Instead of giving in to despair, he used the chance to change the company

Kozo Iwata was at his home in Ashiya City when the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake occurred. Luckily, his family and house suffered no damage, though furniture and dishes were scattered in the house.

At first I thought a truck or something had veered into my house, but I looked around the neighborhood and recognized that it had been a tremendous earthquake. When I drove to the Head Office in Kobe’s Higashinada Ward, I saw fires breaking out here and there, and the collapsed Hanshin Expressway. I thought “This is the worst ever.” I resolved to confront the harsh reality.

The Head Office at the time, having been newly constructed two months before the disaster, was not damaged, though fixtures and fittings were scattered in the office. The Kobe Factory next to the Head Office was seemingly all right, but the ground had sunk due to liquefaction caused by the earthquake. The ground had sunk but remained horizontal, so the building was not slanted. While he was confirming the situation of the company and the safety of employees, many employees came to the office, walking three or four hours. Iwata was impressed by their spirit and energy. As it turned out that the nearby gas tank might explode, he gathered the employees at his house and held an emergency meeting.

We had many challenges to tackle, such as the recovery of the factory and distribution of our products. However, instead of giving in to despair, I thought, “This disaster may be a chance to change the company.”

Photo: Around the Kobe Factory, suffering liquefaction after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

To relieve business partners with the message “Kobe will recover,” Iwata arranged to pay the bills due on January 20.

All banks in Kobe had lost their function, so I asked the Tokyo Headquarters of our main financing bank for support and made payment. Then I sent the facsimile message “Rock Field is all right” to all of our business partners. Except for those in the affected areas, our shops were able to continue operation without closing a single day. Although we could not offer all of our products, customers throughout Japan bought them, saying, “Your company is based in Kobe, isn’t it? I will support you, so keep going!” This encouraged us a lot.

Inspired by the words “We will do anything!”

Three days after the earthquake, the company decided to transfer its production base to the Shizuoka Factory. They resumed production in temporary prefabricated buildings established on the premises of the factory.

I reported the situation of Kobe to approximately 400 employees at the Shizuoka Factory. Then they said, “We will do anything, sir! Hang in there!” I was very much inspired by their words. I still remember that impressive experience.

Photo: Shizuoka Factory today, with lush greenery of planted trees


“Hurray!” at the pleasure of being able to work

As the result of the employees’ all-out recovery efforts, the Kobe Factory resumed operation in March 1995, only two months after the disaster, with the restoration of the last lifeline utility—the gas supply. Everyone relished the pleasure of being able to work, and spontaneously called out “Hurray!”

We are “kept alive.” I have come to have this idea not only because we survived the disaster but also because we received a great amount of support from many people. Today, over 80% of our employees are from the generation who didn’t experience the disaster. I will continue conveying my experience so that it shall not be forgotten.

Fresh salad delivered to the affected areas in Tohoku

The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 2011. Department stores and station buildings in Sendai, where Rock Field’s stores operated as tenants, suffered damage. The company was also greatly affected by the breakdown of transportation systems that involved department stores and station buildings at major terminals in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

On that day, I was attending a workshop at the Kochi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, themed around preparing for the Nankai Trough Megaquake. I was just talking about my experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Then I received a report that a large earthquake had occurred in the Tohoku region. Upon finishing my lecture, I returned to the Kobe Head Office and called an emergency meeting.

At the Tokyo Office, approximately 70 people, including prospective employees who were receiving training, could not go home and had to stay at the office for one night. The stockpile of blankets, water and foods that had been prepared based on the experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake greatly served its purpose.

In April 2011, the company participated in food distribution in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi, and offered approximately 6,000 portions of salad.

I wondered if it was OK to offer salad while others offered hot dishes, but the affected people appreciated it, saying, “These are the first fresh vegetables I have had since before the earthquake.” Even so, I still wonder if I might have been able to do something better in the situation so completely different from what we experienced in Kobe.

Photo: Offered salad in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The fresh salad was much appreciated by the affected people who were tired of emergency food.


Genki-no-ki*: the symbol of reconstruction, completed on the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
*Genki-no-ki literally means “Tree of energy”

With the idea of improving the working environment of the Head Office and Kobe Factory, Iwata decided to relocate them to where they are now in 2003, eight years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

Maybe I was linked to this place by fate; it was decided to purchase the former distribution center of a department store right in front of the former Kobe Factory. I checked the building with the architect Mr. Tadao Ando, and decided to redo the underground foundation work but renovate and reuse the building itself, based on the “mottainai” concept, or using what we can still use.

Iwata paid much attention to how to carry out the renovation with the idea that there must be something the company could do for the area where the office was located, as well as for Kobe. One of the results is the eye-catching large artwork Genki-no-ki located on the premises of the Head Office.

In 2005, Kobe City hosted the event “Messages from Kobe” in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Partly because I had been involved in this event from the planning stage, I was able to have the symbol artwork Genki-no-ki that had been very popular among children while displayed at the Kobe Maritime Museum in Meriken Park, the main venue of the event. The work, created by the artist Ms. Tomoko Sugiyama, is the symbol of reconstruction for me even now, 20 years after the earthquake.

Photo: Genki-no-ki in the garden of the in-house day-care center in the Head Office


To be a company which its employees can truly take pride in

Rock Field is also known for its initiatives in dietary education, focusing on children’s futures. In the Kobe Head Office/Factory and Shizuoka Factory, there are in-house child day-care centers. In particular, the center in Shizuoka is actively interacting with local communities. Iwata says that the operation of the day-care centers is sometimes hard work, but leads to enhancing the motivation of employees.

There are some 25 children in the day-care center in Shizuoka. On clear days, they enjoy outings to nearby fields and rice paddies. The children and farmers have formed a good relationship, and when the children learned that the farmers were in trouble as sparrows ate rice in the paddies, children made bird scarers as a gift to the farmers. Then the farmers gave the children a bag of newly harvested rice in return. The children also built a hearth, following an idea from the principal. They enjoy cooking rice and other ingredients with it, using firewood they gathered themselves.

At KidZania, a theme park where children can enjoy simulated experiences of working and social activities, we offer dietary education through a program of making juice with fresh vegetables.

Photo: Field and hearth in the in-house day-care center in Shizuoka


Now true reconstruction starts

As a corporate manager, and as a leader who moves Kobe forward, Iwata has various ideas. What are his perspectives on the future of Kobe and Japan?

I experienced World War II, and survived the poor period. We have been “kept alive.” Natural and man-made disasters will continue to occur. Nevertheless, it is important to transform challenges into energy and use it for growth. I hope that the young generation will, when facing severe situations, exercise their creativity and produce energy to survive.

Twenty years have passed since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Some parts of Kobe are still under reconstruction, but in general we have created a wonderful city. Not only Kobe but Japan is equipped with an excellent DNA that allows us to evolve while changing. Therefore, I hope that all young people will have confidence in the excellence of Japan and achieve further evolution.

Kobe was already a city of design when the Port of Kobe was opened and the foreign settlement was established. It has always been a very sophisticated city where new things are actively introduced. That’s why I expect its citizens to continue designing a city where people want to live, based on the solid foundation of Kobe. I believe that this will lead to true reconstruction.

Photo: In front of Genki-no-ki, with children full of energy


(Photographed by Kyoko Kataoka, interviewed and written by Kaori Nikaido and Aya Yamamori)