Fascinated by the insect-themed job-hunting stamp rally

After graduating from a college of technology, I transferred to a university. I then continued on to graduate school, where I studied architecture, focusing on the use of analytical simulations to assess the damage to buildings caused by earthquakes. Architecture is not just about technology and engineering, but allows you to get involved in a wide range of fields, including human behaviour, institutional design, design and art. I'm still thankful that I was able to take a variety of lectures at university, covering a range of different fields and disciplines.

When job hunting, I was looking for companies that specialise in structural design or in the development of analysis software. This is because I thought that working to incorporate new technology or to develop software based on the latest construction standards and findings would be more meaningful than just using them.

Among them, I decided to apply to KKE, which held its selection process earlier than other companies. Looking back on it now, KKE's selection process was quite unique. What still sticks in my mind is the insect-themed stamp rally. At the time, KKE's homepage featured an enlarged photo of a grasshopper about to take flight in the sky. That photo alone was vivid and distinctive, but KKE also held a stamp rally as a sub-content of its recruitment flow, where you collected stamps with insect designs as you went through the selection process. From the perspective of students who are often under pressure during the job-hunting process and tend to lose track of their personality, I thought it was nice of the company to try to put a smile on their faces. Thanks to that, I was able to go into the interview, being my usual self.

Create new value and expand the future through work

After joining the company, I first worked on analysis-related consulting for energy plants and other facilities. When I got used to the work, I switched from a position of inheriting knowledge to a position of passing it on, meaning I also started to take on more responsibility for training new employees. In the beginning, I was careful to accompany them, and once I saw that progress was being made, I would start to delegate tasks to them.

12 years after joining the company, I moved to the sales and marketing department as I wished. This was because I thought that young people may also see me as one of their role models for the future. I wanted to be able to prove that it is possible to create new value and expand opportunities from a different perspective.

Currently, I am in charge of sales in the field of disaster prevention and DX solutions: my work involves helping decision-making regarding disaster prevention. Specifically, one of my main focuses is on promoting RiverCast, a flood forecasting system developed based on joint research between KKE and the University of Tokyo. In terms of business development, starting from a completely blank slate, I promoted RiverCast to local governments and general contractors operating construction sites close to rivers, through a process of trial and error, on both sales and marketing fronts. The thing I enjoy most about sales is when I succeed in aligning customer's requirements with the technology we provide. Municipalities that have introduced the system evaluate it highly, stating that it helps them to plan flood prevention measures and evacuation centre set-up more effectively, as well as reducing the psychological burden on staff, who are limited in number.

Investigate by yourself, design your own game

At KKE, as long as you can produce the required output, you are free to decide how to do it, and the work is left to your discretion. I have four children, but rather than narrowing down the scope of my work, I think I have been able to do my best, by switching between focusing on work and on childcare depending on the day. I am very grateful that the people around me understood and accepted such a flexible working style.

The kind of people that would make good use of KKE are those who, rather than just answering the questions that are put to them, are able to investigate by themselves. I believe that games are not just something to be played; beyond the already made up games around us, there is always a way to design your own game.