Kashio Kazuo

Kazuo was involved in business administration for over 60 years and gathered lots of experience, but he was never one to become content with his success and always thought of how to make use of his experience going forward. For failures and successes alike, he would pinpoint the causes while asking “Why?" and gather know-how from them, which he would then utilize to take on new challenges. Kazuo would often say, “If you just experience something without thinking, it is as if you didn’t experience it at all” and “Past experiences are there for the sake of the future.”

During the “calculator wars,” when each company was engaged in an intense competition, the timespan between each new product was becoming shorter and shorter, and the rivalry was growing fiercer. Every competitor was increasing the number of digits and improving performance because they believed this was the sort of manufacturing that would enhance their sales.
But Kazuo thought the opposite. Increasing the number of digits to win the competition was thinking from a manufacturer’s point of view. He believed what the users wanted was a small, easy to use device that had all the necessary functions. Although he faced strong internal opposition to the shift from high functionality to the minimum necessary functionality, he decided that was what would sell and convinced those opposed. As a result, the Casio Mini, a major hit, was born.

“Will watches look the same 10 years from now?” Kazuo, who was asking himself this question, gladly accepted his younger brother Yukio’s proposal to release the G-SHOCK. This product turned the common notion that watches are easily broken on its head. Additionally, he commercialized plastic watches when he couldn’t obtain metal cases upon entering the watch industry, as all the metal case part manufacturers were under the control of major companies. Instead of only selling them at watch shops, he also sold them at department stores and mass retailers visited by many, which made them more accessible. Question the industry’s notions and immediately put your plans into action. That was Kazuo’s philosophy.

The Casio Mini sold over one million units in less than a year and became a major hit. It was Kazuo’s marketing talent and sense of duty that helped demonstrate the appeal of this product to customers. He promoted it heavily on TV and in newspapers. The copy “The first and final answer, the Casio Mini” took Japan by storm. Kazuo would say, “Especially for completely new products, it is important to inform users of their merits.” Because Kazuo created messages that would convey the product concept to many users in a way that was easy to understand, many people purchased the Casio Mini, making the calculator explode in popularity. It became an everyday item.

Being the brother involved in sales and succeeding Tadao as President… Both of these roles were proactively taken up by Kazuo. Kazuo believed that carving out a way toward the future was enjoyable precisely because it involved a great deal of responsibility and a sense of duty. “Our mission is to create the ‘normal’ of the future. Society continues to change and technology to advance. Casio must always stay one step ahead. No matter how hard it is, we must continue to believe we can do it and change the ‘common sense’ of society.” Kazuo, who left us these words, continues to watch over Casio’s future.