I am 60% Japanese and 60% Mexican

Carlos Kasuga Osaka is Director General of Yakult S.A. de C.V.  He is Founder and President of the Japanese Mexican School, Founder and Past President of the Panamerican Nikkei Association, and Past President of the Asociación México Japonesa. His parents migrated to Mexico from Japan in 1930.

INSIDE MEXICO: What was it like for Japanese people in Mexico during World War II?

CARLOS KASUGA: [US president] Roosevelt asked the Mexican government to send the Japanese here to concentration camps in Texas. The Mexican government refused to do this, but did agree to move Japanese from around the country to Mexico City. When the order came for us to relocate, my family was living in Cardenas, San Luis Potosí. We were given 72 hours to leave for Mexico City. Two soldiers came to our house to escort us and another Japanese family to the train station. The entire town came to see us off. It was 1942 or 43. I was seven years old. In spite of the suffering, I have to give some thanks to the Mexican government. We had the best concentration camp in the world! In Mexico City, we had access to schools and the chance to get an education.

IM: How did you start Yakult?

CK: When I was founding the Liceo Mexicano Japonés, I traveled back and forth to Japan, looking for support. [Mexican president] Luis Echevarria had given me letters of introduction to the Japanese government. I met a congressional representative, and I told him about the problems we had in Mexico, including unemployment and intestinal problems caused by the water. He said, you should bring Yakult to Mexico. In Japan, women sold Yakult door to door. People left money in their mailboxes, and the ladies came by and left the Yakult. I said to them, this method of sales will never work in Mexico. But they said, we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of Yakult in Brazil. So I decided to give it a try.

Before we launched, my business partners and I did a market study. We needed to know what people really ate, not just what they said they ate. For three months, we got up at 4 AM and gathered trash in Mexico City and around the country. We spread out the contents to examine them. We knew if people drank milk or didn’t, if they ate meat, and how they cleaned their vegetables. When we examined the vegetable peelings with a microscope, we found lots of bacteria because they hadn’t been washed properly. This, among other things, told us there were dietary problems in Mexico, and because of this, Yakult would be a success. The first year we sold 2,568 containers of Yakult every day. Now we sell three million.

IM: When was the first time you went to Japan?

CK: In 1959. My father sent me to learn how to read and write Japanese. While I was there, I attended the first International Machine Fair in Tokyo. One company made plastic beach toys and lifesavers. I had been on the school swim team, and I’d never seen anything like that in Mexico! I said to the owner of the company, I’d like to bring these to Mexico. He consulted a book of trade laws, and said, I’m sorry, but these items are prohibited for import into Mexico. Why don’t you buy the machine and make them there? I said, what will I do if the machine breaks down in Mexico? He said, don’t worry, we’ll teach you how to fix it.

Every week I sent my father a letter in Japanese, so he could see how my language study was coming along. I told him about the machine and my idea for the business. Soon after, someone from the company came to see me. My father had sent a letter to the owner, saying that my Japanese was good enough and I was to report directly to work at the factory. For me—a Latino!—going to work at a Japanese company was really difficult! All the hierarchy, having to arrive early, sweep the factory, wear a uniform—this was culture shock! But it was one of the most important experiences of my life: I learned the importance of discipline, order and cleanliness. The owners of the company were the first to arrive and the last to leave. Everyone used the same bathroom. If the owner of a company has a clean bathroom, and the one for the workers is disgusting, you breed resentment and hatred among the workers. I eventually bought two machines and brought them back to Mexico to start my business making lifesavers here in Mexico. I have brought three things from Japan for children: inflatable beach toys for fun, the Liceo Mexicano Japonés for education, and Yakult for health.

IM: Are you more Japanese or Mexican?

CK: I am 60% Japanese and 60% Mexican [laughs].

Carlos Kasuga Osaka has run Yakult México for more than 20 years. He graduated in accounting from the Escuela Bancaria y Comercial in Mexico City. In addition to his many other activities, he is President of the International Life Sciences Institute, and Vice President of the Committee for the Centennial Celebration of the Japanese Migration to Mexico. He has traveled all of Mexico, to Peru and to Columbia speaking about his philosophy, based on Japanese-style Total Quality and Productivity.