On December 17 2022, the Raccoons gathered at the Atsumi Foundation Hall for a talk by Executive Director Atsumi Naoki. The talk was about the history of the Kajima Corporation. Together with the excursion to the Kajima Technical Institute in November, the December gathering was meant to provide a comprehensive overview of "the past, present and future of the Kajima Corporation."

As I specialize in architecture, I had recently visited the World Trade Center in Tokyo that the Kajima Corporation had constructed and marvelled at the developments in architectural technology that had been made between the old buildings and new ones. Given this, I listened to the Executive Director's talk with great interest.

In his talk, he discussed how the Kajima Corporation's projects relating to real estate development, railways, town planning, infrastructure development and the development of skyscrapers had evolved over the years. The corporation has been involved in many architectural and developmental projects, but more recent business developments include international projects with Asia, Europe and America. While listening to the Executive Director speak, I came to understand that each generation of Kajima Corporation heads held the values of the Kajima Corporation close to heart, while also having their own vision and thus contributing to the succession of the Kajima Corporation.

By learning about this history, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the business and ideas behind major contractors in Japan. By investing in research development, it becomes possible to achieve world class architectural technology and management. Because of this economic strategy knowledge from multiple perspectives can be integrated, and Japanese contractors have a high level of competition which leads to further developments in the field.

After Executive Director Atsumi's talk we went to a restaurant close to the foundation hall and had an end of the year party. As the Executive Director was seated close to me I was able to discuss his talk with him. I also learned that he had an interest in Morocco, and had even been to nearby Algeria for a business trip in the past.

The gathering happened to be held at the same time as the finals for the World Cup. The Moroccan team had overcome huge obstacles to beat world class teams such as Spain and Portugal, and had performed brilliantly at the World Cup. All of the Raccoons I talked with gave their support for the Moroccan team as it was the first time for an Arab and African nation to make it to the semi-finals. The year came to an end with these deep thoughts and words of support.

Text: Cheddadi, Mohammed Aqil(2022)
Translation: Sonja Dale

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