Onward to the Second Founding
Passing Down “Creativity and Contribution”
Passing Down “Creativity and Contribution”
Onward to the Second Founding
Passing Down
“Creativity and Contribution”
- A new age for Casio
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Tadao, who had laid the foundations for Casio, retired from his position as President in 1988. Although the second oldest brother, Toshio, was next in line to lead the company, he refused, saying, “Being an inventor is my calling. I would be more useful to the company if I continued to invent.” Kazuo volunteered to become President instead. Toshio became Chairman and Yukio became Senior Managing Director.
Replacing Tadao, who had served as President for nearly 30 years, Kazuo accelerated the growth of Casio. Utilizing Toshio’s digital technology, he released many products to the market, including calculators, multifunctional digital watches, and musical instruments. He oversaw the development of the image processing technology that resulted in the release of QV-10, the first consumer digital camera with a color liquid crystal display, thus creating a new market for digital cameras. He also released the card-sized EXILIM EX-S1 digital camera, which made taking photos easy and accessible. Casio ended up withdrawing from the consumer digital camera business afterwards, but the technology cultivated therein continues to be utilized in products for the medical and manufacturing industries even today.
- Overcoming difficulties together
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But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Merely digitalizing products was no longer enough to make them sell, and the Japanese electronics industry entered an age of fierce competition. Kazuo continued to display his marketing prowess and decision-making skills despite the challenges brought on by the appreciation of the yen and the entry of various Asian countries into the market. His goal was to develop competitive products and sell them to growing markets abroad, turning Casio into a global business. He did not hesitate to perform restructuring whenever necessary to overcome crises, saying, “We must be ready to let go of the past in order to continue growing.”
Yukio supported business growth and led the company through international competition. He oversaw the construction of new factories, facilitated the handing down of advanced manufacturing techniques to developing countries, and established the foundation for overseas production. The brothers’ collaboration enabled Casio to continue growing even after Tadao’s retirement.
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Passing Down
“Creativity and Contribution” -
In 1993, Tadao passed away at the age of 75. He had always been a father figure to his three brothers. His presence was the reason for their unity.
Toshio passed away in 2012, followed by Kazuo, who had served as President for many years, in 2018. Kazuhiro, Kazuo’s son, is the current President, and Casio is entering a new age. “We couldn’t have done anything on our own.
Working together made us succeed,” says Yukio, the youngest brother. Combining their specialties, the brothers displayed strong teamwork and carved out a history of creativity and contribution that continues to be passed down.
