This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL
This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL.
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TIMEWELL's Vision Is to Build the World's No. 1
TIMEWELL's vision is to build the world's No. 1 infrastructure for challengers, supporting people who push boundaries across every field.
This article compiles interviews with some of the remarkable challengers TIMEWELL has had the privilege to work alongside. They include craftspeople at small factories who are breaking through the boundaries of manufacturing; a leader contributing to his community through a side job; a person using ICT to support a local shopping district; a young person tackling social challenges through app development; and an aspiring artist exploring the possibilities of art in a post-disaster region. Their words convey a fierce passion for the act of challenging.
Challenging often involves setbacks and hardship. But on the other side lies new discovery and growth. Through this series, I hope you find meaning in the act of challenging and the courage to take that first step.
Breaking Through Industry Barriers and Passing on the Craft to the Next Generation: Kitajima Shibori Creating Value Through Client-Centric Proposals: Tsutsumi Industries The Role of the Leader Side-Worker in the Ota City SDGs Project The Ota City SDGs Side-Work Platform for Regional Revitalization — Naito on Initiatives and Outcomes WARP: A Path to Solving Social Challenges — The Journey and Discoveries of Hideyuki Matsubara Art as a Driver of Regional Revitalization — Eiko Kitabayashi and the Trajectory of Disaster Recovery Conclusion: What We Can Learn from the Challengers
Breaking Through Industry Barriers and Passing on the Craft to the Next Generation: Kitajima Shibori
A Small Factory in Ota City Specializing in High-Precision Metal Spinning
Kitajima Shibori is a small factory in Ota City, Tokyo, specializing in high-precision metal spinning. The company constantly pursues technological innovation—taking on difficult-to-machine materials like rare metals and digitizing craftsman techniques to pass them on to the next generation.
Looking ahead, the company has its sights set on specialized applications such as mass production of hydrogen pressure vessels. It continues to create new value that supports the next generation of manufacturing. Through photo contributions to elementary school textbooks, it also helps inspire young people with the appeal of monozukuri (the art of making things), supporting both the local community and the next generation.
With a flat organization and a free, open environment that fosters strong teamwork, Kitajima Shibori forges ahead in pursuit of new possibilities beyond metal spinning. This challenger spirit has carved out a unique and irreplaceable place in modern manufacturing. The in-depth interview that goes behind the scenes of these challenges is truly a must-read.
Creating Value Through Client-Centric Proposals: Tsutsumi Industries
Creating Value Through Client-Centric Proposals: Tsutsumi Industries
Tsutsumi Industries specializes in the cutting and processing of plastics. Beyond delivering high-precision parts, the company has built client trust through its consultative sales approach. In prototype manufacturing, it gets involved from the product design stage, proposing the optimal materials and processing methods to deliver high added value.
With sales handled by external partners, the craftspeople at Tsutsumi can focus entirely on manufacturing and customer relations. This enables rapid and flexible responses tailored to each client. The company also runs programs that allow clients and students to experience monozukuri firsthand, helping them understand cost realities and manufacturing constraints—driving quality improvement and cost reduction.
Through plastic cutting, Tsutsumi Industries partners with clients to tackle their challenges and create value together. The interview that reveals the secrets to building true partnerships through solid technical expertise and consultative sales is a must-read.
The Role of the Leader Side-Worker in the Ota City SDGs Project
In the Ota City SDGs Project, specialists from various fields are supporting local businesses through side jobs. We spoke with Kazuo Sakamoto, the project's leader side-worker, about his role and mindset.
Drawing on his experience in corporate communications, he says he values the balance between a micro perspective—staying close to each shop—and a macro perspective—keeping the bigger picture in view. He speaks enthusiastically about the satisfaction of seeing new initiatives lead to revenue growth and new customer acquisition, and about being able to grow personally through the project.
Sakamoto Says Getting the Project Off to an Effective Start Is the Key Challenge Going Forward
Sakamoto says getting the project off to an effective start is the key challenge going forward. He believes the key to sustaining the effort is to listen carefully to what each shop needs and to genuinely enjoy the process. This interview is full of insights into community contribution through side work and practical leadership lessons.
The Ota City SDGs Side-Work Platform for Regional Revitalization — Naito on Initiatives and Outcomes
This is an interview with Nobuhito Naito, who is working to support local shopping districts through the Ota City SDGs Side-Work Platform. Drawing on his professional experience in ICT-based community revitalization, he is providing hands-on support for shops—using LINE to attract new customers, increase repeat visits, and improve operations.
Naito was particularly struck by the sincerity of the shop owners and the sense of accomplishment when their efforts produced results. He also reflects that contributing to the community through a side job has boosted his confidence, helped him develop new skills, and had a positive impact on his primary career.
Going forward, he expressed his desire to streamline the onboarding process for shops adopting LINE, and to expand this model to other regions. This interview, brimming with passion for regional revitalization and the possibilities of personal growth through side work, is well worth reading.
WARP: A Path to Solving Social Challenges — The Journey and Discoveries of Hideyuki Matsubara
Hideyuki Matsubara, who works in quality assurance at an airline, witnessed the marine debris washing up on the shores of Ishigaki Island and joined WARP to tackle the problem. Through WARP, he learned app development skills and began turning his idea for an app that visualizes beach cleanup activities into reality—feeling for the first time that "maybe this is actually possible."
After That, Matsubara Developed a Card Game App
After that, Matsubara developed an original card game app that lets children learn about marine debris in a playful way, using it in an elementary school class. The children's reactions taught him the importance of drawing out their thinking, rather than simply instructing them.
WARP is highly recommended for anyone interested in app development or with ideas for solving social challenges. The skills you gain can be applied to other problems, and it can open the door to a whole new world. This interview, capturing Matsubara's journey of challenge and discovery, helps you truly understand what WARP offers. A must-read for anyone on the fence about joining.
Art as a Driver of Regional Revitalization — Eiko Kitabayashi and the Trajectory of Disaster Recovery
Eiko Kitabayashi works at Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. in the housing business while studying at an art university. One year after the earthquake disaster, she visited the Noto region as part of TIMEWELL's Noto initiative, and was left speechless by the devastation. But the resilience of the people she met—pressing forward toward recovery—moved her deeply, and she channeled that experience into a work called "Flower."
Through flowers, Kitabayashi expressed the image of people living with fragile yet powerful resilience. She chose copy paper as her medium—a material that represents everyday life—a deliberate choice that says a great deal. She reflects on how important it is for a work to linger in memory and spark new dialogue and thought.
The possibilities of art and regional revitalization are limitless. Kitabayashi believes that by honing one's sensibilities and creating work rooted in a specific community, entirely new value unique to that place can emerge. Noticing the important messages hidden in everyday life—this accumulation of small steps is what changes the world. What does art offer in the face of the extraordinary circumstances of disaster? This rich and thought-provoking interview, full of sincere expression, leaves you with a tangible sense of hope for the future.
Conclusion: What We Can Learn from the Challengers
How Did You Find These Six Challengers?
How did you find the interviews with these six challengers TIMEWELL has had the pleasure to meet?
They all share something in common: each one constantly pursues innovation in their own field, and at times steps beyond the boundaries of their industry to create new forms of value.
More than just technical innovation, each story also encompasses a vision for nurturing future talent and contributing to local communities. Across every interview, you can sense a sincere commitment to the challenges at hand, a spirit of creative problem-solving, and the determination to move forward one step at a time.
From their words, you cannot help but feel the importance of the insights and learning gained through the act of challenging—and above all, the profound significance of the act of challenging itself.
I believe this collection of interviews is a reminder to each of us of the importance of continuing to challenge ourselves in the age ahead. I sincerely hope it reaches as many readers as possible.
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