NEWS
2025.01.23
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"Ichiro, When is Your Next Day at the Office?"--Feat of the Century Earns Payment in Kind from Akio

2025.01.23

Ichiro, recently appointed Special Assistant to Chairman Akio Toyoda, has now become the first Japanese player elected to the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame. Akio continued their decade-long relationship by sending a "letter" through the newspapers.

Ichiro has been elected to the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame.

The good news reached Japan at 8 a.m. on January 22 (JST). By sheer coincidence, it was on this very day in 2024 that Ichiro was appointed Special Assistant to Chairman Akio Toyoda.

Ichiro’s first-ever business card, handwritten by Chairman Toyoda.

The Hall of Fame commemorates individuals who made outstanding achievements in American baseball or contributed greatly to the sport’s development. To be eligible as a candidate, a player must have spent at least 10 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) and been retired from competition for at least five.

Ichiro came up for election this year. Although he fell just one vote short of becoming the second person in history to earn unanimous selection, Ichiro was named on 99.7% of the ballots, easily clearing the required 75% threshold.

In doing so, he became the first Japanese-born player to enter the Hall of Fame in its long history, spanning back to 1936.

It was a fitting honor for Ichiro, who in 2000 became the first Japanese position player to make the move to America, where he continually demonstrated the world-class level of Japanese baseball.

On the morning after this momentous day, Chairman Akio Toyoda sent Ichiro a “letter” through the nation’s newspapers.

Ichiro, when is your next day at the office?

Around 130 years have passed since yakyū, the Japanese word for baseball, was first coined,
and around 100 years since the Koshien, Big6, and Intercity tournaments began.
About a decade later, the professional leagues kicked off.

Ichiro, I think this makes your induction into the MLB Hall of Fame
a genuine “feat of the century.”

Since last year, you have worked with Toyota as Special Assistant to the Chairman,
and I wanted to reward you on behalf of the company as well.
I made some inquiries at our Human Resources Division.

They laid out the company rules:
“Nationwide awards, whether related to work duties or not, are honored by the division's chief officer.”
“Certificates and gift vouchers valued at 30,000 yen are presented as tokens of appreciation.”

I understand that the system is for rewarding people who do a great job in their workplace, but...

Is 30,000 yen a fitting tribute to Ichiro’s “feat of the century”?!
Surely that’s not enough?
If we give 30,000 yen in Japan, should we make it 30,000 dollars for the U.S.?
Or is that still not enough?
All these questions ran through my mind, but rules are rules.

Next time you come to work,
as your supervisor, I will present you with a certificate and 30,000 yen worth of gift vouchers.

However, since I am also Chairman,
I will speak with the HR Division about whether this reward
is appropriate for the feat you have accomplished.

I hope we can come up with some kind of gift befitting a “feat of the century.”

But, since Toyota is a penny-pinching company,
I’m afraid you will likely be paid in kind rather than cash...
For Ichiro, we will come up with the “payment-in-kind of the century.”

Please let me know the next day you’ll be at the office.

Akio Toyoda, Chairman, Toyota Motor Corporation

This heartfelt message of congratulations, filled with Akio’s typical humor, conveys the pair’s relationship.

But what is the “payment-in-kind” that befits Ichiro’s “feat of the century?”

Perhaps the newspaper image holds some clues? These questions will be answered when the two next meet.

We are certainly excited for the Special Assistant’s next day at the office.

On January 22, 2024, Ichiro received his letter of appointment as Special Assistant to Chairman Akio Toyoda. The pair strengthened their bond by visiting places filled with the baseball star’s childhood memories.
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