With its famous Global brand, Yoshida Metal Industries is providing customers with the highest performing knives that last a lifetime.
Japanese knives are known for their craftsmanship and the monozukuri spirit they embody. There are specialized tools, such as the yanagiba knife, that ensure delicate cuts of sashimi. There is also the Usuba, a single-bevel vegetable knife, especially for thin-sliced white radish that is used to garnish sashimi. These knives are used to enhance the preparation, presentation, and taste of Japanese foods. What do you believe makes Japanese kitchen knives so unique, and how does the Japanese tradition of monozukuri contribute to this distinctiveness?
Firstly, I would draw your attention to the philosophies of monozukuri, which place great value on craftsmanship, precision, and relentless improvements. This isn’t exclusive to just knife making; rather, it relates to pretty much everything that Japanese people do in terms of manufacturing. This philosophy is reflected in the construction of Japanese knives, utilizing high-quality steel and traditional techniques such as hand forging and blade polishing. These techniques have been perfected throughout many generations.
Another core aspect you should consider happened back in 2013 when UNESCO registered the Japanese washoku as a UNESCO World Heritage Culture. More recently, the traditional sake brewing for producing sake, honkaku shochu, and awamori was also added to the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Of course, this brought a lot of attention to our country and even our company since our company is part of the washoku process. Another throwback of the traditional techniques used in crafting Japanese knives for Japanese cuisine is rooted in where we are located: the Tsubame-Sanjo area in Niigata Prefecture, being famous for its blacksmithing and metalwork.
More or less, our knives are multi-purpose and serve the needs of chefs and cooks the world over, no matter the cuisine they are preparing. If we look back at the history of Tsubame City, during the Edo period, farmers struggled because of frequent flooding from the Shinano River. That’s when the technique for making wakugi, the traditional Japanese nails, was introduced. This led to the area gradually grew into a hub for metalwork products, with wakugi production at the center. Over time, it evolved into producing Western tableware, and eventually, it brought us to the creation of cooking knives.
Niigata isn’t just home to us, and the surrounding area is home to the entire supply chain and the companies in the local area have worked together to bring this industry up. Currently, I would say that we are quite blessed to have so many companies in the area. The keyword is craftsmanship.
By the end of December 2024, Japan is expecting over 37 million international tourists to visit the country. Part of that is to experience food, but it is also to buy things they can take back home and use in their everyday lives. We’re expecting this trend not only to continue next year but to grow even more. How are you tapping into the market of international tourists who are coming to Japan to purchase unique Japanese goods?
We are looking very optimistically towards this time of year, and this is because there is an expected influx of tourists to close out 2024. With this in mind, in 1999, we’ve opened a store in Roppongi, a location that is famous and often on the bucket lists of tourists. We are happy to say that many tourists are coming to our store to buy knives. We are also thankful for all the department stores in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka that stock our products. And we would like to take this opportunity in the interview to once again announce that we opened a shop in Tsubame City, Niigata Prefecture, where our headquarters' factory is located, this past October.
Japan is very attractive to visitors, so we are trying to jump on the wave and introduce our knives to as many people as possible. Knives act as a great souvenir and will allow users to relive cherished memories of Japan.
Right now, Japan’s population is 125 million, but this is expected to drop below 100 million by 2050, with experts even expecting the population to be around 65 million by 2100. This presents two problems: a diminished domestic base and increased competition over a decreasing pool of labor. What are some of the opportunities and challenges this demographic shift has created for your company? For a knife company like yours, how important is it to internationalize in the future?
The demographic shift certainly isn’t creating a good picture. It isn’t working on our side, and it is becoming a breaking point in Niigata, where it is becoming hard to attract people to work at production sites. It isn’t just knife manufacturing that is struggling; this problem is endemic to manufacturing as a whole in Japan.
Beyond the factors I’ve discussed, it is also about preserving the staff that work for us and helping them become satisfied with their work life. When I think deeply about the issues, I see two apparent solutions. First of all, we try to skill up our employees, heading in the direction of craftsmanship and traditional techniques. At the end of the day, a more skilled person will make a better knife. The next point is automation through AI and robotics. Using these tools, we can replace more conventional work in production lines with automated machinery. Inspection comes to mind as a prime target for automation. These devices will help us to improve our efficiency and increase our production capacity.
We do understand the issues with the domestic market, so expanding our portfolio of products to the domestic audience is something that will become a must. Our company is trying to capture a larger lineup of products rather than just focusing on knife manufacturing.
The heart of our company lies in the balance between quality and quantity. Rather than chasing the production of more products, we aim to have better quality to every single product. This is all in the pursuit of satisfying the needs of our customers and making them happy with the products they purchase.
In your answer, you mentioned expanding your product segments. What types of products are you considering?
By saying that we will increase our lineup, we are planning a new version of our early-generation knife series for the domestic market. Some of these brands actually were the predecessor to our flagship GLOBAL brand. We are trying to retrace our steps back to our original brand and inhale new life into those products.
You mentioned that there are many companies in Japan that manufacture knives. With so many different brands to choose from, why should consumers choose GLOBAL?
Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to our innovative designs. GLOBAL knives are made with an all-stainless steel structure and feature a black dotted handle. These designs attract people to purchase our products. Next, I would draw your attention to the function side, and the performance of our knives is something we take very seriously. We took the lead in using robotic technology for blade finishing, and it allowed us to scale up production and respond to the increasing demand for our GLOBAL knives. While this may capture a wider audience, people will notice the difference, particularly in terms of kitchen performance. Consumers come to us because they know we produce a quality product that will fit their needs. Our company embodies the true spirit of craftsmanship through machine processing rooted in traditional Japanese artisan techniques.
The late Chairman Mino Tsuchida of Master Cutlery Corporation, our sole distributor for the overseas market and fondly known as “Mr. GLOBAL”, attend various knife exhibitions and taught people how to sharpen knives. It is at these exhibitions that the quality and craftsmanship are related to potential customers. This is why having a partner is important, and Master Cutlery is a key partner for us. Their marketing is a valuable tool for our business. I think their marketing and our quality products set us apart from our competition.
Yoshida Metal has tapped into e-commerce with your GLOBAL online stores. How are you further tailoring your e-commerce to your customers, and are you making these sites accessible to the market, particularly tourists who might miss out on opportunities to buy goods in your stores?
The online store has been very lucrative for us, and we began to place greater focus on it about three years ago. We aim to reach sales of JPY 100 million online in the next fiscal year, and so far, we are doing well. To reach this goal, we are utilizing the power of social media, and this is all in order to reach a wider audience. I would say that this is a very good part of our business.
You’ve talked briefly about your partnership with Master Cutlery, and you’ve also mentioned your use of SNS. Partnership-wise, are you looking for any further collaborations, M&As, or joint ventures? If so, what does a partner of choice look like?
We look forward to further collaborations in the same vein as our existing partnerships. With Master Cutlery, we have separate business lines, with our company being responsible for the domestic market and Master Cutlery handling the overseas markets for the GLOBAL brand. Everything overseas is done purely by Master Cutlery, including sales, marketing, and distribution. I believe the next big exhibition is in February 2025. We will be participating as supporting staff at Master Cutlery’s booth during the Ambiente Exhibition held in Frankfurt.
In terms of company structure, Global Holdings is the holding company under which both Master Cutlery and Yoshida Metal are located. Global Holdings does not have any specific features, however besides just sharing capital and stocks for both companies.
Imagine that we come back in five years and have this interview all over again. What goals or dreams do you hope to achieve by the time we come back for that new interview?
Our first and most prominent goal is easy to understand: to come up with better knives. Coming up with more sophisticated and high-quality knives is a core part of our business model. GLOBAL CAMP, which we released in 2023, is our flagship product right now for the domestic market, and we would like to see more products like that in the future. Knives should be balanced, sharp, and reliable, so we are developing new products to capture these elements for customers.
I’m 61 years old right now, so I am now thinking about the transition of the CEO role to the next generation of Yoshida Metal executives within the next 10 years.
Our company has built itself on the traditions and techniques of knife making, so we want to bring that culture of Japan to kitchens all around the world.
For more information, visit their website at: https://www.yoshikin.co.jp/en/products/global/
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