Chairman's Office(1/1/2024)
My Prophetic Dream


Happy New Year to you all.

I am wondering what exactly is an “exchange rate”? I think “stock prices” and “land prices” indicate the value of a company or land, but does “exchange rate” indicate the relative national strength of Japan? Compared to any other currency, only the yen has become cheaper than before. Does this mean that Japan’s value has plummeted in just one or two years?

Recently, when I visit the U.S., Australia, and other foreign countries, hotels, cabs, restaurants, McDonald’s, and everything else have become surprisingly expensive. As a result, tourists and academic conference participants from Japan have disappeared from the world. For visitors coming from overseas, Japan seems to be a cheap place to eat lunch at a restaurant, pay for hotels, train fares, and everything else, even land and apartments in Japan. And in Japan, hotel and cab fares go up, and condominium prices soar. All consumers should be suffering, but thanks to this weak yen exchange rate, Toyota and other auto companies are making unprecedented profits. In Toranomon and Azabudai, where Nanophoton Tokyo offices are located, there is an unprecedented rush of office towers. High-end hotels, restaurants, and residences are being built alongside them. One wonders who is going to rent that much more office space.

In order to develop business without being influenced by the exchange rate, we have to choose whether to do business only in Japan or to expand globally beyond Japan. At the end of my address at Nanophoton’s 20th anniversary party held at the RIHGA Royal Hotel in Nakanoshima last November 2, I unveiled the Nanophoton 2.0 plan. The plan was to “manufacture and sell Nanophoton products worldwide” and to “base the design and development of Nanophoton products in Osaka, Japan.” This is precisely Nanophoton’s dream at the time of its establishment: to become “the world’s first R&D company originating from Japan.”

We look forward to your continued support so that Nanophoton 2.0 will be a positive dream.

1 January, 2024
Nanophoton Corporation
Chairman and Representative, Satoshi Kawata

(Translated by DeepL)