Nitori HD Chairman, diagnosed with a developmental disorder at age 74, says he can’t keep things in order… From fierce bullying to 900 billion in annual sales

At the age of 74, Akio Nitori, the founder and chairman of Nitori Holdings, visited a medical institution after watching a TV special and was diagnosed with a developmental disorder. How did he manage to build one of Japan’s leading furniture and interior design companies for half a century with such “disabilities” as inability to keep things in order, inability to listen to a class for three minutes, and inability to read people’s feelings? We interviewed him on the occasion of the publication of his book, “I am Successful Because I Have a Developmental Disability.

My “characteristics” that I learned at the age of 74. I am a developmentally disabled person.

–You say that you “felt right at home” and “were able to find answers to your difficulties” after being diagnosed with a developmental disability at the age of 74.

Akio Pittori (Pittori) Well, there were times when I didn’t understand people’s feelings. There were times when I felt that I had made a mistake in what I did, and I would realize it later and apologize, or withdraw my comments to an employee. There were many times when I didn’t hear what the other person was saying.

My mind was filled with all kinds of things. If I was interested in what was being said, I could concentrate on it, but if not, I would think about something else while conversing. Even when I went sightseeing, the guide would go on to the next site while he was explaining it, and when I asked him what it was, he would say, “You just said that! I say, “You just said that! (Laughs.) If it’s an inspiring story, I’m listening to it.

The other thing is that I am not organized at all anymore. Once every two or three weeks, my secretary cleans up the stuff that has accumulated on the side of my desk. They tell me to do it myself, but I don’t. I don’t like to throw anything away. He doesn’t like to throw anything away, so he keeps everything, even materials.

I have drawers for ties and shirts by color, but they have piled up, and now I have five cabinets in my room and another five or six in the next room (laughs). I like fancy things, so I keep buying them. Even when I get tired of them, I can’t seem to get rid of them. When I hold a golf tournament in Vietnam, I bring them to my employees and tell them to take whatever they want.

I don’t like to throw them away, so I accumulate them right away. I heard that my mother and grandmother were the same way, so it must be genetic.

Manga” saved me from bullying I never hated school.

–Since you were a child, there was a big gap between what you could do and what you couldn’t. What kind of child were you? What kind of child were you?

Nitidori: I don’t think there were many things I was good at. I was almost incapable of remembering things, and I joined the judo club, ping-pong club, and badminton club, but quit after one year. In high school I went to a boxing gym, and in college I did karate for two years. I am interested in everything, but it doesn’t last long.

I loved reading and drawing manga. When I couldn’t afford comics, I would pick up the ones my friends bought and read them around. If I was drawing during class, my classmates would bring me money (laughs), so I would use it to buy bread or pay for ramen noodles. Ramen noodles cost about 20 yen at the time. I once went to learn to be a cartoonist, but I couldn’t make a story. I was not good at writing letters and sentences, so I gave up.

I read a lot of biographies. I like books about Magellan, Columbus, and other world adventurers and researchers.

–I heard that you were bullied at one time.

Nitori: I was bullied from elementary school on. In junior high school, whenever I went to the bathroom during recess, I was surrounded by about three people and beaten up. I was easily bullied in high school as well, and I thought this was a bad idea, so I started learning martial arts. After I trained myself, my opponents became afraid of me when I scowled at them. That kind of “dominance” began to appear.

I would approach them with a smirk on my face, so they would call me “Nitari,” and it was easy for them to bully me. I guess that kind of thing still exists today (laughs).

But back then, even though I was bullied, I didn’t stop going to school. I didn’t think I hated school. All I had to do was draw manga during class, and although I only had one or two friends, I managed somehow.

He is not organized and cannot concentrate in class. He was also subjected to fierce bullying as a boy. How was he able to create a leading Japanese company with annual sales of 900 billion yen, when he was full of such “inabilities”?

In the paid version of “FRIDAY Subscription,” we will look at Chairman Nitori’s unique philosophy of “doing what others won’t do to win,” his substandard business techniques that turn even economic downturns into opportunities, and the true meaning of his words, “Never overcome what you are weak at.

Click here to purchase “Because I Have a Developmental Disability, I Was A Success” by Akio Nitori (Shodensha, Inc.)