A Flourishing and Inclusive Society Offering Happiness to All

Dialogue

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A Flourishing and Inclusive
Society Offering Happiness to All

A Flourishing and Inclusive Society Offering Happiness to AllMARUI GROUP hopes to contribute to the realization of a flourishing society in which
everyone can be included and find happiness regardless of their age, gender, or
physical characteristics. This was the theme of the discussion between Toshiya Kakiuchi,
a universal design specialist that advocates the concept of “Barrier Value,” or viewing
disabilities as a type of value; Fumino Sugiyama, an organizer of Japan’s largest LGBTpride event; and President Hiroshi Aoi of MARUI GROUP. These three discussed thepotential of inclusion and the role MARUI GROUP should play in this regard.

Toshiya Kakiuchi
President, Mirairo Inc. (left)

Fumino Sugiyama
Co-Representative
Nonprofit Organization TOKYO RAINBOW PRIDE (center)

Hiroshi Aoi
President and Representative Director
Representative Executive Officer
MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. (right)

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Dialogue 01

Discussion at irodori restaurant owned by Mr. Sugiyama in October 2016
irodori-newcanvas.com/ (Japanese only)

Dialogue 01

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A Flourishing and Inclusive Society Offering Happiness to All

A Flourishing and Inclusive Society Offering Happiness to All

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A Society Offering Happiness to All
Aoi: MARUI GROUP has decided to shift its emphasis
from CSR to sustainability. The concept of “inclusion” will be
important to achieving sustainability. We have previously
evoked this concept with phrases like “for all customers.”
For example, we feel that shopping experiences andservices should be enjoyable for all customers, not just aselect few. If we cannot accomplish this, society cannot
be said to be truly flourishing. Including all customers,regardless of their age, gender, or physical characteristics,
will be crucial to the society of the future. I believe that
there is a lot of overlap to be found between businesses
that offer joy to all customers and universally open
societies that provide happiness for all.
Sugiyama: What turned you on to this idea of “for allcustomers”? When you, President Aoi, requested that
I give a lecture on the idea of “for all customers,” I wasvery glad. In the past, I had felt like I was not included
within the “all.” As I do not identify as traditionally male orfemale, people would pretend that I did not exist, even
if they were aware of my existence. If I did not speak up,
no one would understand my needs. This situation mademe feel as if I was invisible. Now, however, I truly feel as
though we are entering into an era in which people likeme are included within the “all.”Aoi: In the past, MARUI GROUP had primarily focusedon younger customers. However, I could not help but
feel opposed to this idea of excluding some customers.
Companies should not be selective in their target customers, but should rather try to bring joy to as manycustomers as possible. When I thought about this,I arrived at the idea of “for all customers.”
Kakiuchi: So you mean to say that there was some basis
for your arrival at this idea, such as an ideological stancethat people with disabilities and members of the LGBT
community should be included in the “all.” I believe thatMARUI GROUP’s current inclusion initiatives are truly
symbolic. The way in which society views different
individuals is changing. When people talk about mywheelchair in the same manner they might talk about
someone’s shirt, it makes me realize how much people
like me have come to be accepted by society.
Aoi: When you told me that story, it made me very
happy. It is reassuring to hear that you are accepted inthis way. I feel that my world has begun to grow muchwider, encompassing realms I had not known before,
after speaking with both of you and hearing your uniqueperspectives, and this feeling fills me with excitement
and joy.

“I ask people to tell me if there is anything
they do not understand about me, butwhether or not this communication occurs
is determined by whether or not they takeinterest in others.”
Fumino Sugiyama

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Dialogue 01“I think true inclusion only occurs when it
is natural, or nonchalant, not when you go
out of your way to give someone specialtreatment.”
Toshiya Kakiuchi

A Tomorrow in Which Labels Are
No Longer Necessary
Aoi: I previously wondered why, despite the fact that thedesire to help all customers was entrenched throughout
MARUI GROUP, we did not get many customers inwheelchairs or with vision impairments. I soon realized it
was because we did not actively reach out to these customers and invite them into our stores. It was then that
I pledged to make our stores into the type of stores that
all customers choose.
Kakiuchi: Japanese people tend to be a bit perfectionist,making it difficult for people to announce that their facility
is equipped to accommodate differently abled individuals.
For this reason, there are times when exceptional accessibility initiatives go unannounced, never reaching theears of the individuals they seek to include or their families.
It is not necessary for your accessibility initiatives to be
perfect. If you want to include normally excluded
individuals, your first step should be to express thosefeelings. Many will be inspired to visit your store by
those feelings.
Sugiyama: Similarly, the allies that strive to understandand support the LGBT community are often invisible. The
more progressive the company, the more they see suchsupport as completely normal. These companies will not
go out of their way to say “I am your ally.” I too do not liketo make distinctions between the majority and minorities,

but if you do not make this clear, no one will know.
We must use the label “LGBT” today in order to createa tomorrow in which this label is no longer necessary.
Kakiuchi: The label of “person with disabilities” is thesame. The idea of categorizing people based on whether
or not they have a disability may be nonsense, but there
are times when this distinction must be made in order toresolve the issues we face. I hope to work together witheveryone to create a society in which my using a wheelchair does not make me “different,” but is rather seen ascompletely normal, a society in which there is no need tomake a distinction between those with disabilities andthose without.

Transition from an Age of Strength from Similarities toan Age of Strength from Differences
Sugiyama: The past was an age in which people drew
strengths from their similarities. The so-called Japanese
economic miracle was a period of growth built upon
conformity. However, we are now entering into an age inwhich differences should be seen as strengths. No one isthe same, and it is these differences that make lifeinteresting.
Aoi: I too believe that life is more interesting because weare different. I often speak of how interesting diversity
makes things. This is because I feel it is important to findDialogue 01

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A Flourishing and Inclusive Society Offering Happiness to All

A Flourishing and Inclusive Society Offering Happiness to All

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joy in the differences of others, rather than just promoting
diversity because of some kind of duty. By embracing thechanges that have occurred and promoting further
changes ourselves, we can build a different society.
Kakiuchi: Building tolerance for differences takes time,
and tolerance can only be fostered through familiarity,
which must be cultivated by means of frequent interaction.
Speaking with you two today has made me once again
realize the importance of telling the world of tomorrow
about the power of differences and how interesting
they make life.
Sugiyama: I think we need to change the mentality ofacting “for minorities.” A society that is kind to minorities
will no doubt also be kind to the majority. Thus, addressing
the needs of minorities will also likely help resolve theissues faced by majorities.
Aoi: That is an interesting idea. In the past, it seemed as
though the world revolved around the majority. This wasparticularly true in the period of the Japanese economic
miracle, when difficult times drove Japan to focus on thegroup with the largest numbers. This approach helped
Japan prosper in the past, but the country has stopped
growing today. Regardless of this fact, the majority still
remains the focus. This seems strange to me. I canunderstand focusing only on the largest group whentimes are tough. However, when the immediate perils

have been overcome, it is time to look to the prosperityof others. If we do not do this, what was the point ofachieving prosperity in the first place?

Normalization of Inclusion
Kakiuchi: I often use the word “nonchalant.” I think true
inclusion only occurs when it is natural, or nonchalant,
not when you go out of your way to give someone special
treatment. For example, when MARUI GROUP expanded
the range of sizes for its products, it naturally included
people of sizes not seen as “standard.” If people andcompanies adopt this approach when they consider
previously marginalized people, I think the idea of inclusion
will eventually become normalized.
Aoi: I do not like the word “disability,” and I have recently
been trying to say “physical characteristics” instead.
Some may not like my lumping disabilities in with bodysizes, but I believe these two categories are similar inthat they are both ways in which we are all different.
Kakiuchi: I think that such approaches will help foster
familiarity and acceptance more easily.
Sugiyama: I believe that familiarity is at the heart of thistype of acceptance. If something is unfamiliar, people
tend to erect mental barriers that make it difficult to say“I often speak of how interesting diversity
makes things. This is because I feel it isimportant to find joy in the differences ofothers, rather than just promoting diversity
because of some kind of duty.”
Hiroshi Aoi

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Dialogue 01“I don’t understand this.” A person in a wheelchair, forexample, is only inconvenienced when they come acrosssteps, and can get around normally otherwise. For thisreason, you could take the perspective that the disability
comes from society, and not from the individual. It is
crucial to share such perspectives with others.
Understanding this perspective requires knowledge,
which means that the number of opportunities to gainsuch knowledge is quite important. I ask people to tellme if there is anything they do not understand about me,
but whether or not this communication occurs is determined by whether or not they take interest in others.

Toshiya Kakiuchi
President, Mirairo Inc.
Mr. Kakiuchi was born in Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture in 1989.
He established Mirairo in 2010 while attending the College of Business
Administration at Ritsumeikan University. One in three of Mirairo’s 35
employees have some kind of disability. From the perspective of “BarrierValue,” turning a disability into a value, Mr. Kakiuchi offers universal
design consulting services to companies, municipal government
agencies, and educational institutions. In 2015, he became an advisor
to the Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Center. He was thenappointed as an advisor to the Tokyo Organising Committee of theOlympic and Paralympic Games in 2016.

Mirairo conducts investigations offacilities, products, apps, andother various articles andproposes improvements from theperspective of “Barrier Value.”

Mutual Progress to Turn Barriers into Value
Kakiuchi: There are several barriers that are created byignorance, but I feel that the way society approaches
such issues is changing as of late. In fact, it may be us
who are not quite used to this change yet. If ignorance isreplaced with knowledge and “cannot” is replaced with“can,” then I think that the majority and minorities canmake mutual progress and bridge the gap between eachother. I use the word “Barrier Value” to refer to the idea
of taking some kind of disability and turning it into somekind of value. We should not use disabilities as reasons
to hurt others or impose ourselves on others. Rather,
it is important to clarify the mutual value we present toone another.
Sugiyama: Marginalized individuals may not always beaware of it, but they can sometimes internalize prejudicesor be slightly discriminatory toward society on the basisthat society discriminates against them. What you said
now made me think that, indeed, there may be a degree
to which we ourselves are not used to society being used
to us. I believe that both previously marginalized individuals and the majority want to build relationships witheach other that allow them to mutually propose how theyshould interact, including with regard to such distinctions.
Aoi: Japan is entering into a new era, and in this era it will
be important for both the largest group and other groups
to flourish. I see you two as the type of individuals thatwill herald this change in the new era. I hope to work
together with you in building a new society going forward.

Dialogue 01

Mr. Kakiuchi gives lectures ateducational institutions as well ascompanies, and these lectures area required part of the curriculumat Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin.

Fumino Sugiyama
Co-Representative
Incorporated Nonprofit Organization TOKYO RAINBOW PRIDE
Representative, Heart wo Tsunagou Gakko
Mr. Sugiyama is a transgendered individual born in 1981 that previously
represented Japan in women’s fencing. While in university, he wrote
Double Happiness, which garnered much attention, eventually beingtranslated into Korean and converted into a comic. After graduation, heembarked on a backpacking voyage, visiting around 50 countries andwitnessing the social issues therein. Back in Japan, he now manages
his own restaurant while also holding positions as co-representativeof TOKYO RAINBOW PRIDE and representative of Heart wo Tsunagou
Gakko, a nonprofit organization offering support for children that identify
as sexual minorities. His other diverse activities include giving lectures andhosting a television program. Mr. Sugiyama helped establish Shibuya’s
ordinance recognizing same-sex partnerships, the first of its kind inJapan, and now serves on Shibuya’s committee for promoting genderequality and diversity.

Mr. Sugiyama is a co-representative of TOKYO RAINBOW PRIDE,
which holds Japan’s largest
LGBT pride parade as well asother events throughout Japanin early May.

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