Feature : The Transformational Leader’s Commitment to New Challenges

President Fujiwara Shares His Thoughts on Tokyo Century’s New Purpose—Shaping Our Blue Planet

May 11, 2026

A year has already passed since President & CEO Koji Fujiwara took the helm at Tokyo Century in April 2025. After taking office, he immediately launched the YMO Project under his authority, with young employees at its core, to spearhead corporate transformation. His passion led to the TC Compass project aimed at promoting a Group-wide transformation. Today, Tokyo Century announced its Purpose, Vision, and Values (PVV), along with its new Medium-Term Management Plan 2030, to guide us into the future.

We spoke with President Fujiwara, who has declared Tokyo Century’s “second founding period,” and asked him to share his feelings on the company’s new Purpose―that is, Shaping Our Blue Planet.

Tokyo Century’s New Management Philosophy Structure

Purpose: Shaping Our Blue Planet

――Today, Tokyo Century announced its new Purpose, Vision, and Values, or PVV. Why is now the right time to renew the company’s philosophy framework?

Fujiwara: We believe it is necessary to clarify once again what kind of company we aim to be and the role we should play in society, and to share this with our employees and all stakeholders.

When I took office as president a year ago, I was convinced of our company’s great potential, but I also noticed that the “North Star” guiding us into the future had become harder to see. After removing “Leasing” from our name in 2016, we expanded beyond the traditional leasing business and achieved significant growth over the following decade.

However, drastic changes are underway in the external environment, and the very expansion of our business domains may have blurred the overall shape of what we aspire to become as a company. In light of this, to achieve a further leap forward, we must define our desired future state through our PVV and reinvent ourselves as an organization that takes on challenges and strives for growth beyond our past trajectory. In this sense, we’re in a second founding. And that’s precisely why we must redefine our reason for being at this particular moment.

――What was your intention in positioning the Purpose as the cornerstone of corporate management?

Fujiwara: The Purpose defines why employees work and how Tokyo Century contributes to society, giving them a clear sense of the company’s reason for being and its mission. When each employee takes on challenges with enthusiasm and a sense of excitement, this ultimately becomes a powerful driver of corporate value. I aim to revisit the PVV, which forms the foundation, and we will further share and instill it across the organization.

――The phrase “blue planet” conveys a strong sense of intent.

Fujiwara: Today, we face complex and multifaceted challenges, from global climate change and geopolitical risks to the AI and digital revolution and Japan’s declining population. In this context, the concept of a circular economy alone is no longer sufficient.

We must leverage our strengths not only to protect the global environment but also to work in unity with our partners to serve as a starting point for addressing the planet’s broader social issues. Our mission is to shape a blue planet for the next 100 years. The word “blue” embodies Tokyo Century’s corporate identity and bold entrepreneurial spirit, as well as our pledge to remain a top-tier company.

Our Vision: To Be a Company Driving Solutions to Global Social Issues with an Entrepreneurial Spirit

――A “global” perspective is also woven into the Vision, just like in the Purpose.

Fujiwara: Our Vision takes into account megatrends and social issues to give concrete form to what we aspire to be ten years from now. While our Purpose expresses our grand, universal reason for being, our Vision serves as a more practical business guideline, defining who we want to be in ten years to fulfill that mission.

We intentionally ensured a consistent global focus across our Purpose and Vision to reaffirm that all our business strategies are ultimately linked to addressing global issues. At the same time, we want each employee not only to focus on their immediate tasks but also to clearly recognize how their work contributes to addressing those issues.

――Some have expressed surprise that a trillion-yen enterprise like Tokyo Century identifies itself as having an “entrepreneurial spirit.”

Fujiwara: Tokyo Century should be a catalyst for far-reaching social innovation. To compete and establish a distinctive presence in niche areas that banks cannot enter and trading companies typically avoid, we must embrace an entrepreneurial spirit that refuses to settle for the status quo, continuously steps into uncharted territory, and relentlessly takes on new challenges. While maintaining the shield of stability as a major company, we will never lose the agility and mindset of a startup. We aim to remain a company where employees can work with energy and enthusiasm, beyond the next decade and far into the future. This unwavering commitment is reflected in our Vision.

Values: Passion, Innovation, Integrity

――Please tell us about the intent behind the three values.

Fujiwara: They represent the code of conduct that every employee should return to when in doubt.

(1) Passion: I believe that the opposite of success is not failure, but the absence of challenge. I hope employees will value the determination to take on challenges boldly and with passion, even in the face of difficulty, to help address the issues facing the Earth and society.

(2) Innovation: There are things that cannot be achieved alone but can be accomplished together. To address complex and multifaceted challenges, I hope employees will recognize the importance of transcending organizational boundaries and engaging in innovation with partners to combine knowledge and create new businesses.

(3) Integrity: I believe that trust, though invisible, is the foundation of business and ultimately leads to tangible results. As we steadily build processes and outcomes, we must always remember that earning the trust of society and our customers is the source of our brand value.

We are linking the values with the new human resource system, to be officially launched in July 2026, so that employees who embody these values are properly rewarded. While performance evaluations and compensation are certainly important, we want to fully support our employees’ aspirations, including who they want to be and the challenges they want to take on. That is the commitment embodied in our values.

Q&A―Digging Deeper into the New PVV with President Fujiwara

Q: Many companies define their purpose as resolving social issues, but how will Tokyo Century balance profit with its Purpose?

Fujiwara

We place great importance on the principle of integrating ethics and business. While it goes without saying that we seek sustainable profit as a business enterprise, we won’t simply do whatever it takes to make money. Our decision-making criteria are clear. Whenever we face uncertainty, we first ask whether a business embodies our Purpose. I envision an organization where everyone—from management to each individual employee—takes our Purpose to heart and can make the right decisions independently. I’m convinced that meeting society’s needs and building a track record we can be proud of will ultimately lead to the sustainable enhancement of our corporate value.

Q: What is the key to demonstrating genuine synergies under a single purpose as a company with a diversified business portfolio?

Always taking a company-wide perspective, we will shift everything, from our organizational structure to personnel exchanges and evaluation systems, and from partial optimization within departments to overall optimization across the company. On that basis, we must look beyond the boundaries of individual roles to determine what needs to be reconsidered or discontinued. With the management team openly exchanging views and building a shared understanding, Tokyo Century will tackle increasingly complex social issues as a whole organism.

Fujiwara

Q: What is your Personal Purpose?

Fujiwara

Before sharing mine, I’d like to touch on what a Personal Purpose truly means to us. A Personal Purpose is found where the company’s reason for being aligns with individual values and work-related aspirations. I hope every employee finds their Personal Purpose. If personal meaning can be found in striving toward the company’s North Star, daily work will be transformed into an exciting and engaging challenge.

　
My Personal Purpose is to serve others beyond myself. I believe that self-fulfillment cannot be achieved through self-centered pursuits alone. “Others” begins with those close to us—family, friends, and colleagues—but extends to people we have not yet met and will encounter in the future, expanding from our immediate surroundings to our communities, across Japan, and ultimately to people around the world. If we can bring a sense of gratitude to even one more person, hearing them say “thank you” becomes a source of purpose in life and enriches both our work and our daily lives.

Koji Fujiwara

President & CEO of Tokyo Century Corporation

Served as President & CEO of Mizuho Bank, Ltd. and in other positions before becoming an external director of Tokyo Century in June 2024 and President & CEO (current position) in April 2025. He has extensive experience and insight in corporate management as a banking executive.

*The contents of the article and the position titles are as of the date posted.