Hiroyasu Matsuoka: Leading Toho's Continued Breakthrough

I feel it was truly a matter of luck, and I'm not just being humble. "Kokuhou" was serialized in a newspaper and later published as a novel; actually, Toho had considered making it into a movie in the past.

We had previously worked with the original author, Shuichi Yoshida, and Director Sang-il Lee's team on two films, "Villain" (2010) and "Rage" (2016), so the project came up as a natural progression. However, during the planning and development stage, we had to abandon production at the time due to cost concerns and the judgment that the world of Kabuki might be too specialized.

This time, MYRIAGON STUDIO, a content studio under the Sony Group, re-planned and produced it. Normally, we wouldn't have been involved, but they saw the merit in partnering with Toho as a distribution company, and so we became partners.

Toho has played a certain role in the film industry, and what supports that is our "comprehensive strength" in handling everything from production to exhibition within the group.

As a distribution department that delivers works to theaters, we have done our best to make the various works entrusted to us successful, turning that track record into trust.

Furthermore, TOHO Cinemas, a group company in charge of the exhibition sector, ranks second in terms of screen count but has become the largest in the industry in terms of revenue. By enhancing theater facilities and services, we have continued to create attractive cinemas that encourage customers to visit.

I believe such accumulation has built Toho's position in the film industry.

Last year, Toho's "comprehensive strength" was utilized in a very positive way for various works, including "Kokuhou," "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training," and "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze-hen."

No one expected this level of response. It felt like it left our hands halfway through—we truly witnessed a social phenomenon occurring before our eyes.

Naturally, we did promotional activities, but the volume and speed at which people who saw the film spread the word on social media saying "it's amazing" was extraordinary. That is something we cannot control. Therefore, I believe the audience nurtured the work.

The audience found a wonderful work and shared it with others. I believe that is how it became a social phenomenon.

Toho began producing anime in earnest around 2013, but actually, there was a period in the 1980s when we worked on titles like "Touch."

Even during periods when we weren't producing, we were distributing anime films such as "Doraemon," "Detective Conan," and "Crayon Shin-chan."

However, the president at the time, Yoshishige Shimatani (now Chairman), decided to start producing anime ourselves again. The first few years were a period of trial and error, and there were still challenges regarding overseas expansion.

At that point, Crunchyroll, a North American streaming platform specialized in anime, began building cooperative relationships with Japanese companies. Eventually, it came under the Sony Group umbrella, and its membership grew rapidly. The timing of that growth synchronized perfectly with the expansion of the Japanese anime market.

As we accumulated a track record, a flow was created where various manga-based works were entrusted to Toho. In anime, a manga is often first adapted into a TV series, and after two or three seasons, it is made into a movie to take it to the next level. The movie further expands the fan base, and the series continues on a higher stage.

Seeing this flow of film adaptation, I think people felt the merit of partnering with Toho. I also believe the fact that we have been working on overseas expansion from an early stage was significant.

Among animations worldwide, Japanese animation is sometimes specifically referred to as "Anime." This is not just a difference in naming, but proof that it has been established as a unique genre.

What makes Japanese anime interesting is that while there are creative original animations represented by Hayao Miyazaki's works, there are also works based on manga. This is a strength not found in the animation of other countries, and I feel it holds even further potential.

During the pandemic, three directors, including myself, took the lead in thinking about the next medium-term management plan. To include a long-term perspective, we began discussions toward 2032, which marks our 100th anniversary. Three years have passed since I became president, and I feel that the direction we were thinking of at that time was not wrong.

The issues that come to me are all difficult judgments for which answers do not come easily, even after the people working on the front lines or the heads of those departments have thought desperately about them.

However, after listening to various opinions, in the end, I have no choice but to choose the one I think is best. The basis for that judgment is the accumulation of my own past judgments and ways of thinking—in other words, it is myself.

Therefore, even if I make a mistake in judgment, I believe I have no choice but to accept it as the result of the accumulation of my life up to that point. There are times when I regret or feel anxious after making a decision, but doing that is the job.

This is a truly difficult problem. The level is rising day by day. However, I am concerned about the current situation where technology is advancing while business rules remain unestablished.

On the other hand, when trying to rationalize and improve the efficiency of company operations, using AI makes things much easier. At Toho, we also established the AI Solution Promotion Office last October.

AI is an important tool for us, but at the same time, it is a threat. It is humans who master such things, and it is humans who take responsibility for what is created. Therefore, we must control AI ourselves.

We want to know as much as possible about what is happening now so that we can move quickly when we need to take action. I feel that without rules, we will head into dangerous territory.

In the 1970s, there was an era when the film industry was in a difficult situation. With the diversification of entertainment, such as the rise of television, Toho was forced to make major changes and made the painful decision to separate and independentize its film production department. From that experience, I think a mindset of "not increasing people" took root at Toho.

Toho has many talented employees, and I get the impression that one person is doing the work of two. However, now that we are expanding anime overseas, it is a new business and the workload is increasing, so we have no choice but to increase personnel.

Therefore, we have changed our policy over the past few years to properly hire a certain number of talented people. When I tried to express that in words, I thought of "Many Elite."

The best thing about entering the integrated education of Keio University was that there was no pressure from entrance exams. That's why both I and my brother (Shuzo Matsuoka) did nothing but play tennis, and we never had to step away from it. An environment where we could continue doing what we loved was guaranteed within the integrated education. I am especially grateful to my parents for that.

I also find myself saying, "You should tie your shoelaces," when I notice them (laughs).

Speaking of memories from Yochisha, we had two homeroom teachers, and the words of our later teacher, Saburo Kuwabara, had a great influence on my life thereafter.

I think it was around the 5th grade when one day he said, "Matsuoka-kun, you should go abroad to study. For you, it's not England, it's America."

Relying solely on those words, I went to study in the United States after graduating from university. I don't really know why he said that, but since my life today wouldn't exist without that study abroad experience, I really must be grateful for my mentor's words.

I think it was the 3rd or 4th grade of Yochisha. It's strange, but there were no rackets, trophies, or photos at home, so we brothers really didn't know our father had been a tennis player.

My older sister started tennis when she was in the 5th grade, and my brother and I were taken along to that school. There, an old man who maintained the courts lent us rackets and said, "Try hitting them against the wall." My brother became obsessed with it, and we started going together.

Even then, I still didn't know my father had been a tennis player. A while later, when I entered a tournament, people around me said, "As expected of Mr. Matsuoka's son," and I only learned about my father's career after asking my mother. That's how much my father never spoke about tennis.

For me, tennis in the university Athletic Association was an experience of failure. When I was in high school, my brother transferred from Keio University to Yanagawa High School, a prestigious tennis school. Since the person I had played tennis with at the club, my practice partner and rival, was gone, I consulted my father and joined the Athletic Association for the sake of life experience.

But at that point, I didn't have the feeling that I would live through tennis. So compared to the people around me, I think my commitment was half-hearted. My match results were mediocre, and even now, I think of many matches where I feel, "If only I had won that one..." My student days, when I faced tennis and the Athletic Association with a half-hearted attitude, are full of things to reflect on, and I think I caused trouble for those around me.

I think my motivation for work is the desire never to feel that way again.

The founding philosophy of Ichizo Kobayashi, who created Toho and Hankyu, is still Toho's philosophy today, and it will not change. We are inheriting the ideal stated by Ichizo-san to deliver healthy entertainment to the general public, and now we are trying to do that not just for Japan, but for the world.

In an even broader sense, the ideal of what Keio University should be and the kind of educational venue it should be, as set forth by Yukichi Fukuzawa, has not faded after more than 160 years. Precisely because we are in such turbulent times, I believe its significance is growing.

Therefore, while there is no need for blind faith, I believe that internalizing the meaning of those words or teachings as much as possible during your student years and making them your own words will become a great asset after graduation.

I wasn't very enthusiastic about school studies, but I believe things like Yukichi Fukuzawa's way of thinking have become my guidelines for action. In that sense, I am truly grateful that I was able to study through the integrated education from Yochisha.