By Taro Fujimoto

Executive Impact May. 26, 2008 - 07:00AM JST ( 7 )

TOKYO —

Japanese companies are now highly aware of the importance of CSR. However, there are different types of CSR practiced by different industries. As a subsidiary of NTT, Japan’s largest telecommunication company which used to be state-owned, NTT Communications provides large-scale network services to major corporations over the world as well as network services for individual consumers. The company is involved in many diversified CSR projects in society.

Heading the company’s CSR operations is Masae Tamura. Born in Mie Prefecture, he obtained his BA in law from the University of Kyoto. In 1970, he joined the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, which is currently incorporated into the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. He has been involved in the government’s postal and communications policies, including three years’ experience at the Japanese embassy in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1986.

After retiring from the ministry in 1998, Tamura became vice president of Motorola Japan in 2000. He has been a board member of NTT Communications since 2002. Now he manages the company’s CSR, information and security management divisions.

Japan Today reporter Taro Fujimoto visits Tamura at the company’s headquarters in Hibiya to hear more about NTT Communications and its CSR activities.

Please tell us about your background

I wanted to be a journalist when I was young. But I decided to join the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 1970 because I wanted to experience an active working environment such as the postal service. At the ministry, I was mainly in charge of labor relations with postmen. It was one of the largest labor unions in Japan because the postal service was state-owned like NTT and Japan Railways used to be. I learned a lot of things from union people, such as negotiation skills.

In 2000, two years after my retirement from the ministry, I joined Motorola Japan as vice president. I found private companies have a totally different work environment from government organizations. For example, some people behave in a very self-centered way, being indifferent to others.

What does NTT Communications offer?

NTT Communications provides network services, such as telephone and Internet connections, as well as security and solution services such as data centers and network management, to mainly major Japanese companies.

Since the company was originally established to provide international communications, we also help our clients build their network abroad in cooperation with local telecommunication services. Currently, Russia, China and India are major business locations for our clients who operate abroad. Major Japanese companies tend to request nationwide and worldwide communication networks as one package of our services for their global business.

We also provide services to individual consumers as an Internet service provider “OCN” as well as domestic and international telephone services. Online content is also part of these businesses.

Who are your stakeholders?

Since NTT Communications is a very Japanese-like organization, our stakeholders are a wide range of people involved in the company and its services. Recently, some say shareholders are the most important for companies. But as a person who worked closely with labor unions, I think the term “stakeholders” must include employees and clients as well. If only specific people benefit, society as a whole won’t accept a company’s activities in Japan.

What are your CSR activities?

In the past, philanthropy was a sort of trend and many companies spent much money on it without a clear goal. In 2005, we set up the CSR committee to determine what is expected of CSR in society.

In our CSR activities related to environmental issues, for example, we rank waste disposal agencies so we can maintain the quality of every process of our waste disposal. I heard in some foreign countries, companies often throw everything out to waste disposal companies, which in turn just send it to third countries. In this sense, I found that Japanese people, even end disposers, meticulously work on these processes. Many people visiting Japan from abroad are often surprised to find out about our high-level CSR activities, especially in environmental protection.

Overall, our CSR activities are mainly based on our ICT solutions which we usually offer to our clients. For example, we suggested a remote-distance teleconference system so people don’t have to take cars or trains to meet up with each other, which would contribute to the global environment. Another example is that we introduced a plastic bottle recycling system whereby people can accumulate points on IC cards available to exchange for shopping coupons. We also built a system for reducing paper consumption with digital paperless systems at offices. We offered a toll-free telephone line to the Japan Association for Refugees, so asylum-seekers can make phone calls for free through public phones.

Our CSR activities were given 100 points Nikkei newspaper’s CSR ranking in 2007 in the areas of operation, management, long-term planning, anti-pollution measures, information disclosure, resource recycling and anti-global warming measures.

What current issues do you face with CSR?

We need to make more people aware of our CSR activities. However, we still hesitate to publicize them. This is partly because we often feel it is too corny to speak of what we take for granted, such as high-quality environmental protection.

The other issue is that since our CSR activities are related to ICT, it is difficult to make it easier for people to feel familiar with them. Our CSR reports have many numbers, technologies and analyses. In future, we believe ICT can definitely contribute to CSR in society. Our clients are also under social pressure to do more on CSR. Thus, we can help them implement their CSR activities through our ICT solutions.

What’s your managing style?

I always give my opinions to others. I try to learn many things necessary for my work. I also want to know what people are doing in the front line.

What is a typical day for you?

I wake up at 6. I often watch NHK’s foreign language lesson programs. I come to the office at 8:30 a.m., and leave around 6:20 p.m. I usually dine out three days a week with business people.

For further information, visit: http://www.ntt.com/index-e.html