Taiyo Oil Holds FY2026 Entrance Ceremony for New Employees

2026.04.02

Taiyo Oil held the FY2026 entrance ceremony for new employees.

The following is the message from the president to new employees.

Message to New Employees

My sincere congratulations to all of you on being accepted into our company.

Unfortunately, it is raining today, and some of you may have had a hard time getting here. In relation to this, please allow me to begin with a brief story that revolves around rain.

I once lived in Canada. One day, when I went to a park to walk my dog, I got to talking about the weather with a young Canadian I met there. When I said, “It looks like rain tomorrow, which is a shame,” he told me, “But isn't it nice that the snow-covered winter has ended, the greenery has finally appeared, and rain we have needed for so long will finally fall?” I had been thinking only of myself and my dog, worrying that I would get wet or that I would not be able to take my dog for a walk. He, by contrast, regarded nature in terms of it being a part of life, and I remember being moved by his way of living. Whenever it rains, I think of him, and that makes me want to someday be able to feel sad for, rejoice in, and love not only someone other than myself, but at times even nature and the entire Earth, as if they were a part of me.

Now, on this rainy day as we welcome you to Taiyo Oil, what I wish to ask you is this: “How do you want to live your life?”

I spoke of rain just now, but let me share one more experience of mine. When I was job hunting, I once told an interviewer during an executive interview at a certain company that I “wanted to contribute to society.” At that point, the interviewer asked me, “If you were assigned to the food products division and could monopolize 100% of banana imports, would you raise the price?” From a consumer’s standpoint, I felt that a price increase would be unjust, and I answered, “I would not.” The interviewer’s reply was, “How naive. This is an appropriate price increase.” Doubting whether a price increase that was appropriate for the company was truly appropriate for consumers, I said on the spot, “I would rather not become the kind of person who can use the word appropriate in that way.”

Some days later, that interviewer said to me, “You spoke of wanting to contribute to society, and your thinking was consistent with that claim. Even after you enter the working world, I hope you will keep thinking about what holds value for society, rather than deciding how to act because a superior told you to or because there is profit to be gained.” Ever since, I feel that as I have advanced through my working life, I have always continued to ask what it is that holds value for society.

Today, you have joined Taiyo Oil, and through the various duties ahead, you will be taught many things that appear to be correct answers. Following them may result in being praised by your superiors, senior colleagues, and business partners, as well as in avoiding mistakes and perhaps becoming what people think of as an excellent businessperson. Those things that appear to be correct answers, however, do not contribute much to forming the wonderful character that is uniquely your own.

What I want to ask you once again is, “How do you want to live your life?” Please keep asking yourself that question. As the leader of Taiyo Oil, I promise to maintain a company where you can take pride in yourselves and come to like who you are as people working at Taiyo Oil.

Please do not let the shine I now see in your eyes fade over the course of your working life. Five or ten years from now, when you meet friends from your student days, I hope you will be the kind of working professional who can say, “I love my life now, and I look forward to the future even more,” rather than longing for the past. Let us both do our best.

Once again, I offer my heartfelt congratulations to you today.

Scenes from the entrance ceremony

Number of new employees in FY2026

Graduate School Graduates (Technical)	5
University Graduates (Technical)	5
Graduates of an advanced course at a college of technology (Technical)	1
University Graduates (Administrative)	9
Graduates of a regular course at a college of technology (Technical)	1
High School Graduates (Technical)	15
Total	36