Member of the House of Councillors Mori Masako became a lawyer because she strongly felt that her purpose was to make the world a better place. She entered the political field and has held positions in the first and second Abe Shinzo Cabinets. Motoya Toshio spoke with Mori about many topics, including her impoverished childhood and plans to begin working right after junior high school, measures based on Japan’s declining birthrate, preparedness to cope with increasingly frequent disasters that are becoming larger and more complicated, and future challenges facing our country.

 

(Motoya) Thank you for joining me on Big Talk today.

(Mori) Thank you for inviting me. I’m an APA Hotel fan as well as a member, and I always read Apple Town magazine at your hotels. I recently stayed at APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Eki Tower with 36 women. We visited Yasukuni Jinja shrine, then toured the Supreme Court and Ministry of Justice.

(Motoya) Was that influenced by your career as a lawyer and minister of justice?

(Mori) Yes, I was named minister of justice four years ago. Twelve years ago, my first cabinet appointment was minister of state for measures for declining birthrate. I held two ministerial positions during Abe Shinzo’s administrations. I was minister of state for measures for declining birthrate in the first Abe Cabinet, after the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) took back the government from the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). I was minister of justice in Abe’s final cabinet. After that, I served as special advisor to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

(Motoya) Those are important positions.

(Mori) It was a great honor. I grew up in a poor household, and my parents said I would have to get a job after graduating from junior high. The plan was for me to work at the hospital where my father was an office employee. None of my peers were looking for jobs instead of entering high school. I cried every day because I wanted to continue my studies. My homeroom teacher at that time was a passionate educator in his 30s. He came to my house and told my parents, “Masako is a good student who should go to high school. I hope you will find a way to let her, and I will do all I can to research scholarships, tuition exemptions, and other programs she can utilize.” I had good grades because there was nothing else for me to do but read textbooks – we didn’t have a television or any money to buy comic books. I once had the top score on a national Shinken Zemi practice test.

(Motoya) You were fortunate to know that teacher.

(Mori) Yes, I was. My parents frequently talked about the horrors of war and the bitterness of defeat. My mother and father were born in Tokyo. They lived in Asakusa during elementary school, although they didn’t know each other at the time. Both families fled to Fukushima to escape intense bombing in Tokyo. After my paternal grandfather was killed in an air raid, my grandmother walked all the way to Fukushima with my father and her four other children, staying at the homes of generous people along the way. My mother had a similar experience – her entire family moved to Fukushima with help from her older siblings, who had evacuated to a temple in Fukushima. They apparently thought about returning to Tokyo, but their property had been taken over by someone else in the postwar turmoil.

(Motoya) Tokyo was burned to the ground, and it was a time of great chaos and confusion.

(Mori) You could receive crop land by moving into the mountains back then. Before becoming a farmer in Fukushima, my maternal grandfather graduated from the Hitotsubashi University Faculty of Commerce and Management and was secretary to a company president. He was a hard worker who cultivated fields deep in the mountains and started a successful dairy farm. He even won an award from the minister of agriculture and forestry. I brushed the cows and cleaned their pens when I visited the farm. I milked them frequently, too. I’ll never forget how fresh milk has a thin film on top, which we would eat before drinking it. Although the farm was successful, they didn’t have much money and the main house was attached to the cow shed. My mother left school after junior high and joined a group of rural residents going to Ueno to find work. She learned how to produce Western-style clothing on a sewing machine. Afterwards, she returned to Fukushima and got a job at a sewing factory. My father worked at a miso company after graduating from junior high. When they met and got to know each other, they felt like they were kindred spirits because of their similar pasts in Tokyo and Asakusa. They got married, then I was born. Along with my two younger sisters, the five of us lived happily. My parents did not earn much money, so we were quite poor. There was a group of fraudsters that swindled impoverished people. Everyone in our region was deceived by this group, and everything we had was stolen away. My uncle was also a victim. My father had co-signed my uncle’s loans, totaling tens of millions of yen. My father’s wages were garnished, and my mother helped make ends meet by working in road construction. Debt collectors came to the house every day. I thought I could never go to high school, although I wanted to.

(Motoya) So you made it to high school thanks to your junior high school teacher.

(Mori) Yes, and a lawyer helped us stop the debt collectors. I studied hard in high school while doing part-time jobs to pay for things not covered by the tuition exemption, like textbooks, uniforms, and indoor shoes. I worked at a camera shop and butcher after school, and also tutored children in my neighborhood.

(Motoya) I imagine that people wanted to help such a talented and dedicated child.

(Mori) I feel very fortunate for the assistance I’ve received from many people. I was able to go to university with free tuition, pass the bar exam, become a lawyer, do a Japan Federation of Bar Associations study abroad program in the United States, and be elected to the House of Councillors.

(Motoya) My father died of an illness when I was in junior high, then I received a scholarship to go to high school. While working at the Komatsu Credit Union in my home region, I did a correspondence course in the Keio University Faculty of Economics because I felt that one’s academic background would hold great weight in the future.

(Mori) So you also put yourself through school.

(Motoya) Yes, and today I think that was a positive thing. I might not have been so self-reliant in an easier environment, but I had no choice other than to improve myself in those difficult circumstances.

(Mori) I definitely agree.

 

(Mori) APA Hotel is expanding rapidly, and today it’s a renowned Japanese hotel chain. You built APA Hotel Fukushima-Ekimae near JR Fukushima Station.

(Motoya) I visited Fukushima Prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. We opened APA Hotel Fukushima-Ekimae in 2017 because I believe that hotels are a way to help rebuild the area. With 362 guest rooms, it is one of Fukushima’s largest hotels.

(Mori) I appreciate that so much. Many Tokyo companies left Fukushima after the earthquake and nuclear disaster, but you decided to expand there instead. I think your hotel by Fukushima Station is of great significance. Businesspeople and tourists can’t contribute to the area’s rebuilding if there are no hotels where they can stay. There’s also an APA Hotel in Koriyama.

(Motoya) I think it’s important to serve as a model for other hotels and businesspeople. Talking about reconstruction is easy; the important thing is to actually take action.

(Mori) Yes, and Fukushima is being revitalized as other companies follow APA Hotel’s precedent by building hotels. We have to keep working on reconstruction there, and it’s also important to restore the Noto Peninsula and other disaster-struck areas. Japan has experienced more frequent disasters in recent years, perhaps due to global warming, and they are becoming larger and more complex as well. The Great East Japan Earthquake was a triple disaster: an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident. Disasters also pose national security issues. Russia occupied Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, posing the risk that radioactive materials could be released during a battle. Russia hasn’t gained control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, but they attacked it with drones the other day. If an earthquake struck Japan, other countries might take the opportunity to attack our nuclear power plants or other facilities. I’m currently focusing on the topics of disasters and risk management. I’ve earned disaster preparedness expert and international crisis management specialist certifications, and I’m studying disaster planning as an adult student in a graduate program at the University of Tokyo Faculty of Engineering.

(Motoya) Disaster planning and security are important political themes. I’m always concerned when seeing how the media inspires anxiety after disasters, leading to harmful rumors. They should promptly report accurate information to reduce worry.

(Mori) I think so, and other countries spread misinformation as well. South Korea claimed that Fukushima posed dangers during the Tokyo Olympic Games. China banned imports of all Japanese marine products due to water treated with the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which has been released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean since 2023. South Korea and China have softened their stances considerably thanks to Japan’s diplomatic efforts, but there is only so much the government can do about harmful rumors. Support from the business world would be extremely useful.

(Motoya) I’ll do what I can, such as our hotel construction business.

(Mori) Another pressing issue is Japan’s declining population. I plan to make active efforts in this field, including measures to cope with the declining birthrate and promote work-life balance.

(Motoya) I think the fundamental problem is that fewer people are getting married. If they feel like they don’t have enough money, more people will decide to remain single and not have children. Building a society where more citizens enjoy a sense of affluence is an urgent matter.

(Mori) We need to provide more economic stability to young people, including higher wages.

(Motoya) Another part of this is offering more scholarship programs, like the ones that you benefitted from.

(Mori) We need systems that allow people to obtain educations, no matter their household circumstances, and to help motivated people like yourself succeed.

(Motoya) I agree entirely.

 

(Mori) What impressed me most about APA Hotel is the way you provided accommodation to COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. I was minister of justice in Prime Minister Abe’s cabinet, and I saw that he was incredibly grateful for this assistance. Other well-known hotels declined because they were afraid that people would avoid their hotels after the pandemic.

(Motoya) Abe called my cell phone directly. I agreed to the plan, and he announced it at a press conference the following morning.

(Mori) You made a bold decision to help your country.

(Motoya) That was Abe’s first term. I was previously vice chairman of an organization working to help him become prime minister. I actually founded the organization, but someone else became the leader and I worked as a supporter. That’s one reason I knew Abe so well.

(Mori) Is that so? Before Abe’s second term there were different prime ministers every single year, both during the LDP and DPJ administrations. People in other countries couldn’t even remember the name of our leader, which made it hard for Japan to have much of an international presence. It sounds like you helped bring about Abe’s second eight-year term, which was Japan’s longest administration.

(Motoya) That may be true.

(Mori) Abe had to resign during his first term due to his ulcerative colitis, a difficult disease. Akie, his wife, told me about the time after that. She was worried because many people were saying that Abe could never return to politics, since he had stepped down due to poor health. But Abe had an extremely strong will, and I heard that he intended to remain in the political world and regain his position as prime minister. You helped him do so.

(Motoya) I met with him frequently, and we discussed our future visions for Japan. I started the organization because I felt a sense of solidarity with his views. I’ve worked to share my beliefs and contribute to the nation while carrying out my business.

(Mori) You’ve been involved in business for more than 50 years, a time that hasn’t been entirely peaceful, and I’m sure you’ve experienced other crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. I admire your ability to overcome these and build a long-term company. As a lawyer, I’ve helped many corporations with the liquidation process. I feel like companies absolutely require a strong spirit, strength, and sense of purpose to recover their performance when crises occur, rather than deciding to liquidate. I’m sure many businesspeople would be interested in hearing about how you have survived difficult circumstances.

(Motoya) I publish my “Words to Live By” in this magazine. One of these sayings is, “Adversity itself is a splendid opportunity.” Difficult situations are chances. In particular, they can be ideal timings to take decisive actions when others are standing still.

(Mori) The industrial world suffered major damage after the 2008 financial crisis, but APA Group achieved significant growth.

(Motoya) Right before that crisis, APA Group was involved in an issue about falsified earthquake resistance data, though we had done nothing wrong. We had to organize our assets when financial institutions demanded that we pay back our loans. Due to the fund bubble, we sold off assets at high prices and had cash left over after repaying our loans. Land prices in central Tokyo plummeted after the financial crisis, so we were able to buy cheap properties in that area. It seemed like tourism would become a growth industry, and I thought that we wouldn’t have many repeat customers unless we provided places for overseas tourists to stay. According to our Summit 5 strategy launched in 2010, we focused on building many hotels in central Tokyo, then expanding nationwide to establish Japan’s largest hotel chain.

(Mori) That’s amazing.

 

(Mori) Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai is taking place in April. Hotels will need to provide lodging for this prestigious event.

(Motoya) APA has been steadily building large hotels in Osaka before the Expo. We opened APA Hotel & Resort Osaka Umeda Eki Tower in February 2023, which has 1,704 rooms, followed in December 2024 by the 2,055-room APA Hotel & Resort Osaka Namba Ekimae Tower. I think we probably have more foreign tourists than any hotel chain, with a ratio exceeding 30% of our guests. Foreign travelers tend to prefer hotels that allow for long stays.

(Mori) How do you make your hotels appealing to them?

(Motoya) We have lots of signs in English. Apple Town also includes English-language translations of Big Talk, my Essays on Today’s Japan under the penname Fuji Seiji, and Words to Live By.

(Mori) It sounds like you’re thinking carefully about their needs.

(Motoya) I believe that’s one reason why foreign guests choose APA Hotels.

(Mori) Building Japan’s largest hotel chain from the ground up is truly an amazing accomplishment.

(Motoya) A strong sense of awareness is important, no matter what you’re trying to achieve. This applies to National Diet members and government ministers, and I’m sure your strong will is why you have become a lawyer, politician, and government minister.

(Mori) I agree. I had a hard time accepting things that seemed illogical to me. As a child, it seemed wrong that some kids couldn’t attend school just because their parents didn’t make enough money. Politicians are the ones who can change these things, and ministers have the authority to do so. I’m sure that my accomplishments are connected to my strong feelings about wanting to improve the world. I think we have a lot in common, including our strong will and experience putting ourselves through school.

(Motoya) I think so, too.

(Mori) My favorite thing about you is the way you cherish your wife, Fumiko. Women across Japan admire your relationship. Fumiko gave a talk at a Japan Association of Corporate Executives event in Iwaki City, my home region, where she spoke about many topics, including your romance and the time after you launched the company.

(Motoya) I met Fumiko because she worked at a credit union in a different prefecture, then we ended up getting married.

(Mori) You named her the company president, and she was able to become a working woman. In addition to being the APA Hotel president, Fumiko also raised two sons, one of whom has taken over the company today. I think it’s great to see how close your family is. I believe the family is the smallest unit that makes up the nation, and happy families are important as a way to cope with the declining birthrate.

(Motoya) I’ve been blessed to receive help from many people, and I return the favor by earning money and paying taxes. We’ve paid enormous amounts of taxes and have never experienced a deficit.

(Mori) Taxes are important for purposes like dealing with rising living costs and aiding disaster-struck areas.

(Motoya) That’s right. Some people don’t believe in taxes, but they are necessary because businesses utilize various types of infrastructure. I feel like I can express my beliefs because we properly pay our taxes.

(Mori) That’s wonderful.

(Motoya) At the end of the interview, I always ask for a “word for the youth.”

(Mori) I want them to love Japan. Going abroad shows you that Japan is a great country. For example, I studied in the U.S. Japan is safe, peaceful, and economically stable with ancient traditions and cultures, a spirit of mutual aid in communities, and strong family ties. I want young people to be more aware of Japan’s excellent qualities.

(Motoya) I agree entirely. Thank you for joining me today.

(Mori) Thank you.

 

BIOGRAPHY
Mori Masako

Born in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture in 1964. Graduated from the Tohoku University Faculty of Law in 1988 and became a certified lawyer in 1995. Was a visiting researcher at the New York University School of Law and a financial securities inspector in the Financial Services Agency’s Inspection Bureau. Won her first House of Councillors election in 2007. Entered the cabinet in 2012 as minister in charge of support for women’s empowerment and child-rearing (minister of state for consumer affairs and food safety/measures for declining birthrate/gender equality) during the second Abe Shinzo administration. Was appointed minister of justice in 2019 and special advisor to the prime minister in charge of women’s empowerment in 2021.