Three SUNNY SIDE UP directors look back on the fiscal year! If you had to sum it up in a single kanji, what would it be…?

How have you been? This is O from the PR Group.

At SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, the new fiscal year starts in July. In other words, June is essentially the “fiscal year-end.” Preparations for the “Workplace COVID-19 Vaccination Program for Entertainment Industry Professionals (*)” we announced the other day are also underway, and we are spending a busier-than-usual year-end.

*Read the blog post about the workplace vaccination program here
We will begin rolling out workplace COVID-19 vaccinations for entertainment industry professionals!

Now, on this day before the new fiscal year begins tomorrow, we have had many “fun commotions” over the past year as well. In this article, we asked three directors of SUNNY SIDE UP Inc. (Shinya Kobayashi, Rie Matsumoto, and Masato Kokubo) to give us their “year in review,” and we present it in an interview format.

■ The office renovation was a major “fun commotion”

—Thank you for taking the time during this busy year-end. To start, what kind of year was this fiscal year?

Tsugihara: “As expected, the office renovation (*) was the biggest news. It really pushed forward ‘work-style reform’ in the truest sense.”

*Read the blog post about the office here
Introduced by our Smile Keeper! A huge kitchen in the middle of the office!? A full look at SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s renovated office

Matsumoto: “People outside the company often tell us, ‘It’s become such a great office.’ I couldn’t be happier.”

Kobayashi: “These days, you can work from home. Even so, we want to value the office because we need ‘a place everyone can come back to.’ Going forward, the meaning of the office will keep changing.”

Kobayashi joined the company the same year as the author. Like the author, he tends to tear up at members’ weddings.

Kokubo: “First of all, it’s great that the central kitchen is so big. Some members eat the same meals in the same place every day, regardless of department or title (laughs).”

Kobayashi: “Transforming the office amid the COVID-19 situation is proof of a company’s resilience. I think the renovation that adopted free-address seating was the best choice for the times.”

Matsumoto: “Free-address seating is a big one. Many companies have cafeterias, but having a kitchen right in the middle of the office is pretty rare, isn’t it?”

For Matsumoto, making “today’s soup” and posting it on social media is part of her daily routine. I’d love to try eating in the kitchen someday.

Kokubo: “It feels like we’re working inside the cafeteria (laughs). Even the silly back-and-forth while making drinks becomes good communication, I think.”

Tsugihara: “It feels like we’re all updating the office day by day, with the ‘kitchen’ at the center.”

Kobayashi: “Also, creating the role of ‘Smile Keeper*’ was a big step, too.”

I can really feel that members’ ‘happiness level’ has definitely increased.

*Read the article about Smile Keepers here
Smiles are born in the central kitchen! A day in the life of a Smile Keeper who supports our daily “fun commotions”

Matsumoto: “As the ‘office dorm manager,’ the Smile Keeper works hard every day. Also, having the kitchen has made communication with people outside the company more active.”

Tsugihara: “Sometimes members leave fruit that arrives from their family homes, too.”

Matsumoto: “Yes, and vegetables grown at SUNNY FARM (*), too.”

*Read the article about SUNNY FARM here
Our in-house project “SUNNY FARM” kicks off full-scale farming! Members work hard at their first-ever experience

Matsumoto: “And beyond the office, it was also big news that we were able to renew our owned media, SUNNY DAYS, and publish a book (*) compiling our internal manuals.”

*Read the article about the book here
Releasing our internal manuals!? Introducing the manual book packed with most of SUNNY SIDE UP’s work: ‘SUNNY SIDE UP’s Hands-on PR’—now on sale!

■ One kanji that sums up the fiscal year, according to the three of them

—Finally, if you had to sum up this fiscal year in a single kanji, what would it be?

Kobayashi: “Mine is ‘超’ (surpass). Around this time last year, COVID-19 was even more severe. No matter the circumstances, I think we were able to surpass many things thanks to everyone’s efforts.”

Matsumoto: “Mine is ‘移’ (shift). I thought about the kanji for ‘change,’ butrather than simply ‘changing,’ourfeelingsshifted in various ways, and the way we work shifted too,so in the sense of ‘moving/shifting,’‘移’ feelsmore fittingto me.”

Kokubo: “Mine is ‘住’ (live). Working as if you live here—not in a bad way (laughs). It would be great to create an environment where you can turn play into work, and enjoy work as if it were play.”

—We heard so many different stories today. It won’t fit into a single article, so please make it a series (laughs).

Kokubo loves sharing through visualization so much that he even set up a whiteboard at home
His home whiteboard measures 2.4 m (H) × 2.2 m (W)

■ Editor’s note

Three people, three perspectives. We asked each of them to look back on the fiscal year from their own point of view. Precisely because their ideas of what is “fun” differ, new “fun commotions” are born. After hearing their stories, that is the feeling that stayed with me.

Now, a new fiscal year begins tomorrow. I’ve finished writing this piece, so I’ll move on to preparing for tomorrow’s “SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Fiscal Year Kickoff Presentation” (laughs). We will share the details in tomorrow’s SUNNY DAYS.

The “fun commotion” is only just getting started.

*Titles and positions mentioned in this article are as of the time of writing.
*Masks were removed only during the photo shoot.