Director　Junya Yamada

“There are limitless possibilities for the future of Musashi Paint.”

Musashi Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. is Looking for Colleagues to Join Our Team

Please Introduce Yourself

My name is Junya Yamada, and I serve as a Director of Musashi Paint Holdings Co., Ltd.

Before joining Musashi Paint, I worked as a Certified Public Accountant at an audit firm. During that time, I oversaw auditing Musashi Paint, and through that connection, I joined the company in April 2015. My hobby is playing golf, but recently I have become deeply interested in taking care of goldfish that my children brought home from a festival goldfish scooping game!

What Kind of Work Do You Do at Musashi Paint?

My primary responsibilities involve overseeing the overall management of the Musashi Paint Group, leveraging my expertise in accounting and internal controls.

As a director, I am also involved in major group-wide decision-making and external negotiations, including those with financial institutions. I travel overseas frequently and visit one of our international locations every month.

Why Did You Choose Musashi Paint?

There are two main reasons I chose Musashi Paint:a CEO who is not “mass-produced,” and a clear vision of how I could contribute.

A President Who Is Not “Mass-Produced”

By “not mass-produced,” I mean exactly that. Our CEO Ms. Fukui is truly unique. Watching her ideas and actions—which someone like me, a rather “standard-type” person, could never have imagined—made me feel that working with her would be exciting, and that she is someone who would truly accomplish something meaningful. After joining the company, following such a unique leader has not always been easy for someone like me. However, her creativity and extraordinary execution power have proven that my initial impression before joining was correct.

Having a Clear Image of How I Could Contribute

Through its past growth, the Musashi Paint Group has developed into a global business, and I felt that this was the right time to further strengthen its management foundation. I wanted to contribute to this effort not from outside the company, but from within. Because I could clearly envision how my career and expertise could contribute to this mission, I decided to make the move.

What Do You Find Appealing About Musashi Paint?

Many appealing points come to mind immediately—such as the opportunity to work globally regardless of gender or nationality, and the chance to contribute to the manufacturing of the world’s leading brands. However, I would like to highlight two aspects that I personally find most compelling.

1. The Ability to Continuously Change

Musashi Paint has entered a phase of maturity after a period of rapid growth. Although we are a manufacturer with nearly 70 years of history, we are aiming for what we call a “second founding phase,” and we continue to change every year.

The world is changing at an incredible speed—both in Japan and even more so globally. To adapt flexibly to these changes, we continue to take on new challenges each year, led by CEO Ms. Fukui. Rather than simply performing assigned tasks, Musashi Paint provides an environment where employees identify the gap between the current state and the ideal future state and actively challenge themselves to bridge that gap. This is a major source of the company’s appeal.

2. “The Extended Family Principle”

One of Musashi Paint’s core values, as stated in Musashi Color (our management philosophy), is working together as a “big family.”

Across the globe, employees respect and appreciate one another while working together. Our customers manufacture products all over the world, and we provide products and services globally as well. To deliver value worldwide, a high level of collaboration among our global locations is essential.

Although language barriers exist, we have achieved a very high level of communication through daily interactions, internal social networking tools, overseas exchange programs, and global meetings. Musashi Paint has cultivated an environment where people respect and appreciate one another regardless of gender or nationality, making it an extremely attractive place to work.

When Do You Feel a Sense of Fulfillment at Work?

Musashi Paint’s mission is to “Enriching the world with our colors and technology”

While I am not directly involved in paint development, manufacturing, or sales, seeing our products and services adopted by customers and available in stores is the greatest source of fulfillment for me.

On a personal level, I feel the strongest sense of fulfillment when people rely on me, and I am able to meet their expectations.

This realization is one of the reasons I chose Musashi Paint over becoming an independent professional or joining a highly specialized large corporation. Through my work, I have come to understand that I find true joy when I feel that I am trusted and can genuinely help others. As a director, I bear the responsibility of shaping and executing the future of the Musashi Paint Group. To fulfill this responsibility, I aim to be someone who can rely on many people—and who is, in turn, relied upon by many others.

What Is Something You Would Most Like to Take on Right Now?

What I most want to take on is the launch of new businesses.

Our current mid-term management plan emphasizes the concept of value co-creation. By collaborating with partners—both companies and individuals—who share the same vision, and combining each other’s strengths, we aim to realize our mission of enriching the world with color and technology.

When thinking about new businesses, I often reflect on what our true strengths are. As a coatings manufacturer, our strengths go beyond manufacturing and technical support. They include dispersion, mixing, and color-matching technologies; quality control; know-how in exporting hazardous materials overseas; and various testing and evaluation capabilities. Thinking about how to combine these strengths—or how to merge them with the strengths of like-minded partners—to create new value is incredibly exciting.

Please Tell Us About the Future Potential and Vision of Musashi Paint

The world is changing at an extraordinary speed, but I do not believe that “color” will ever disappear from society.

Moreover, adding functionality through coatings can extend product life cycles and contribute to reducing environmental impact. In this sense, I believe that Musashi Paint’s future holds limitless possibilities.

Although our name includes “Paint,” our mission is Enriching the world with our colors and technology, and we are constantly researching and developing various decorative and functional technologies beyond traditional coatings. By continuing these efforts and actively communicating them to the world, we aim to become a group that manufacturers and individuals worldwide associate first with coating Musashi Paint.

What Initiatives Does Musashi Paint Aim to Pursue Going Forward?

We are committed to operating our business in an environmentally responsible manner and contributing to the realization of a sustainable society.

This includes not only environmentally conscious paint design, but also eco-friendly factory operations and other activities throughout the company.

We have set KPI as the ratio of environmentally friendly products and power consumption reduction as part of our management goals, and we are taking action starting with what we can do today.

Since 2024, we have also been publishing a CSR Report and disclosing our CSR initiatives on our website. We believe that our business exists because of the local communities we operate in. Even if progress is incremental, we will continue our environmentally conscious initiatives across the entire group.

A Message to Our Readers

Thank you very much for your interest in Musashi Paint.

When I think about working together, I see it as a multiplication of mindset, passion, and skills. If, through this article, you resonate with our way of thinking and our initiatives, and feel motivated to work with us with passion, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Comments from Seniors and Colleagues

What Kind of Person Is Mr. Yamada?

• Mr. Yamada is a leader who combines a gentle and sociable personality with inner strength and flexibility. He is someone I can always rely on and a trusted advisor. Even when facing complex and difficult problems, he remains calm and ultimately guides situations toward the best possible outcome. A charming side note—he often removes green onions from his meals, which is oddly endearing.

• Only a few people know this, but there are moments when he sits alone in the executive office in complete darkness, intensely thinking. The atmosphere can be so serious that I have turned back more than once.

• I first met Mr. Yamada at his welcome party in 2015, when I returned to Japan from Tianjin. Discovering that we graduated from the same high school was a memorable surprise. Having worked exclusively in R&D since joining Musashi Paint, I knew little about other companies or departments. Mr. Yamada, with his auditing background, patiently taught me about financial indicators and perspectives I had never encountered before.

• He has a strong sense of camaraderie, is highly considerate of others, and excels at maintaining balance. In addition to his deep accounting expertise, he has a genuine passion for understanding other departments and colleagues, always thinking broadly about how to lead the group forward.

What Do You Admire About Mr. Yamada?

• What I admire most is his logical, strategic thinking and broad perspective. Even when opinions clash, he skillfully organizes discussions and clarifies key issues.He is also exceptional at creating presentation materials that are clear and easy to understand. His strong stress tolerance allows him to mediate conflicts calmly, treating everyone with respect while firmly expressing his views when necessary.

• Beyond his expertise in management, what I admire most is his kindness—he genuinely tries to help anyone, even in situations where I would lose patience. He supports those who struggle to explain themselves and ensures everyone is understood. He is also one of the few people in our company who consistently view things from a long-term perspective, which makes his understanding of R&D particularly valuable.

• His listening skills are outstanding. Whether conversations are disorganized or discussions involve many participants, he grasps the essence and aligns everyone toward a shared direction.

Messages to Mr. Yamada

• Thank you always for your support across so many areas. Your leadership and communication skills are invaluable, and we truly rely on you. Let’s continue working together to guide the company in an even better direction. Please do not hesitate to reach out whenever you feel stressed.

• When meetings pile up, you always head to the nearby convenience store for an onigiri and fried chicken—fuel for the day. Please take good care of your health.
• While overseeing China and traveling across Japan, Southeast Asia, India, Hungary, and more alongside CEO, your schedule must be exhausting. We hope you will continue to rely on your teammates as we grow together. Many colleagues follow you because of your character. We know your efforts for the group’s growth never end—please keep going and thank you always！