition. And what I attained was, firstly, the dream of becoming a bridge between Japan and Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and the world, and secondly, the conviction that the only way for Japan to thrive in the f uture, and to ensure world peace and well-being, is to treasure international relations and bolster trade.
Professor Yukichi Fukuzawa, the founder of Mita’s Keio University, my alma mater, embraced a worldview that saw global development, peace and well-being achieved through the e xpansion of relationships between people, societies of all sizes, and countries. The Mita Kosan Group, consisting of real estate leasing company Mita Kosan, trading company Deetex Shokai, and insurance agency Powerlink, will spread its wings from Mita to the world, contributing to world peace, well-being, and the environment.

My grandfather, Sazo Idemitsu, always spoke in his later years of “contributing to world peace and well-being”, to which I have added “the environment.” Since going out into the world, I have achieved a wealth of experiences, and have witnessed first-hand many manifestations of the changing times. These experiences have convinced me that the succession and implementation of my grandfather’s philosophy is the cornerstone of managing a business.
His management philosophy is wide-ranging, but its origins lie in the “shikon shosai” [spirit of a samurai, acumen of a merchant] that he learned at Kobe Higher Commercial School (now Kobe University). Above all else, I wanted to carry on his philosophy, practicing what could be called its three foundational principles, “R espect for Human Beings,” “The Great Family-like System,” and “Consumers First.” Under this foundational business philosophy, I will do my best to treasure the “spirit of wa” [peace, harmony] and “magokoro ”[true human hearts] unique to Japan, develop our business with a focus on our hometown of Mita, and contribute to the benefit of all.
I may be young and inexperienced, but I will do my earnest best to live up to my grandfather’s name.