Dentsu for me.

I met Mr. Nakamura when I was 7 or 8 years old. Or maybe I was even younger. My father was the head of Dentsu’s radio and television station, so Mr. Nakamura, Mr. Maruyama (deceased, former head of Dentsu’s Osaka branch), and Mr. Shimojo (former head of the Urban Development Bureau), who was on staff at the time, would frequently get together at our house for fun parties.
Everyone really likes to party and some of them stay the night, and when I woke up in the morning, there were often uncles I didn’t know, so even as a child, I didn’t have time to get to know people in WW.

I performed magic tricks and sang Fuse Akira songs. It was a very second son-like way of entertaining.

My father, who is still alive and well, loved Dentsu. Even as a child, he enjoyed listening to stories among the adults about Dentsu’s cheerful and fun corporate culture and its success in the TV and movie industries.

In particular, the annual Dentsu field day was a great success, with many comedians (not entertainers, but rather comedians, since it was in Osaka) coming to the event. The prizes were also gorgeous.

Also, when I was in junior high school, my father brought home movie preview tickets every day, which allowed me to see Hollywood movies before anyone else.

Such good old Dentsu stories have ceased to be heard with my father’s retirement (25 years ago in 1996). My father often recalled that his life at Dentsu was a happy one. “I was especially lucky to retire before the Internet came out.” He would say in his usual joking tone, “I was especially lucky to retire before the Internet came out.

The year after my father retired, I resigned from Tohoku Shinsha and was unemployed. At that time, Mr. Nakamura was the vice president of Dentsu. He was concerned about my career path and invited me to come to Dentsu. Dentsu has a rule prohibiting the hiring of parents and their children, but fortunately my father had just retired, so there was no problem, but I decided to go to Sony.

We do not know our destiny. Recently, Kuretani, who I used to hang out with in my 20s, became vice president, and I thought it was great, but I can’t watch him because of a mountain of problems, including collusion with the government, the sale of the Shiodome building, and the biggest deficit in history. The Dentsu people are all great individuals, but as a company, they are not doing so well.

I am looking forward to Kuretani’s leadership here.

(The photo shows a model designed by architect Kenzo Tange, who was commissioned by then Dentsu President Hideo Yoshida to design the headquarters building.

◆ Reference
Mainichi Newspaper “Obituary of Yozo Nakamura, 84, Former Vice President of Dentsu Inc.
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210105/ddm/041/060/068000c

NewsPicks “We are no longer an advertising company,” said Norihiro Kuretani, Executive Vice President and Executive Officer of Dentsu.
https://newspicks.com/news/5391740/

Column List Author List Paper
Nikkan Gendai, “METI again…42 contracts worth 40.3 billion yen were outsourced to Dentsu from FY17 to FY19.”
https://www.nikkan-gendai.com/articles/view/news/274561

AERA, “Record Sale of Dentsu’s Head Office Building Spurred by Foreign Investment, Why Foreign Capital Is ‘Buying Japan'” (Japanese only)
https://dot.asahi.com/aera/2021020800024.html

SankeiBiz “Dentsu posts record ¥159.5 billion loss, overseas impairment hit”
https://www.sankeibiz.jp/business/news/210215/bsc2102151734003-n1.htm

Kenzo Tange’s Dentsu Headquarters Building Awaiting Demolition – The Phantom Tsukiji Redevelopment Project
https://bit.ly/3jSW4Q3