25 New Graduates Join the Team for Even More Power 🏃‍♀️ The 2024 SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Entrance Ceremony 🌸

Hello! This is Sunny-chan from Public Relations. 🥚🥚

We had been eagerly waiting for the cherry blossoms to bloom. Today, as they finally reached full bloom, the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP entrance ceremony was held. 🌸

This time of year, when new members join us, is always an exciting season for everyone. The more people we have to “Let’s Have Fun!”, the more enjoyable it becomes, right? 🤝This year, we welcomed 25 fresh new faces.

With cherry blossoms blooming in the office, we are fully prepared to welcome our new members. 🌸 Senior members are putting in their best efforts to make this first day unforgettable for our new “eggs.”

The new hires are arriving for their first day of work! They look a bit nervous before the ceremony… 🥚🥚

The venue is ready, so let’s take a look at today’s entrance ceremony! 🎙️

Now, the entrance of the new graduates! Hearing the cheers of welcome from current members, it seems their tension is starting to melt away. 👋

Once everyone was seated, the ceremony finally began. 🎉 Seeing everyone gathered together, we are truly happy to welcome so many new members again this year.

Following the opening remarks, we started with greetings from the directors of each group company (excerpts).

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Representative Director and Executive Vice President, Watanabe:

Congratulations to you all. The weather has managed to clear up, and I believe this will be a wonderful start for everyone. When you were still candidates, I told you to “enjoy your time and play as hard as you can until you join the company.” I look forward to hearing about your fun memories and how you spent your time during today’s social gathering.

From today, with our new members on board, the entire SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP looks forward to further growth. Let’s enjoy ourselves and “Let’s Have Fun!” together.

SUNNY SIDE UP Representative Director and President, Xiqiao Liu:

As you become working professionals today, I looked back on my own first year in the workforce. When we were students, there were clear milestones like six years of elementary school or three years of high school, but in professional life starting today, those boundaries don’t exist. From now on, your life will no longer be defined by set intervals. That is precisely why I want you to enjoy the fact that there are no “correct” answers.

Since this is a special occasion, I would like to offer some useful advice.

First, as you perform various tasks starting today, you may feel that you like certain things or are good at others. However, I believe it is important to try things without deciding you dislike them beforehand. There are far more types of jobs in the world than those you have seen so far, and by trying different things, you might discover something that suits you. I want you to take on various challenges without overthinking it. By doing so, I believe your potential will expand.

Second, once you start working, you might find it difficult to find time, but I hope you never stop your “human activities.” We are in a position to help clients with PR and marketing, but the people we actually deliver information to are “humans” just like you.

Therefore, it is extremely important to receive various emotions as a “human.” I believe this leads to greater results than just sitting in front of a computer all day, so I hope you will engage in plenty of human activities moving forward.

I am truly happy that your days with SUNNY SIDE UP begin today. We look forward to working with you.

Steady Study Representative Director and President, Kaide:

I am very happy to welcome you all today. I would also like to share two things I hope you will do.

First, please do not forget your curiosity. Taking on challenges boldly is truly important when you are young. At the same time, please develop the power to take action. Even if you think of something, I believe that the power of humans to move, see things, and stimulate the five senses is something that no matter how much AI advances, it can never be surpassed. I hope you will remember that and put it into practice.

Second, and this is something Steady Study values very much, please maintain a humble heart. I believe a humble heart allows people to grow. It is only when each individual’s human strength grows that the team’s teamwork becomes stronger. That is how a company grows. So, I hope you will keep that in mind.

Finally, as Xiqiao-san mentioned, it is truly important to have fun. Since you will spend a long part of your day at the company, meeting members and doing work can become enjoyable depending on your mindset. Please spend every day without forgetting the desire to have fun!

If you do that, I believe the things you do will become increasingly positive. Let’s work hard together from here on out without forgetting that feeling! Thank you.

SUNNY SIDE UP Director, Matsumoto:

At SUNNY SIDE UP, every year we give our new employees a fountain pen and a copy of Konosuke Matsushita’s “Employee Handbook,” which is a favorite of Tsugihara’s. Today, I would like to share the story behind the fountain pen.

When I met a certain respected president for an interview in the past, he saw me using a cheap pen and taught me that “professionals take care of their tools.” Just as a baseball player polishes their glove or a chef sharpens their knife, that is what it means to be a professional.

From today, you will become professionals in PR communication. When considering what our tools are, I believe that while we create news for the world every day, the foundation lies in “words.”

Nowadays, smartphones and computers are the main tools, and there are few opportunities to use a pen. However, we give you fountain pens because we want you to take responsibility for the words you send out into the world. A fountain pen cannot be erased once written, and it doesn’t dry immediately. Therefore, it carries the meaning of wanting you to take your time and properly think about your own words. Every year, I visit a shop that is like a fountain pen museum, run by the president who gave me those words, and I select fountain pens that match your image.

This year, I chose pens from a manufacturer called “Sailor,” which originated in Kure, Hiroshima. It is Japan’s oldest fountain pen manufacturer, celebrating its 140th anniversary. I chose this manufacturer partly because I had a connection with Hiroshima through work.

The name “Sailor” was chosen based on the democratic principle that at the naval port in Kure, the collective strength of many sailors was more necessary than a single admiral. Today, we welcome 25 of you, and rather than a single top leader emerging, I hope we can build SUNNY SIDE UP with everyone’s strength. For this reason, I chose this latest Sailor model, which represents the four seasons of Japan. There are four colors, and we will distribute them to you, so I would be happy if you could show them to each other later. Good luck!

And finally, the presentation of the employment certificates.

Each person receives theirs while being watched over by many senior colleagues.

The commemorative gifts introduced by Matsumoto—the “Employee Handbook” by Konosuke Matsushita and the fountain pen—are also presented. 📚✒️

The members responsible for the ceremony’s operations also keep a close watch.

At this point, a representative of the new employees gave a speech about their future aspirations. 🎤

To move people’s hearts and change the world. To work as hard as possible to become a professional as soon as possible. To create a fresh “Let’s Have Fun!” atmosphere.

With a look of nervous determination, they carefully shared their resolve.

Finally, the ceremony concluded with a congratulatory address from Tsugihara.

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Representative Director and President, Tsugihara:

Thank you for choosing SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP from among the many Japanese companies. I heard that over 900,000 new professionals were born this year, and I am very happy to have met all of you from among so many students.

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP will celebrate its 40th anniversary on July 1st. These 40 years have been a very, very long time. There have been many colleagues at the company. Starting with my classmate Matsumoto-san, who has been by my side since the very first day, and many colleagues who have worked hard together through the long years. And there are so many colleagues who share the same dream and are desperately spending their precious time with us.

A company is a place where people learn and grow through social activities and build various human relationships through work. That is what a company is, and a corporation is a collective of individual personalities and possibilities that contributes to society through economic activities. I believe this is exactly the role and mission of a corporation.

I believe you came to work today with your hearts full of various expectations. However, the journey ahead will not always be fun. It won’t always be sunny.There will be rainy days, snowy days, and stormy days. However, I believe everyone here has the power to enjoy any kind of day. If you change your perspective slightly, even difficulties can become enjoyment. I’m sure you can enjoy even the rain, snow, and storms.

I believe everyone here is exactly the kind of person with that potential. “Let’s Have Fun!” has been a major theme for SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP since its early days. I will always love this slogan.However, “fun” is completely different for everyone. My fun, your fun, and the fun of the person next to you are all different. But I believe it is perfectly fine for this “fun” to be different for everyone.

However, this “fun” comes with great responsibility. Follow the rules of society and do not hurt anyone. As long as you strictly follow these, I want you to realize your own fun to your heart’s content at this company. I want everyone to enjoy the journey that begins today to the fullest.

I hope that when you grow old and look back on your life and think it was a happy one, the days at SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP starting today will be reflected vividly in your memories.

Welcome to SUNNY SIDE UP! Let’s create many fun moments together from now on.

Finally, a commemorative photo with everyone 📷 First, a serious one…!?

Every year during this season, we look back at photos of past entrance ceremonies. There are moments of deep emotion, seeing members who joined a year ago growing into full-fledged PR professionals and realizing that such a day once existed. 💭

This one feels more like us 🥚 (laughs)

We are grateful to have welcomed this day with our new members again this year 🌸 Please look forward to the future of the new SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP and the success of our new “eggs”!!!