A perfect match of my study and business theme

I have always liked looking at maps. In addition, I was also interested in mathematical things, so I majored in urban engineering at university. During my undergraduate years, I worked on flood prevention measures for mountainous areas, and in graduate school I worked on evaluating and verifying post-disaster recovery plans. While conducting research during my time in graduate school, I experienced the gap between local governments that seek safety and residents who want to continue living their everyday life as they have been, and I realised the difficulty of reaching a consensus.

KKE first caught my attention at a company information session I attended. During the session, I saw the words “planning support” and “decision-making support” in the description of KKE's business activities, and I felt that this company was a perfect fit for me to put my concerns to use in society. When I actually met the staff at KKE, they were talking about their daily work, with confidence and joy. I also felt that this was a company with an atmosphere where you could talk comfortably; thus I decided to work at KKE. I remember that my relatives, who were only familiar with big companies, looked at me strangely.

Using simulation to solve problems that cannot be evaluated in reality

After joining the company, I was assigned to the Innovative Information Technology Department, mainly supporting customers' decision-making using modelling and simulation. In the field of disaster prevention, I am involved in supporting the planning of evacuation procedures for nuclear disasters. Since it is not possible to verify evacuation procedures in the real world, simulations play an important role in the planning process. In addition, since the content of these simulations has a significant impact on people's lives in the case of an emergency, it is a job that carries a great deal of responsibility. But at the same time, as the results are widely publicised, it is a job that gives you a strong feeling of contributing to society.

Regarding projects with a close connection to my background, I worked on a crowd simulation related to an event held with the aim of creating a bustling atmosphere. I used a 3D urban model published by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The project I worked on was for Nishi-Shinjuku, but due to the fact that this is an office area and its historical background, this area is not very lively. Therefore, various events are being planned to improve this situation. However, as with disasters, it is difficult to experiment in the real world because holding events also involves a lot of costs, so it is necessary to conduct prior verification. In particular, when discussing town planning with stakeholders such as landowners, local governments and residents, it is extremely important to visualise future images and build consensus, and I have been working on this issue using a solution called pedestrian flow simulation.

This was a major national project, and as the leader of the team, I faced many technical hurdles and had a very difficult time at the beginning. However, with the support of my colleagues and the company, we were able to develop a good solution, and the positive feedback we received from our clients gave me a great sense of achievement. It also gave me confidence that we could do urban planning work at KKE.

If you see the issues as your own matter, opportunities will come to you

The great thing about KKE is that knowledge from a wide range of fields, such as architecture, manufacturing and telecommunications, is combined to create new value. There is an internal SNS community that I belong to, which is made up of around 80 people who are interested in 3D. There, information is exchanged regardless of department, job type or year of employment. Within this community, I actively share information about my work and seminars related to town planning, expanding interest on the topic. In the past, there were not many opportunities to work on town planning, but through this kind of proactive approach, I have been able to get involved in such projects and create my own opportunities.

I think that the kind of person who fits in well at KKE is someone who can see the issues as their own matter, thinking about how they would do things or whether this kind of approach would be viable. For people like that, I think KKE is a very stimulating place where opportunities will come to you as long as you take initiatives.