Panasonic executive reflects on founder's vision and success in China

Panasonic's annual business policy presentation in 1986 remains unforgettable for Tetsuro Homma, who joined the company in 1985 and now heads its operations in China. The event, hosted in an Osaka gymnasium, marked the first and only time that he saw Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, in person.

"At that time, he had difficulty walking and needed assistance to enter the venue, and his speech had to be translated by a secretary. But when he appeared in the gymnasium, there was thunderous applause," recalled Homma, executive vice president of Panasonic Holdings Corporation and group chief executive for China & Northeast Asia.

The 130th birth anniversary of Matsushita falls on Nov. 27 this year. Matsushita was among the earliest foreign entrepreneurs to support China's reform and opening-up, actively promoting the business of Panasonic in China, bringing advanced technologies and management experience. He passed away in 1989 at 94.

In December 2018, during the 40th anniversary celebration of China's reform and opening-up, Matsushita was posthumously awarded the China Reform Friendship Medal.

Matsushita visited China twice, in 1979 and 1980, traveling through 45 cities, according to Panasonic. He keenly realized the importance of young Japanese who understood Chinese language, culture and history for the future development of the group.

Hence, in 1981, Panasonic started a program to teach employees the Chinese language, becoming one of the first companies in the Japanese industry to send young employees to study in China.

Homma was selected to participate in this program in 1986, when his Chinese fluency was limited to saying "hello."

"At the end of the 1980s, during my first visit to Shanghai, Pudong was just empty land, and Puxi had no overpasses. There were hardly any cars on the streets," said Homma, who once doubted the value of learning Chinese.

However, by 1994, when he was directly involved in marketing in China, the country had entered a period of rapid development, with vigorous construction everywhere.

Reflecting on his experiences over the past 30 years, Homma praises Matsushita's foresight and wisdom in facing the Chinese market. "At Panasonic, Chinese has become the second foreign language after English, and many employees are learning it," he said.

"When I joined Panasonic in 1985, the China business accounted for less than 1.5 percent of the group's revenue; today, that figure has grown to 23 percent. Without the growth of the Chinese market, there would be no Panasonic Group today. This is the greatest realization of my career," Homma said.

In April 2019, Homma was appointed to take charge of Panasonic's Northeast Asia market. In 2020 and 2021, Panasonic's Northeast Asia business achieved double-digit growth. He believes this was due to developing products tailored to the local market, adding that mutual learning and joint progress with Chinese entrepreneurs have strengthened his confidence in future cooperation.

"The number of young people in Japan is steadily declining. This presents a significant challenge to sustaining Japan's R&D capabilities, and I feel a strong sense of urgency to address it. That's why we aim to further nurture Panasonic's Chinese workforce to support our global business," he said.

According to Homma, Panasonic has 50,000 employees in China, including 10,000 in research and development, as well as information technology. These teams are responsible for over half of the design, manufacturing and delivery of products for the Japanese market. "I firmly believe they will play an even more critical role in supporting Panasonic's global operations."

He noted Panasonic's newly launched ALPHA washing machine and dryer, featuring a button-free design controlled by a single rotary knob, as exemplifying this success. "The entire project was led by a group of dynamic, young Chinese professionals. It took less time to move from concept to market, and I couldn't be prouder of their achievement," said Homma.

"In the past five years, we've worked tirelessly to build an 'In China, For China' strategy. Moving forward, Panasonic's Chinese team is committed to developing a team that serves not just China but the global market," Homma said.

"With China's robust supply chain and highly efficient R&D capabilities, we are confident that these efforts will not only meet local demand but also drive Panasonic's global growth," he added.