Our annual party celebrating APA Group’s anniversary and my birthday was held on June 2 at the Meiji Kinenkan with National Diet members, ambassadors, old friends, and many other attendees. A General Meeting of the Shoheijuku academy also took place, and Chairman of the Japan Forum of Security Yano Yoshiaki gave a commemorative speech titled, “Global Order After the Ukraine War.” Yano was awarded the Grand Prize (Fuji Seiji Prize) in the 16th Annual “True Interpretations of Modern History” Essay Contest. For more information about the speech and party, please see the special section in Apple Town.
　Every year, this party reminds me that time is passing by at a rapid speed. Back in the 19th century, French philosopher Paul Janet said that each year feels shorter as you age because it is a smaller portion of your lifespan. To a six-year-old, one year makes up one-sixth of their life. But when you are 60, each year is just one-sixtieth of your life. There is no empirical proof for this “Janet’s Law,” but it definitely aligns with my own experience. Time speeds up as you get older, and it also becomes more precious. It is increasingly important to live a life “in which I regret not even one second,” as I wrote in one of my Words to Live By.
　When asked about what constitutes victory in life, I always respond that the true winners are long-lived people with an upbeat and cheerful attitude. This mindset is the most important thing in order to live a life that inspires no regret when you are old. To phrase it differently, victory means having a long, healthy lifespan. The Japanese National Geographic website posted an article on May 12, 2025, titled, “Seven Scientific Rules for a Long Life: Difference of More Than Five Years in Healthy Life Expectancy.” These rules include moderate exercise, balanced diet, good sleep, healthy habits (such as avoiding tobacco and alcohol), and social relationships. In other words, spending time with attendees at my party is a way for me to enjoy more healthy years.

　In my final paper during junior high school, I wrote, “Adversity itself is a splendid opportunity.” I faced adversity when my father passed away from illness in my second year of junior high, and these words were a proclamation to myself that I would take this challenge as an opportunity for growth. My father was a businessperson who operated a factory that made ship steering wheels during World War II, followed by wooden furniture in the postwar era. The factory employed 100 people at its peak. However, my father contracted tuberculosis around the time I started elementary school. He closed the factory and divided the building into numerous rental units. I was the fourth of six children, born after three older sisters. Because I was the oldest son, from a young age I felt a sense of pride about my position, second only to my father. After the factory shut down, I helped support the family by collecting rent, repairing rental units, distributing flyers, and collecting secondhand books and scrap iron. When my father died, I became even more aware that I had to protect my family as head of the household. After junior high, I received a scholarship to attend Komatsu High School, a local school that sent many graduates to well-known universities. However, I got a job after graduation at the nearby Komatsu Credit Union so I could provide for my family. I also took a correspondence course through Keio University’s Faculty of Economics because I predicted that a person’s academic background would hold great weight in the future. Since I planned to start my own business someday, my goal at the credit union was to learn about finance and management methods in many different industries. I quickly became secretary general of the labor union, then at the age of 20 was appointed vice-chairman of the Hokuriku Credit Union Labor Union Federation, its ruling body. The Komatsu Credit Union paid the lowest level of wages in the region, but they were raised to the highest salary level thanks to the labor union. We squared off against the credit union’s management when we demanded that its administration be modernized. I founded APA Group at the age of 27 in 1971, when the credit union merger took place.
　APA Group is now Japan’s largest hotel chain, and the company has never recorded a single deficit. When we experienced difficulties, I viewed them as opportunities for growth. I believe my success was possible only because I actually enjoyed these challenging experiences, as I wrote in one of my Words to Live By: “Life is full of trials and tribulations. A man of strong will delights in adversity.” I see work as a type of play. An acquaintance once said to me, “You’ve accomplished so much. Why don’t you sell the company and live a quiet life?” I replied, “I like my work, and have no desire to abandon something that brings me so much enjoyment.” At some point, I started feeling more strongly that I wanted to help make Japan into a better country. This inspired my efforts to express my views and beliefs through my Essays on Today’s Japan in Apple Town magazine, the essay contest, and the Shoheijuku.

　These days you often hear the phrase “oya-gacha.” “Oya” means “parents,” and “gacha” refers to the capsule machines called “gacha-gacha” – you put a coin in, crank the handle, and receive a random gachapon toy. This online buzzword is used to express the fact that you cannot choose your parents, often by people complaining about their own parentage, as if they received a toy they did not want. The Spaceship Earth website posted an article on June 2, 2025 about the reasons for this feeling of disappointment, including poverty, child abuse, neglect, debt, gambling, alcohol or drug dependence, and parents who fight a great deal. One example is “toxic parents,” a concept created by Susan Forward to describe parents who repeatedly speak in a negative way to their children and attempt to control their lives.
　Of course, problematic parents have existed for a long time, but we must be wary of this concept that is drawing so much attention today. Sociologist Doi Takayoshi wrote an article published on the Gendai Business website on September 7, 2021, “The Real Reason so Many Young People are Talking About Oya-gacha.” Doi says it is important to note that this term is used by young people lamenting “the circumstances of their birth, not the amount of fortune in their current lives.” In other words, the fundamental issue is that “more and more young people think their lives are determined by inborn qualities or attributes.” Doi suggests that one factor for this is the increasingly entrenched economic inequality in Japanese society. He also proposes ways to break this deadlock; while economic disparities and similar problems must be solved by society as a whole, interactions with many different people could show young citizens that there are more important things than the circumstances into which they were born.
　If I could send a message to young people, I would share with them another of my Words to Live By: “A person’s life is determined by how they think.” I was hindered by my father’s death as I previously mentioned, but I maintained my conviction that adversity would lead to fantastic opportunities. I felt a strong sense of purpose as the head of my household who was tasked with protecting the family. I devoted myself to supporting them, which left me no time to despair. I was able to stand on my own two feet faster than other people, and I took steps to become an entrepreneur, just like my father. If my father had remained healthy, I might have enjoyed a happy childhood in an affluent household. I would likely have attended college before taking over his business. Although I have no clear evidence, I think that I would be less successful today without that passion inspired by my conviction and sense of duty. Naturally that was an entirely different time, but it seems there are more opportunities for success today in this era of the Internet and global economy. Even if they lack a sense of conviction, I hope that young people will believe in their own strengths, no matter how insignificant they may be. They should realize that their very youth is a strength, as is their health, and that they can transform these strengths into useful tools for their future lives.

　Almost three years have passed since Prime Minister Abe Shinzo was shot and killed on July 8, 2022. I still cannot believe it happened – I was close with Abe, and his death was a huge shock to me. I used to be vice-chairman of an organization working to make him prime minister. We spoke often and affirmed that we have similar views. I strongly believed that I must do everything I could to help him become our prime minister, with the goal of bringing back a sense of national pride in Japan. My hopes were realized when Abe took up the post of prime minister in September 2006, but his first administration lasted just one year due to his poor health. However, I think the real reason for his resignation was that his goal of “breaking free from the postwar regime” caused so much strife on many sides. Abe disproved most predictions by winning the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election in September 2012. The LDP achieved a sweeping victory that December, leading to the second Abe administration. Abe’s second term lasted roughly seven years and eight months – the longest constitutional government in Japanese history – thanks to the LDP’s overwhelming election success, along with Abe’s skillful administration.
　Abe was just 53 when he stepped down for the first time, and I encouraged him by stating that he would definitely have a second chance. After taking medicine to bring his chronic ulcerative colitis into remission, he worked for a comeback based on his strong conviction that we must free Japan from the postwar regime – a major revolution to restore national pride, including revising the constitution and reforming our security environment. I think this faith is what brought him the post of prime minister for a second time. Abe became the first LDP politician to win a second, non-consecutive election, becoming the first prime minister since Yoshida Shigeru to serve multiple terms. When Abe resigned in 2020, I hoped he would have a third administration in the near future, but this never came true. I do not expect to see many more Japanese politicians like Abe, who accomplished a comeback through his strong conviction and had a powerful presence in the fields of domestic politics, the economy, and foreign relations.
　Japan is facing a myriad number of issues today. Our position as a global economic power has declined after the three “Lost Decades.” Our social security system is at an impasse because of the declining birthrate and population aging. Citizens put up strong opposition to paying more, which renders the government unable to do anything. Japan is also in an exceedingly risky security environment surrounded by Russia, North Korea, and China, all of which are nuclear powers. One cannot describe our relations with Russia and North Korea as friendly, and our relationship with China might degrade rapidly depending on the situation in Taiwan. As we approach the summer House of Councillors election, the only things being discussed are topics that win approval from citizens, such as calls from opposition parties to lower the consumption tax. The LDP should be focusing on issues for the sake of Japan’s future, even if they may displease some citizens. We need strong leaders more than ever. It does not matter if they are male or female, as long as they possess powerful political conviction and solid views of the world, nation, and history.

　Having written under the name “Fuji Seiji” for the last 33 years, I must announce here that it is time for me to lay down my pen. With the goal of helping revitalize our nation, I have sounded a warning about social turmoil and suggested paths forward since my first essay in 1992. I wish to express gratitude to my readers and for the many comments I have received about my work. My writings will remain, and I hope you will refer to them as sources of correct information.

　Thank you for reading.

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June 19 (Thursday), 10:00 a.m.