OMOIYARI MANAGEMENT — JAPAN
Kindness is Japan’s most valuable management resource.
Labor shortages. An uncertain future. And yet, across Japan, many companies keep going by caring for their people, being honest with their customers, and putting down roots in their communities. We find these companies, record their stories, and share them with the world.
WHY JAPAN
Japan is home to more long-lasting companies than anywhere else in the world.
46,708
Japanese companies over 100 years old
~41%
of the world’s 100-year-old companies are Japanese
~65%
of the world’s 200-year-old companies are Japanese
Through wars, disasters and economic cycles, many Japanese companies have lasted for generations. We believe what many of them share is a focus on relationships — with their people, their customers and their communities — over short-term profit. We call the root of that focus omoiyari.
Sources: Teikoku Databank, long-established company survey (as of Dec 2025) / Nikkei BP Consulting, World’s Long-Lived Companies Ranking 2020 (Japanese)
WHAT IS OMOIYARI?
A Japanese word with no direct translation.
Omoiyari (思いやり) is an altruistic heart — the effort to understand another person. No one can ever fully understand someone else; yet we keep trying, standing in their place and acting from that understanding. It is more than kindness or empathy: it is consideration turned into everyday action. OMOIYARI Management™ brings this idea into how a company runs.
For your team
A workplace where people can speak up, are trusted with real work, and hear “thank you.”
For your customers
Anticipating worries and removing them before they become problems.
For your community
Building something together with the local area and passing it on to the next generation.
OUR STORY
Why we started this site
Even as AI accelerates, we want to raise the well-being of all life around the world.
Not only now in 2026, but in the year 3000 and beyond, we hope to leave behind a world where well-being can flourish.
To do so, we want people everywhere to know the companies that make Japan’s wonderful culture of omoiyari — so close to our everyday lives — part of their management strategy. I felt this was something I, too, could do to help raise well-being around the world.
That is why we launched this site now.
Nami Takahashi, CEO, ANDYOU Inc.
This site has only just begun to grow. What you see here is only a small part of what we hope to share. Through conversations with the people we meet, we will put each idea into words with care, and let this site grow little by little.
OMOIYARI MANAGEMENT™ 100
Recording 100 Japanese companies that last through kindness.
OMOIYARI MANAGEMENT™ 100 is a non-governmental project that selects companies through nominations and interviews, and publishes their stories in Japanese with English summaries. Company size, industry and fame do not matter.
FOR EVERY INDUSTRY
Omoiyari works in every industry.
On the workshop floor, in the factory, or at the front desk — OMOIYARI Management can be practiced by companies of any industry and size.
Construction & craftsmanship
Working as one team and passing skills and pride to the next generation.
Manufacturing & global sites
A team that respects each other across nationalities and generations.
Hospitality & services
The spirit of omotenashi: anticipating what guests need.
Photos are illustrative.
For global leaders, researchers and media
We welcome interview requests, research collaboration, and invitations to speak about Japanese management culture. We also support Japanese companies expanding overseas in translating their values, not just their words.
SUPPORTERS
Our Supporters
Introducing those who share the OMOIYARI philosophy.
Japanese Professionals
Listed supporters have expressed their support for the philosophy of this initiative and bear no responsibility for it. Inclusion here does not constitute an endorsement or guarantee by ANDYOU Inc. of any supporter’s products or services; linked websites are managed by each supporter.