Our founder, Eiichiro Tomiyama, expressed his philosophy of toys as “aiming to create a more abundant children’s culture by making ingenious, high-quality toys loved by everyone with the wish for the healthy growth of children responsible for the future.” This ambition led Tomiyama to establish the Tomiyama Toy Seisakusho on February 2, 1924. And ever since, we have held firmly to our essential belief of contributing to society through the business of making toys.

The image of adults fully absorbed in this toy-making mission figured prominently in my memories as a young boy. In the workshop adjoining my house, I observed with wonder and admiration the large backs bent over their drawing desks, the nose-wrinkling smell of solder, the rhythmic rasping of files—these giant adults working seriously and attentively, and with apparent satisfaction and a twinkle in their eyes. The toys that emerged from that small workshop would go on to put smiles on the faces of children all around the world. And though our manufacturing processes have changed over time, the TOMY Group continues to recognize that the toys we make must be a source of immense joy to children.

Awaiting children of the future, however, are changes we can now only imagine—the dizzying speed of technological progress, environmental disasters such as climate change, to name a few. Where do toys as an aid to healthy childhood growth fit in with these changes? And what should we who base our livelihoods on toys do about it? The time has come to unravel the past so we can set the right course for the future.

The Japanese people have learned adaptation to change as the wisdom of living amidst the shifting seasons of Japan’s awe-inspiring landscape. The effort to be more sustainable is perhaps nothing special to us, given the solutions we have devised in our culture to prepare for and embrace change rather than resist it. I believe we have the strength and courage to confront with flexibility the many social challenges brought by the changing times.

As for the TOMY Group, we plan to show a clear mindset and path forward under our CSR policy. Our hope is that our actions and long-held ambitions grow deep roots, both in and outside the company. In seeking to become the most trusted enterprise in the world, we remain steadfast in our efforts to contribute to society through toys.

Our founding philosophy ― “Let’s excite the world’s markets with our outstanding products. Our sincerity and diligence will contribute to society and lead to our own success and happiness.” ― underpins the entire TOMY Group operation.

Keeping our founder’s aspiration to “excite the world’s markets with our outstanding products” close to our hearts, we have developed multiple hit products for global consumption over the years. Our mainstay TOMICA, PLARAIL and LICCA doll products have delighted children for over half a century, and we have shipped over 350 million units of our modern version of the traditional Japanese spinning top, BEYBLADE to over 80 countries and regions worldwide. Indeed, we can boast many products that are loved by people of all generations, nationalities and cultures.

The “Our sincerity and diligence will contribute to society and lead to our own success and happiness” philosophy stems from our founder’s advocation of the ideal principle of co-existence and co-prosperity, an inscribed entrepreneur’s motto. I believe our current social responsibility policy reflects perfectly our long-held founding belief that “those who pursue eternal prosperity must understand they can only prosper together with others.”

Today’s world is witnessing dramatic and dizzying change. With giant leaps in technological progress come large changes in consumer behavior. Furthermore, modern society is experiencing widening educational and economic gaps and other mounting issues as international cooperation is interspersed with a desire to prioritize individual countries’ interests. Expectations surrounding how companies should respond to these social issues are also changing.

When it comes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015, companies are expected to be key players in solving social issues. How can we use the toy-making business to fulfill these expectations?

I firmly believe that toys have the power to contribute to the healthy growth of children, regardless of their geographical and ethnic background, and that we are perfectly positioned to play a special role in that growth.

In 2024, the TOMY Group will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this special milestone, we are striving to become an outstanding global company.
We want to develop as a company that, holding true to its founding spirit of co-existence and co-prosperity, continues to excite world’s markets with our outstanding products and to fill the world’s children with inspiration, joy, dreams and hope.
The opinions of our stakeholders are extremely important to us as we pursue this determined challenge to become an outstanding global company. I believe we will witness exciting times ahead and I look forward to facing them together.