The Fukuda family was headed by my grandfather, Kaoru Fukuda. From there, my father, brother, and I, as well as our children, have continued in the mass media industry for generations.

Kaoru Fukuda began his career as an article writer in the sumo department of the Chugai Shogyo Shimpo (now Nikkei Shimbun). He rose to great prominence after the war when the older generation was wiped out and rejuvenated. She rose to the number two position at Nikkei, and lost in a fierce power struggle with Jiro Enjoji, who would go on to become the long-term leader of the company. The circumstances of those days are described in detail in “The Rise and Fall of the Media” (1986, author: Takao Sugiyama), which won the Souichi Oya Nonfiction Award.

Kaoru lost the race for president and was transferred to the newly established Japan Educational Television (now TV Asahi). This was in 1963. For newspaper companies, TV stations were nothing more than new media.

At the second announcement of financial results, he collapsed after singing three Hail Marys and never returned home. He was 64 years old.

In later years, I found a book titled “The Job of the Vice President” on a bookshelf. It was highlighted in red where it said, “Vice presidents and presidents are further apart than gatekeepers and employees.

To know one’s roots is to consider one’s destiny. I think of that every time I visit a grave.