As a young idealistic political science student at Waseda University in the mid-1970s, Hiroshi Watanabe went to see the socialist regimes of the former Soviet Union and its satellite states for himself. His explorations left him disillusioned but still interested in those countries and the world beyond them. “The socialist countries were not heaven for the workers.”
More than ideological flaws or a lack of political freedom, it was stifling bureaucratic banality that really shook his outlook. He recalls attempting to order the same soup as the people at the next table in an Eastern Bloc restaurant, only to be told: “That soup is for tour groups, not individual travellers.”
Different flavours
On graduation, he joined Toyo Engineering, in part because of the business it did with the USSR and China. To his chagrin, Watanabe didn’t initially get to work with those nations, but his experience with different cultures and difficult bureaucracies proved invaluable when he was posted to India in 1984. There he managed complex trade processes and tells of an Indian customs officer deciding his import duty exemption certificate might be faked, and meticulously combing through a 700-page tariff book for verification. “It took him 30 or 40 minutes to find my exemption clause.”
Like many outsiders, Watanabe found India’s food and beverages a challenge, causing him to shed 11kgs in a year, as well as an evening drinking local gin that rendered him unable to open his eyes the next morning. However, he believes the experience bullet-proofed his digestive system, allowing him to survive subsequent postings to Thailand, Malaysia and Iraq largely unscathed, and put the weight back on.
Back in the USSR
Returning to Eastern Europe and the ‘Stan countries’ decades after his first visit, when currencies had been strictly controlled, he was advised not to exchange $100 dollars as the equivalent “would take up a suitcase.” Even the $10 he did change was enough to fill his briefcase with local currency.
After more than three fulfilling decades at Toyo, he was encouraged to take retirement due to limited paths for further promotion. Far from ready to leave the workforce, Watanabe took a consulting position with the International Development Center of Japan (IDCJ) in 2010. There he supported industrial projects in conjunction with the foreign ministry and numerous other government organisations, as well as the Red Cross. In addition to working across Asia and the Stans, he travelled extensively in Africa for the first time, with projects in Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, Congo and Senegal.
His work gave him an understanding of the socio-economic contrasts between Asia and Africa. Watanabe observed that unlike in Southeast Asia many African countries maintain strong linguistic and educational ties to their former colonizers. “In Vietnam, it’s difficult to find people who speak French, but in places like Senegal and Congo, it’s an official language.”
Not over yet
Reaching the age of 60, thoughts of retirement were still far from his mind. Instead, Watanabe took over as president of Sayama Corporation, which distributes pressure transducers and other precision instruments used in semiconductor manufacturing and heavy construction—industries he understood well.
The sensing instruments are made by Winterthur-headquartered KELLER Pressure. A series of mergers and restructures saw the Japanese distributor undergo a series of name changes, something Watanabe felt was not ideal for its image. His solution was to convince KELLER to establish a local subsidiary, which he would lead. KELLER Pressure Japan was founded this year and has grown to five staff.
Though his previous connection with Switzerland was limited to a honeymoon in Grindelwald in 1979 (inspired by his wife’s love of the novel ‘Heidi’), like many Japanese, he feels an affinity with Swiss ways.
Keep on keeping on
Now 70, Watanabe keeps himself in shape with twice weekly aerobics classes; his young instructor and mostly female classmates keeping him on his toes. Karaoke is a way to let off steam, with Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called to Say I Love You a firm favourite. “When I go to karaoke with people all over the world, I can estimate their age by their selections.”
When he hits 72, Watanabe says he will begin to scale back on work. But for now, he has goals to achieve, such as quintupling the scale of the business in Japan to match KELLER’s German operations. “It’s good to have a target.”
He feels energized by interactions with younger colleagues. “I’m very happy to see how they become real businessmen.”
Text: Gavin Blair for SCCIJ.
