Our New Initiative, Listed Company and NAKAMA

First, let me wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.

The whole of last year was overshadowed by COVID. It was a year in which we faced many difficulties. But wasn’t it also a year of many new discoveries? Stuck in an unfamiliar environment with limitations on our freedom to live as we liked, we enjoyed the challenge of what to do, a challenge to our insight into how to work to make the best of the situation.

That is why, in whatever environment we find ourselves, we can keep our eyes firmly on the peak, our goal, and advance step by step to achieve it. But we cannot reach the peak alone.

UNIVA NAKAMA advance together. We are surrounded by NAKAMA with many different values. Our diversity is our group’s greatest strength. Recognizing and accepting each other’s values, we work together to reach our goal. Innovation is born when our values clash, and we find new ways to unite.

Unite the Values.

UNIVA is structured to produce innovation.

Our aim is for UNIVA to become a community of NAKAMA who innovate and make a reality of capitalism based on co-creation.

By “NAKAMA” we mean everyone who has a stake in UNIVA, our employees, allies and business partners, together with each and every Naturally Plus member. We are all UNIVA NAKAMA.

Turning, however, to myself. Last June I became President and CEO of Oak Capital Co., Ltd., a company listed in the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Last December, I became Chair and CEO of CSS Holdings Ltd., a company listed in the upper section of the JASDAQ Exchange. Both are holding companies with operating companies under their umbrellas.

While UNIVA has, both directly and indirectly, equity in both companies. We are not, however, simply shareholders. We are creating new NAKAMA.

Our new NAKAMA include not only each group and its constituent companies but also their investors. Their listing on stock exchanges means they will have many shareholders and, thus, for us new opportunities to grow our NAKAMA.

UNIVA’s becoming NAKAMA with listed companies is the start of a new project. After I became CEO of Oak Capital last year, the company changed its corporate slogan to “Connecting Companies Co-Creating Value—Creating Together” and took its first steps to working with UNIVA. Thus, for example, the process is underway for UNIVA Paycast and UNIVA Gyron to become wholly owned subsidiaries of Oak Capital this coming spring. Since I am a representative director of both firms, the work is being done by an external committee of lawyers and accountants. The effect of this move will be making it possible for UNIVA Paycast and UNIVA Gyron to accelerate their growth by raising new capital via the stock exchange.

The UNIVA NP Holdings Limited IPO project, first considered in 2016 with serious work starting in 2018, should be finished this year. The formal application for listing is scheduled for this coming fall. Our shareholder, stakeholder NAKAMA will increase in Taiwan as well as Japan.

The UNIVA states that without challenging, only maintaining, the current state of affairs is the same as retreating. We must always be seeking new challenges. Only by moving forward is innovation possible.

The renewal of UNI-SIGHT, with the aim of building community by strengthening communication with our employees, is one of our new challenges.

This is 2022, the Year of the Tiger.

We cannot capture the tiger’s cub without entering the tiger’s lair.

Risk always accompanies challenge, but “venture” and “clueless” are different. To confront a challenge that is likely to be risky, a venture requires a solid plan. A fully developed system must be in place to achieve its goals. “Clueless” is acting blindly, with insufficient preparation, charging recklessly ahead.

Whatever the business or organization, the biggest failure is not being unable to reach the goal, but missing the opportunity to embrace a new challenge.
“What can we do to succeed?” That question has no answer.
“What do we do to help others?” Our answer to that question is the key to success.

This year, too, let’s pull together to meet the challenge of being of value to others.

UNIVA CAPITAL Group
Chairman and Group CEO
Shuji Inaba

Please submit your greatest challenges and how you met them to the UNIVA AWARDS. This is your opportunity to communicate to our Group Board of Directors, including myself, the challenges you tackled, to contribute knowing about those challenges to our collective knowledge, and share your experience with all Group employees.