With family at Keio University graduation ceremony“The spread of the corona infection was unexpected. And even after a year, it shows no sign of abating. The use of rental meeting rooms and banquet halls plummeted, and the company’s performance plummeted. It was at that time that Mark Dixon, founder of Regus, gave us his valuable opinion. ‘Why doesn’t Japan expand vaccination in urban centers? In Europe and the U.S., economic activity is resuming thanks to vaccines,’ he said. In Japan, priority has been given to vaccinating the elderly, and the vaccine has not been spread to the working-age population. If this situation continues, the Japanese economy will die. Many executives were willing to pay their own expenses to have the vaccination at their workplaces, and TKP could provide vaccination sites throughout Japan. As secretary of the Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), I felt a strong sense of mission and decided to go directly to Prime Minister Suga.”   In May 2021, Mr. Kawano met with Prime Minister Suga at the prime minister’s official residence and requested that vaccinations be promoted in central Tokyo. The meeting, which was originally scheduled to last 15 minutes, turned into a 40-minute meeting. Prime Minister Suga heeded Kawano’s request and began promoting vaccinations in June of the following year. TKP’s rental conference rooms, whose use had declined due to the Corona outbreak, were now being used as venues. “Prime Minister Suga‘s decision resulted in about 1 million people being vaccinated in the three months leading up to September,” Kawano said. “We will also benefit. We have established a pipeline with many companies that have had their workplaces vaccinated, and we have received many requests to use the rental meeting rooms for new employee training and employee recruitment exams.” It is no secret that thanks to the vaccine, the Japanese economy has begun to reboot. In addition, TKP has used the know-how of its subsidiary event production company, Majors, to produce spectacular online meetings and seminars. As a new post-pandemic business, demand is growing.   “It feels like we’re finally coming out of hibernation. Now it is time to strike back. We will regain what we lost during the pandemic and support Japan’s growth by providing wonderful spaces.” Kawano’s surprise move of talking directly to the prime minister has revitalized TKP and the Japanese economy.