As well as being the 110th anniversary of Hitachi’s founding, 2020 was a year that saw the world buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic, obliging everyone to confront a new set of circumstances. In this new normal, preventing the spread of infection has become an important consideration in economic activity, people have changed how they live so as to minimize travel and contact with others, and organizations have adopted new working practices, most notably remote working. While this has been happening, Hitachi has gained recognition from its stakeholders for its stance of accelerating reform, including major acquisitions and business restructuring both in Japan and elsewhere. It was also quick to announce measures for normalizing working from home. President & CEO Toshiaki Higashihara has set out to make Hitachi a global leader in social innovation. How does he see the pandemic impacting society in general and Hitachi in particular? How does he believe Hitachi should adapt to this new normal? Hiroko Kiba, a freelance newscaster with extensive experience interviewing notable people from a variety of fields, talks to President Higashihara about his thoughts on where the strengths of Hitachi Group lie, the objectives of business globalization, and what things need to remain constant in this changing world.
