Hiroaki Nakanishi’s speech at the Asia House Asian Business Leaders Award dinner

Speech delivered by Hiroaki Nakanishi, Chairman of the Board, Representative Executive Officer, Hitachi, Ltd., at the Asia House Asian Business Leaders Award 2016 held at Westminster’s Banqueting House on 1 November 2016. 

Thank you, Secretary of State. for being here tonight and for your very kind introduction.

Sir John, Mr Lawrence, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is a great honour to be here in this very international gathering accepting such a prestigious award from Asia House.

I am particularly grateful that Japan has joined the list of recipients of this award, because our countries have such a deep history of trade and mutually supportive political relations. Britain sent its engineering pioneers to Japan in the Meiji era, and it is probably true to say that without the stimulus, example and technology which you gave to us 150 years ago, companies like ours which are Japan’s major investors in the United Kingdom today would not have developed so soon or so successfully. And so there is not only an economic reason for us to continue to work together, but also a historical and even emotional foundation on which our cooperation can thrive and flourish.

To see a slideshow of the event click below:-

Today we are, like you, intently focused on the pace of development and growth in the rest of Asia as a driver of our business. I hope that in the new circumstances which the UK now finds itself, Japan, and Asia in general, will benefit from a new surge of attention by the UK’s technology and service industries, and I am sure that the vital role that Asia House plays in bringing Britain and Asia together, particularly in trade, will be ever more necessary and relevant.

Let me say something personal, but very much rooted in our company philosophy, about the function of business in society. I am impressed, Secretary of State, that your government, by re-emphasising the concept of industrial strategy, has recognised that the role of business is not only economic but social, and that providing an environment in which the right kinds of business can prosper, and innovation can flourish, is an important way for governments to deliver their policies and social benefit to the population. It is not, in my view, state ownership, but partnership between business and government which can best deliver infrastructure and improvement in transport, health, energy and other services.

Hitachi’s founding creed was to put technology to the benefit of society, and that is why today we put Social Innovation at the heart of our business.

Social innovation is the recognition that as a business we have the ability – and the responsibility – to improve the lives of people. By bringing together IT, infrastructure and engineering with human ingenuity, we can we can build a safer, smarter, more sustainable world. And this social innovation is not an exclusive enterprise. It involves partnership, sharing ideas, developing talent and bringing thinkers and doers together to accelerate change It deliberately uses an open architecture which allows collaboration with the best research and other players.

Urbanisation, population growth, ageing societies in some countries and climate change everywhere are changing how we live and posing new challenges. These require more intelligent, robust and cost effective solutions than ever before. In particular, the way we shape and develop our growing cities – many with ageing infrastructures – will become critical to a sustainable future. There is a need for reliable and stable energy supplies, improved transportation networks, transformed healthcare systems and better access to clean water to name just a few.

When I was a young systems engineer I was part of a team that built the automated rail traffic management system for the Tokyo area railway network. Of course as engineers we saw it as a technical challenge, given the complexity of the network and number of movements to be coordinated. But while the deployment of the system certainly repaid the railway operators, the much larger benefit by far accrued to society at large, through allowing a population of 15 million to travel with minimal disruption across a very wide area, creating new suburbs, avoiding the need for road building and lowering energy consumption. That is one of the technologies that we are introducing, on a still small scale, in this country.

Personally therefore, I am totally at home in a world where government, with input from experts and industry, sets the broad objectives for the next phase of social infrastructure development, and creates a business ecosystem in which private sector companies can invest to deliver it.

I know, Secretary of State, that you are very sensitive to the concerns of Japanese business about how Brexit will now be handled, not least because of the direct read-across from foreign investment to Britain’s industrial strategy.

And I should add that since we also have important business in the rest of the EU we care as well about the future of Europe — as a geopolitical unit, an economic partner for Japan, and an area of economic growth. It is time for the famed British diplomacy, and not the wrecking ball.

I have lived and spent a lot of time in the UK and greatly admire its people and especially its scientists and inventors. The UK gave us railways and our first nuclear technology. So it is no coincidence that the UK is home to some of our biggest international infrastructure projects. In 2014, we moved the global headquarters of our rail business to the UK, and I was here in Britain just over a year ago, celebrating the opening of our new rail manufacturing facility in the North East.

I am determined that Britain will be very proud of what British workers will produce in that plant. But we don’t want it to be handicapped by complications with its supply chain or selling into Europe.

In 2012 when Hitachi acquired Horizon Nuclear Power, I made a 100 year commitment to the UK. We remain committed as ever to provide secure, reliable, low carbon electricity to millions of households and businesses in the UK for decades, and providing an economic boost nationally and locally. We are glad that the Hinkley Point project is now going ahead, and that thanks to the efforts of your Department, Secretary of State, we are making progress towards establishing a good legal and financial framework for Horizon’s project in Anglesey.

Politics is politics, and industry is jobs. We hope that when the dust settles, Britain will still be part of an open Europe, helping to set new standards, and a secure base for the further expansion of our business.

May I close by again thanking Asia House for this very special and treasured honour, by reaffirming my personal commitment to promoting Japan-British cooperation in all areas, and wishing everyone here great success in the years to come.

Thank you.

This is the draft of Mr Nakanishi’s acceptance speech which he delivered at the Asia House Asian Business Leaders Award dinner at Banqueting House on 1 November, 2016. It may have varied slightly when delivered.

To read the story, It is time for the famed British diplomacy and not the wrecking ball: Hitachi Chairman, based on this speech, click here.

To read the story Hitachi Chairman honoured with Asia House Asian Business Leaders Award covering the gala event at Banqueting House click here. 

To read the story ‘The only way forward is a smart Brexit’ – UK Business Secretary, based on the keynote speech UK Business Secretary Greg Clark made at the Asia House Asian Business Leaders Award dinner, click here.