From Sony earphones to Yamaha speakers, Japan’s excellence proves true craftsmanship always aims for the world’s best.

On August 22, 2010, the author addresses Ms. Renho, discussing the meaning of a “true artisan.” Using his personal audio experience, he highlights the spirit of global companies like Sony and Apple, which strive to “make the world’s best product if we’re going to make one at all.” He argues that Japanese politicians, too, should focus on cultivating a global perspective rather than catering to the media. The essay praises Japan’s excellent craftsmanship and calls for the same “artisan spirit” in the world of politics.

Renhō, True Craftsmanship Always Aims for the World’s Best
August 22, 2010

In my youth, I was something of an audio enthusiast. When Sony released the Walkman, I purchased it right away and used it for many years.

Today, what I cannot do without are Sony’s earphones. When Sony’s engineers set out to create them, they thought, “If we are to build something, let’s pursue the world’s best—sound so perfect it has never existed before.”

Because these earphones are free from the distortions of air and room acoustics, they deliver sound more beautiful than even the most expensive speakers. If you love music, I highly recommend them as an essential item for travel.

To aim for the world’s best—this is the very origin, or perhaps the ultimate goal, of craftsmanship. Only through such a pursuit can one create something that astonishes the world.

Sony has now fallen behind Apple in the field of sound, not because of audio quality, where Sony is still superior, but in design and usability.

Apple triumphed because it approached design and usability with the same spirit of aiming for the ultimate. When I first saw the original iPod—the slim rectangular model—I thought, “Ah, this is serious. Sony has lost.” I had just purchased the latest cylindrical Walkman, but I bought the iPod as well.

The sound was overwhelmingly better on Sony, but its controls—pressing and rotating a knob—were troublesome.

You too, if you wish to become one of Japan’s truly world-class politicians, must continue to deepen your study. Otherwise, you will not succeed as a stateswoman. If you allow yourself to be swayed by the Japanese mass media, you will fail. You must keep the global standard in mind.

In audio, Japan has world-class excellence. Yamaha’s cubic speakers, for instance—the ultimate in design, usability, lightness, sound quality, and price. They are the best in the world.

They surpass Bose—compact and light enough to be carried as travel gear.

I recall an anecdote: when certain associates from our Rome branch, all of them members of prominent Roman noble families, visited Japan, they did not forget to buy Japanese audio equipment—Pioneer, or perhaps another brand.

They said, “In Europe, almost everything is Philips. But their sound cannot compare. Japanese products are overwhelmingly superior.”

True craftsmanship, across all ages and places, always strives for the world’s best.