「ジャパンタイムズ」への当社記事掲載のお知らせ

2022 年 12 月 14 日
各 位

会 社 名 株式会社 オ オ バ
代表者名 代表取締役社長執行役員 辻󠄀本 茂
（コード：９７６５ プライム市場）
問合せ先 上席執行役員 片山博文
（TEL.０３－５９３１－５８８８）



「ジャパンタイムズ」への当社記事掲載のお知らせ


2022年12月13日、「ジャパンタイムズ」に株式会社オオバに関する記事が、添付のとおり、掲載
されましたので、お知らせいたします。


以 上
 Tuesday, December 13, 2022 | The Japan Times | 5




(Sponsored content)
Ohba: A century in business
Civil engineering with an
unwavering philosophy
“Our company is 100 years old, but our cor- The company is also advanced in terms
porate philosophy of ‘Sincerity, Positivity, of its compliance with the strictest and most
Harmony’ can be traced back some 400 up-to-date corporate governance require-
years as a precept of a samurai family,” Ohba ments needed to list on the Tokyo Stock
& Co. President Shigeru Tsujimoto said in a Exchange’s new Prime Market. The Prime
recent interview with The Japan Times. Market sets tighter listing criteria, includ-
Ohba, a consulting and engineering com- ing corporate disclosures in English and
pany in Tokyo with branches from Tohoku climate-related disclosures, that encourage
to Okinawa, specializes in urban develop- the nation’s top companies to always be pre-
ment and civil engineering. It was founded pared and available to seize more opportu-
in 1922 by Munenori Ohba, who was born nities to engage with both international and
in 1897 as a son and heir of a retainer of the domestic investors.
Kanazawa Domain, which straddled today’s Now how does a company with a global
Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures. After vision that has drawn insights from the past
working as a civil engineer for the Ministry hundred years of turbulence in Japan view
of Railways, now the Ministry of Land, Infra- the country today? Given the near quadru-
structure, Transport and Tourism, he estab- pling of the Japanese manufacturing indus-
lished one of the first private surveying firms try’s overseas production ratio to 23.6% from
in Japan with the aim of creating a new busi- client trust, Ohba has been able to lead the 1991 to 2020, Tsujimoto said, “Those were
ness model for private infrastructure and industry for as long as a century, a span that the times when the value of the yen was ris-
urban development firms at a time when has seen plenty of turmoil. ing and companies that considered it impos-
such projects were primarily the domain of “We feel privileged to be acknowledged sible to continue their production in Japan To acquire and utilize land, one needs to Above: Ohba
the public sector. as a time-honored company, but there are started to shift to overseas production to deal with the potential need for land read- received a Good
Tsujimoto recalled coming across the actually more than 74,000 100-year-old com- maintain the level of profitability.” justment, extensive documentation and a Design Award in
motto of the Rothschild family when he was panies globally, and around half of them are However, the yen’s continued deprecia- mass of information that is only available 2018 for its restora-
reading a book. “It was ‘Concordia, Integritas, Japanese companies,” Tsujimoto said. “I think tion and the nation’s long-standing defla- in Japanese, as well as national and local tion work in front of
Industria’ (‘Harmony, Sincerity, Industry’) these companies have survived because tionary trend, which seems to be shrugging compliance issues, permits and certificates, disaster-hit Ona-
and I was surprised at its coincidental simi- they, like ourselves, have had an unswerving off recent price hikes, may change the on top of negotiations with authorities, gawa Station in
larity with our motto,” he said, pointing out philosophy at their core and have been faith- situation for both Japanese manufactur- landholders and other parties. With its engi- Miyagi Prefecture.
that there is no East or West, or present or ful to it. We should be proud of this mental- ing and foreign companies planning to neering technology and know-how, Ohba Right: A portrait of
past, in how human beings should behave to ity,” he said, expressing confidence such a establish manufacturing bases overseas. is equipped with all of these tools, including Ohba founder
gain the trust of others. quality would also be appreciated by foreign “Manufacturing in Japan may become a connections with various stakeholders and Munenori Ohba
companies and investors seeking partners more reasonable and efficient choice than the legal knowledge needed to overcome painted by Kihou
In touch with today’s world in Japan. manufacturing abroad. It is starting to make these hurdles based on the vast experience Miura
By ensuring the company’s philosophy Ohba is not only well-established, it is more economic sense for Japanese com- it has accumulated through countless proj-
permeated its over 500 employees (80% of committed to continuous growth. For the panies that moved their production bases ects across the nation.
whom are civil engineers), and maintaining past 11 years, Ohba has posted year-on-year to other countries to come back and for “Let’s say that there is a foreign com-
operating profits by improving its techno- foreign companies to look into the possibil- pany that wants to start operating its new
logical capabilities and cost control. It has ity of establishing their production bases in plant in Japan in three years’ time, but has
also been promoting the acquisition of Japan,” Tsujimoto said. not even decided where and is in need of
technical qualifications among its staff, from “If we only look at the labor costs, there insightful advice. We can start helping from
professional engineers and registered civil are certainly countries with even lower labor there,” Tsujimoto said. Places along major
engineering consulting managers to grade-1 costs than Japan, but there are many other highways would be ideal for logistics com-
architects and engineers meeting standards factors to take into consideration,” he said, panies, while factories that plan to hire a
set for member countries of the Asia-Pacific emphasizing the benefit of Japan’s geopoliti- lot of workers should be situated in close
Economic Cooperation alliance. cal, political and social stability, the availabil- proximity to them. Various risk factors,
The goal is to steadily strengthen its ity of generally competent human resources, including disaster vulnerability, must be
foundation by increasing the number of and the scarcity of labor disputes. Tsujimoto assessed as well.
personnel who have qualifications, which believes that all of these factors, whether “It is our job to help companies and inves-
has grown from 353 at the start of the good or bad, can offer sound grounds for tors to evaluate risks concerning the land
Medium-Term Management Plan four making reasonable business judgments and that they intend to acquire and maximize
years ago to 500 this fiscal year. The key to investment decisions. the potential of,” Tsujimoto said, noting that advise, negotiate and explain in order to Ohba participated in restoration projects
improving cost control lies in promoting it must then add even more value to the land make those plans feasible,” Tsujimoto said, after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
information-related investment, which was Many factors to consider as experienced consultants and engineers. predicting that more manufacturing com- These include the rebuilding of the disas-
further strengthened in response to the When preparing to enter Japan, the problem One of the examples of Ohba working panies will consider Japan as an option for ter-hit area in front of Onagawa Station in
COVID-19 pandemic, and reducing fixed for many foreign enterprises often lies in with foreign capital is the planning and hosting their bases. He noted that manufac- Miyagi Prefecture. The company received
costs via enhanced interbranch collabora- where and how to start, and this is exactly development of massive logistics ware- turers require safe, secure and stable loca- a Good Design Award in 2018 for this work.
Ohba President Shigeru Tsujimoto tion, including work-sharing. where Ohba can help. houses for Japanese units of global enter- tions to work from — something the world “We have seen disaster victims celebrate the
prises. There are several of them across the has become increasingly aware of amid revival of their towns, which gives us great
nation, and all provide easy access to the today’s political turbulence, including the satisfaction and points to our pride as engi-
Workforce growth by technical qualification main cities in the regions they serve via war in Ukraine and China’s increasingly pro- neers,” Tsujimoto said.
major highways — one of the most impor- vocative relationship with Taiwan. “There is nothing showy about the work
Professional RCCM (registered civil engineering Grade-1 APEC
500 tant aspects of planning and building logis- Tsujimoto also said: “Solid infrastruc- we do. We are just making steady efforts
engineers consulting manager) architects engineers
500 tics warehouses in Japan. ture is another thing that is indispensable with sincerity based on our firm commit-

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23 to the manufacturing sector. But it is not ment to our corporate philosophy,” he said

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395 385 20 Wide range of projects something that can be created overnight. with the conviction that this attitude even-
400 2 Ohba has also developed several large solar Japan has a great advantage in that sense tually leads to trust. “This trust is something

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330 18 power plants with foreign investors in because it has the accumulation of strong that is not inserted into a company’s balance

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298 2 2 2 19 202 recent years, which also obviously requires infrastructure.” In fact, Ohba is one of the sheet, but it is definitely an important intan-

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16 178 160 vast tracts of land, but comes with require- major players in Japan that contributed to gible asset that grows a company and makes
144 162 ments and a set of regulations that are com- the development of its infrastructure, espe- its business sustainable,” he explained.

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135 pletely different from those used by logistics cially after the war. Now this infrastructure Given the changes in the global situation

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warehouses. is an asset to both domestic and interna- and Japan’s economy, Ohba’s future clients
Another prominent achievement is the tional businesses. may change as it deepens international col-
217 236 more than 100 golf courses in Japan that laboration, but its way of doing business will

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145 153 158 166 170 Ohba has developed with domestic and Disaster mitigation remain the same.
international designers, including Greg Nor- Disaster prevention and mitigation comes in “We will continue developing our human
0 man Golf Course Design, which has devel- one package with any kind of infrastructure resources and strengthening our expertise
FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 (Est.) oped over 100 courses in 34 countries. in Japan, not only because it is an historically with pride in our achievements. Civil engi-
“Such renowned designers came up with earthquake-prone country, but also because neering contributes to the development and
Medium-term management plan Medium-term management plan
(fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2019) (fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2023) beautiful designs, but some parts of the it is aiming to achieve higher degrees of tol- welfare of human beings. As long as there is
plans they laid out were not aligned with erance in line with the increase in natural the Earth, there is civil engineering,” Tsuji-
SOURCE: OHBA & CO. regulations in Japan. It was our job to adjust, disasters brought about by climate change. moto said.


Flowchart of Ohba’s services Medium-term management plan (fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2023)
Building Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year
Building permit
Building Basic planning and design Design development permit ended May ended May ended May ended May ended May ended May
procedure
granted 31, 2015 31, 2020 31, 2021 31, 2022 31, 2023 31, 2023
(Reference) (Results) (Results) (Results) (Forecast) (Plan)

Dealing with Consolidated net sales 15,402 15,202 15,862 15,933 16,000 17,500
neighboring Development (millions of yen)
landholders permit Application for
Development Development Begin building
Feasibility study Research and Consolidated operating 790 1,144 1,334 1,582 1,600 1,400
plans and post-construction construction
surveys
inspections Legal completion income (millions of yen)
design Application of development Post-
for legal Begin act development Interest-bearing debt 2,437 120 60 0 0 0
authorization construction asset (millions of yen)
management
Net income per share (yen) 45.05 49.32 52.04 66.98 68.23 —

Land Building Net assets per share (yen) 334.26 487.56 551.48 610.30 — —
development construction
Assistance in construction Annual dividend (yen) 12.00 14.00 15.00 23.00 22.00 —
Construction selecting a
contractor Completion of (Commemorative dividends) 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.00 0.00 —
Construction construction
management Stock price at end of period 520 656 779 741 — —
(yen)
NOTE: Red framing indicates Ohba’s scope of work. *The company aims to expand shareholder return — the current target of Ohba’s total payout ratio is about 50%.
SOURCE: OHBA & CO. SOURCE: OHBA & CO.