Editor's note:
As one of the most internationalized urban areas in Shanghai, Changning District has gathered nearly 6,800 foreign-funded enterprises, more than 1,500 permanent representative offices of foreign enterprises, and nearly 80 regional headquarters of multinational companies. The entire district is registered overseas. The population accounts for about 1/5 of Shanghai's total overseas population. The zone also has 27 consular offices in Shanghai, accounting for about 1/3 of the total number in Shanghai.
focuses on building an international quality urban district with world influence. In 2020, Changning District created the first district-level external recognition award in Shanghai - the "Hongqiao Friendship Award" to encourage and commend contributions to regional economic construction, social development, and promotion of foreign exchanges and cooperation. and other foreigners who have made outstanding contributions, and also established the "Hongqiao Friendship Alliance" to provide an exchange platform for outstanding foreign talents in various fields.
This year, another group of foreign talents who are actively involved in the economic and social development of Shanghai and Changning have come into the public eye. After the test of the epidemic, they have taken root in their respective fields and continued to shine, telling their true feelings personally: "Although we come from all over the world, we are fortunate to gather in Shanghai and contribute our strength. We will also walk side by side with the city, because we all love Shanghai!"
Shanghai this year! During the epidemic, during the two months at home, Matsumoto Koichi transformed into a community volunteer, put on "Dabai" and actively helped the neighborhood committee distribute supplies to residents in the community, and also enthusiastically translated for foreigners in the community.
Residents in the community all know this Japanese friend who can speak Mandarin , but few people know that he is actually the chairman and general manager of Yamato International Logistics Co., Ltd., the only Japanese logistics group with a century-old presence in China. It is an important driving force for innovation and enterprise reform and transformation.
Since the epidemic, he has led the company's employees to actively participate in logistics support work, which also echoes the deep friendship he has forged with Shanghai for more than ten years.
Actively participate in epidemic prevention and ensure logistics supply
Matsumoto Hikaruichi was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1967. In 2005, he was assigned by the company to Shanghai, and he lived and worked in Shanghai for the next eight years. In 2017, he returned to Shanghai again as the chairman and general manager of Yamato International Logistics Co., Ltd., and continued to be actively involved in key areas of the service economy such as trade and shipping.
When the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in early 2020, Matsumoto Mitsuichi, who was returning to Japan to visit relatives at the time, brought more than 20,000 masks to China through various channels. After returning to Shanghai, he went straight to the company without having time to put down his luggage, and arranged to distribute anti-epidemic materials to employees, their families, and office building properties. Then he sent masks and other materials non-stop to the Changning District Government, asking government departments to deliver the urgently needed materials on his behalf. In the hands of medical staff and front-line epidemic prevention personnel, they are doing their best.
During this period, he led the company's employees to strictly adhere to their jobs and devote all their efforts to the global logistics and distribution of epidemic prevention materials. He successively chartered flights to Japan, the United States and other places to deliver Chinese-made epidemic prevention materials to all parts of the world.
In March this year, after a new round of epidemic occurred in Shanghai, Matsumoto Hikari City made a decisive decision to purchase supplies and distribute them to employees and their families who were under lockdown at home, so that employees could stay at home with peace of mind and cooperate in the fight against the epidemic. He himself also transformed into "Dabai" and actively participated in the community's epidemic prevention work.
In late April, some companies gradually resumed production and operations, including many Yamato customers, mainly in the fields of automobiles and medical equipment. However, at that time, the upstream and downstream supporting links of the logistics supply chain were still not connected. This made Matsumoto Hikari City aware of this, and he was anxious and took the initiative to seek help from government departments and local streets.
With the vigorous coordination of relevant departments in Changning District, the first batch of Yamato employees returned to work in mid-May. Matsumoto Hikari City also went to the warehouse immediately to arrange for employees' accommodation and closed-loop management in the warehouse. They delivered food and daily necessities to employees who stayed at the logistics center, ensuring timely logistics supply from enterprises in key fields such as automobiles and medical equipment. , made an important contribution to the fight against the epidemic, and also demonstrated the responsibility of a century-old enterprise.
Gathering the hearts of enterprises and building bridges of friendship
In 1989, Matsumoto Hikari joined the International Business Department of Japan's Yamato Holdings Group and has been working there ever since.This is Japan's oldest logistics company, founded in 1904, and currently has more than 220,000 employees in more than 20 countries and regions around the world. In 2021, the group's turnover has reached approximately 32.7 billion yuan.
Yamato International Logistics Co., Ltd. was established in January 2005. After Mitsuichi Matsumoto became the chairman and general manager in 2017, he began bold reforms, turning the company from losses to profits in one fell swoop, and has more than 10 branches in the country. , the number of employees reached more than 200. In the past five years, the company's turnover and net profit have continued to rise, and it has still achieved consecutive profits despite the epidemic.
During the more than ten years that
has been working and living in Shanghai, Hikaru Matsumoto has actively participated in various economic, cultural and social exchange activities in Shanghai, witnessed the speed and height of Shanghai's development, and also seen Shanghai's development prospects. In January 2021, under the coordination of the Changning District Commerce Commission and other departments, Yamato International Logistics headquarters officially moved to Shanghai, opening a new era of development in China.
In 2020, the world encountered the new crown epidemic, but under the leadership of Matsumoto Mitsuichi, the company's performance increased by 106% that year and 126% in 2021, and further improved trade, aviation and service-oriented economic functions.
Matsumoto Hikari City also actively pays attention to important issues such as stabilizing employment and seeking development. It not only actively participates in planning various corporate cultural activities, but also leads employees to organize sports games and expansion training, personally teaches employees Japanese and financial knowledge, and imparts its rich logistics knowledge. Management experience. This has made Yamato's corporate culture construction impressive, attracting more and more young people to join. The average length of service of employees has increased from 3 years to 6 years, and corporate cohesion and employment stability have improved year after year.
is enthusiastic about social welfare and also takes the lead in launching the annual "Children's Traffic Safety Classroom" project. Since vehicles in Japan all drive on the left, in China they drive on the right. People who have just arrived in Shanghai from Japan may not be used to it, which may cause traffic accidents. To this end, Matsumoto Hikari City leads employees to international schools near the company every year to introduce Shanghai's traffic laws and regulations to children, so that children can pay attention to traffic etiquette from an early age. The safe classroom project is well received by teachers and children, and has also built a solid non-governmental bridge for Sino-Japanese friendship.
column editor: Dong Qixing text editor: Yu Honghao
special topic
source: author: Shu Shu
