Code of Behavior

After I finished college, I worked at a large trading company for almost 12 years. I gained a lot of useful knowledge during this time. My experiences from this job are still a very important element of the values that guide my decisions at work and at home. This company was the last of Japan's major trading companies to start operations after World War II. As a result, the company had a smaller workforce than its competitors did. I think this helped create an atmosphere where younger workers were entrusted with significant responsibilities. When someone resigns to start another company, there is a tendency to begin by rejecting all business practices of the previous employer. (Maybe this explains why these people leave.) But I think that these individuals inevitably start reproducing the good aspects of their former employers, even though they may not realize this process is occurring. Companies must grow in a proper manner. Accomplishing this type of growth requires a workplace where employees can discuss issues freely and tackle their jobs with an open mind. We should evaluate employees' performance by rewarding individuals for good work rather than penalizing them for mistakes. Furthermore, people must not use past experiences as a guide for doing their jobs. Everyone needs to look forward and take on new challenges. This is the spirit of workplaces at small, fast-growing companies, and the spirit that I want to preserve at Bell-Park. I also want Bell-Park to remain a place where individuals can grow and develop their skills. I want to assign young people important tasks and offer many types of training programs. This is my view of the first element of the code of behavior.

I graduated from college and started my first job at a large trading company almost 30 years ago. It was 1979, when Japan's economy was weak and trading companies cut their hiring in half. Some trading companies even suspended all recruiting that year. Several years later, the Plaza Accord triggered a sharp appreciation of the yen. We saw structural changes in Japan's economy that fueled a real estate bubble in the late 1980s. When the bubble finally burst, Japan began an extended period of economic weakness that is often referred to as "the lost 14 years." Many companies went out of business during this tumultuous time. There were many causes. I did not fully understand what was needed to ensure that a company could remain in business forever. But I was convinced that our survival demanded that Bell-Park remain a company that is needed, trusted and appreciated by all stakeholders: employees, customers, shareholders and business partners. We cannot advance to the next step unless we achieve this goal. This is my view of the second element of the code of behavior.

At the trading company where I spent almost 12 years, my supervisor told me that the president started every day by reaffirming his commitment to the family principles of the founder. In essence, the principles called for basing management on trust and reliability while shunning any unreasonable pursuit of earnings. We heard these principles during our training programs and even at the company-wide morning greeting. But at that time, I thought it was outdated. I didn't understand how these principles could be useful. A few years later, this trading company lost hundreds of billions of yen in futures trading involving metals. I was shocked. How could this happen at a company with such sound management? The trading company since recovered. It is now generating earnings that are well over 10 times higher than in those days. I believe that all companies that have survived since Japan's Edo Period are guided by effective sets of family principles and corporate principles. To provide a foundation for Bell-Park's long-term success, I borrowed and rearranged some ideas from this trading company's principles. This is why our code of behavior calls for us to earn the trust of others and avoid the unreasonable pursuit of earnings. That means building a foundation rooted in trust. This statement also demands that we focus solely on our core business. Bell-Park must never be enticed by highly risky businesses that may produce large earnings. We will always manage operations based on strict compliance with laws and regulations and the principles of fairness and transparency. And, to repeat, we will operate in a sound and steady manner. This is my view of the third element of the code of behavior.