The largest number of new graduate members in history joined our team! We held the 2023 SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP entrance ceremony 🌸

Hello! I’m Sunny-chan from PR.

As cherry blossom season reaches its peak, April has already begun again this year! Amid all the news about new beginnings, SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP welcomed a record (yes, a record!) 25 new members.

Now, let us share highlights from today’s induction ceremony.

(Rewinding to Friday… With a record number of new hires joining us, you could feel the extra enthusiasm in all the preparations.)

And then, the big day finally arrived!

Who will be joining us? Tamako was already buzzing with anticipation from the morning…

With petals in your hair—where did you go for a stroll?

As it is everyone’s first day as a working professional—an experience that comes only once in a lifetime—and there would also be a photo shoot by a professional photographer, each person had their hair styled from early in the morning.

Everyone looked a little sleepy (maybe?), but as their looks came together, it started to feel real—and their expressions turned to nervous anticipation…

All set.

And at last, the ceremony begins. The livestream camera is ready as well—nearly 200 senior colleagues are watching online.

Tamako also arrived right on time for our new teammates.

After the opening remarks, we began with greetings from the directors of each company.

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Vice President Representative Director, Watanabe:

Congratulations to you all. With such beautiful weather and the cherry blossoms still in bloom, I am truly delighted that we can hold this induction ceremony—and that we can welcome you without masks.

I believe many of you had to spend an important and enjoyable period of your university years alongside COVID-19. Now that you have joined our group, I hope you will enjoy many wonderful moments here. And I also hope you will create plenty of “Let’s Have Fun!” along the way.

SUNNY SIDE UP President Representative Director, Kokubo:

Congratulations to you all! This is the largest group of new hires we have ever welcomed. Looking ahead, we would like to continue increasing the number of colleagues in SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, grow the company as those members thrive, and move forward in a way that enables us to create new businesses.

We value the feeling that made you want to join SUNNY SIDE UP, and we hope you will continue taking on many new challenges after joining. We look forward to seeing you succeed!

STEADY STUDY President Representative Director, Kamide:

What STEADY STUDY has always valued is “teamwork.” I believe the company we have today exists because of the teamwork we cultivated by steadily building up many things day by day.

By never forgetting humility, keeping a smile, and bringing everyone’s good vibes into the company, we have been able to build strong teamwork and reach where we are today. In your first year, I think it is perfectly fine to take the stance of simply doing what you can. In an environment you can enjoy every day, I hope you will work hard, value teamwork, and do your best together with us. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you.

Next…

Next, a certificate of employment was presented by Tsugihara, and from Matsumoto, we presented—with heartfelt messages—a commemorative “fountain pen,” which new SUNNY SIDE UP employees have traditionally received on their first day, along with Konosuke Matsushita’s “Shain Kokoroecho” (Employee Handbook).

SUNNY SIDE UP Director, Matsumoto:

Congratulations! At SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, we have long presented an employee handbook and a fountain pen as commemorative gifts to those joining us as new graduates.

Starting today, you will become members of the group as professionals. I once heard a respected president say, “Professionals take great care of their tools.” That made me think: for those of us whose work is communication, could our tool be a fountain pen? And so, we present fountain pens.

Our work uses words. Today, there are many ways to record words—smartphones, computers, and more. Perhaps not many people use fountain pens anymore.

However, because you cannot erase what you write, and because it takes time for the ink to dry, we hope the nature of a fountain pen conveys our wish that you will take responsibility for the words you share.

Each year, we choose the fountain pen brand while picturing the faces of those we will welcome. This year, we selected Monteverde, an American brand.

It is a brand founded in the United States in 2001—around the same time many of you were born—created with the hope that it would be used regardless of gender, nationality, or age.

Today’s gift is a new product inspired by rare “woods” from around the world. This year also marks a new start for SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP as we aim to solve social issues while valuing diversity. We felt it would be a perfect choice for those joining us this year. Please open it—it is a fountain pen inspired by three precious types of wood, so be sure to take a look together. We look forward to your success!

At last, the certificates of employment are presented—everyone looks understandably nervous…

Representatives of the new hires from each group company shared their resolutions for the future with the many senior colleagues watching over them.

They shared their joy at finally joining the company, the many things they hope to achieve at SUNNY SIDE UP, and above all, their desire to create a new “Let’s Have Fun!”

Then, with congratulatory words from Tsugihara, the ceremony came to a close.

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Representative Director and President, Tsugihara:

Congratulations on joining us. We are truly grateful that you chose SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP from among countless companies. And among the 430,000 new working professionals said to have been born today, I am genuinely happy that we were able to meet you like this.

What kind of three years have these been for you? During the pandemic, your university life may not have been what you hoped for, but the world has changed dramatically over these three years.

With the digital shift, all kinds of services—beyond anything we could have imagined three years ago—have been born. The question is whether you see these three years as “three years lost,” or whether you can see them as three years that were profoundly meaningful for the future by turning every crisis into an opportunity. I hope it will be the latter for you.

As you work going forward, there may be times when you struggle with relationships or feel that things are different from what you imagined. However, people are not perfect. I believe the meaning of a company in this world is to work toward a single goal while reconciling the abilities and individuality that others have—and you do not.

As the individuality and aspirations of the colleagues who gather here, and the changes of the times, continue to evolve, the company itself will keep changing. I believe this is exactly what it means to be a company that can endure.

People who will change the company—and people who will create the company’s future. I am certain you will. That is one of the major reasons we chose you.

For 38 years, SUNNY SIDE UP has continued to change while cherishing what remains unchanged. We truly intend to keep evolving from here as well. Your idea of “fun” may differ from one person to another, but I hope each of you will fully realize your own “fun” at this company.

And someday, when you are truly older and look back on your life at the very end, I hope that at the moment you think, “Ah, I was happy,” the days ahead at SUNNY SIDE UP will be reflected behind your eyelids.

This is the wish I sincerely hold every year as we welcome this ceremony. Please create “Let’s Have Fun!” Let’s create it together!

Welcome to SUNNY SIDE UP!

This year as well, SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP has welcomed more members who share the desire to create “Let’s Have Fun!”

Together with new members who will shape a new era, we will continue to appreciate your support as we grow even stronger.