Mr. Banjiro Uemura, the founder of Tohokushinsha, passed away. He was 90 years old.

I joined the company in 1988 as a new graduate and was assigned to the newly established Satellite Broadcasting Division as one of the first staff members.

Mr. Uemura had a strong desire not only to manage a major commercial production company, but also to manage a TV station.
He launched countless television stations, including Star Channel and Super Channel (now Super Drama TV).

I was happy to be able to spend time with President Uemura (at the time) on a daily basis because I was involved in a new business venture despite the fact that it was a large company. Thanks to this, I was able to study Mr. Uemura’s management techniques up close, even though I was a young man.

Besides management…
We chased Halley’s Mercury together in Cannes and captured it with a single-lens reflex camera.
I auditioned the next generation of politicians at a ryotei restaurant in Hibiya.
…I learned how to package wine to give to the president of Paramount Pictures.

Management requires a great deal of culture. Art, movies, food, and travel all have their own “Uemura style.

He took me all over the world, to Hollywood, London, and Milan.

Of the nine years until 1997, when I resigned from Tohoku Shinsha, I was able to be with Mr. Uemura from morning to night, especially during the last two years. It was a very intense, enjoyable, and intense time.

One day, Mr. Uemura gathered the staff of his own production company, Television Technica (now Omnibus), in the president’s office and decided to produce an autobiography program. The idea was based on his refusal to accept numerous offers to publish his autobiography because of the age of video.

In the middle of setting up, he became angry that the lighting was not up to par, and the recording was quickly canceled. Since then, the autobiography of this legendary manager has not been published.

One day, as we were walking together through the streets of Cannes, we found an OMEGA store and sat down on a bench in front of it, and Uemura-san began to talk about his past. The only time I was hired by someone was when I was a bartender at a U.S. military base. It seems like only yesterday when he told me, “I wanted the Omega that the soldiers were wearing at that time, so I worked hard all the way up to here.

I really really can’t express my gratitude for anything more than this post, but I really can only thank Uemura-san.
Thank you!

Rest in peace in heaven.

Atsushi Fukuda