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Hello, this is President Yasui. I run a one-man company mainly engaged in the inspection of high-pressure gas equipment.
Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Tokyo for the JLPA Annual General Meeting. It takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes by Shinkansen between Nagoya and Tokyo these days. I initially thought I wouldn’t be able to attend because I had work at the end of the month—but it turned out the meeting is on the 26th, not the end of the month, so my schedule was open, and I decided to participate.
I couldn’t help but think—if I’m paying such high membership fees and not attending the general meeting, then what am I even doing?
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.
Although the meeting starts at 3:00 PM, I’ll be on the move early in the morning. Since I’m spending the money to travel to Tokyo, it feels like a waste not to go see Tokyo Tower, Asakusa, or the Skytree!!
But I’m holding back my urge to play tourist because I have a business meeting scheduled for the morning.
Earlier in May, I received a nostalgic phone call. I was asked to share my thoughts on a certain topic, and I agreed to get involved if I could be of help.
I can’t go into details, but it has something to do with the purpose I originally had when I joined JLPA—to leverage human connections.
At first, we were going to talk online, but since I already had plans to go to Tokyo, we figured it would be a perfect chance to meet and talk in person.
Thanks to COVID (if we can call it that), the cost of meetings and business discussions has dropped significantly. With online meetings, location doesn’t matter anymore—as long as you have internet access, you can hold a meeting from anywhere.
This has drastically reduced costs and made things much more convenient and efficient.
However, it’s still “through a screen.”
In this age where even first meetings often happen through a screen, I feel that the value of meeting in person has increased.
Online seminars and workshops have become the norm, but the atmosphere you experience in a physical venue is entirely different from that in the digital world.
Sitting barefoot and sipping tea during an online session vs. absorbing knowledge through your eyes, ears, and even the atmosphere and scent of a real venue—it naturally affects your level of engagement.
Encounters at physical venues are also becoming more valuable.
Seminars attended by motivated individuals with shared values are always full of energy.
Even when it comes to meetings, I find that face-to-face conversations play a vital role in communication with clients.
Since everyone’s busy, face-to-face meetings are becoming less frequent, but I believe we must not overlook the value a person holds—the kind of value that makes you want to meet them in person.
Whether someone is worth meeting in real life—that’s something we should all be mindful of.
See you next time!
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