-
Michael Thwaites posted an update in the group
Far East 8 years, 5 months ago Souvenirs of my trips to Japan to negotiate with KDD
I went to Tokyo quite a few times in the late 1970s, firstly as part of a delegation led by Koen Molenaar, with Ruedi and one or two other SITA directors , to K.D.D. to negotiate the transfer from K.D.D. control to SITA of the Tokyo center. The first of the negotiations, lasting a week, took place, I think it was, in the month of October, coinciding with the twice yearly great Japanese judo championship. K.D.D. invited the SITA delegation to attend this series of contests, which, as you known, goes on for several days ( maybe even a couple of weeks), with the contestants ‘combatting’ each other, and gradually arriving at the champion judoka for that particular tournament.( Very richly awarded championship, I believe, in view of the prestige of shinto and judo in Japanese cultural life ) We sat on long benches, surrounding the ‘dojo’, and drinking quantities of very good Japanese beer…
Somewhere in my collection of photographs, if I could find it, is a photo taken, not necessarily at the same date as the first visit to Tokyo, ( together with Bernard Leroy, HKGDR ) during a dinner, with musical and other typical entertainment, at a Geisha house in Tokyo. (Bernard was not entirely happy about this invitation from our hosts, since he remarked that it must have cost K.D.D. a real fortune – but he declined to tell us how much …) Before the conclusion of the Center negotiations, I returned to Tokyo several times – once accompanied just by Jean-Marie Badoy, and once only in the company of Bernard Leroy, Irène Legay, and our then SITA country manager , Mr TOKURA.
I made very good friends with one of the K.D.D. directors, who, on our first trip to Tokyo, invited me ( and also Ruedi ) back to his home to meet his wife and family. His name was Takayuki ITAHA, and we have remained in friendly contact ever since, exchanging greetings cards at New Year ; both my sons went, as adolescents, to stay in Tokyo with T. Itaha and his family, and my wife and I received in Paris their daughter, Keiko, who still writes. Last occasion I went, from, Geneva, when I was just retired, to spend a week’s vacation with T.Itaha in the year 2000, or maybe it was 2001 – I would need to check the date in my passport to be sure !
Michael Thwaites
Hello Mike,
Yes indeed martial arts are important in the Japanese culture. I remember travelling there with Giovanni Strigari, in the 80’s, as part of the Future Network study (preparing for what became the MTN), to meet Japanese manufacturers (Fujitsu, NEC, etc) and operators (NTT and KDD). One evening at a restaurant with the representative of KDD, I mentionned I was practising Aïkido, and the KDD representative replied that he was practising it too (I remember he said he was 2nd Dan and I was less advanced then) and he immediately proposed to organise a visit the Aïkikaï, which is worlwide the headquarters for Aïkido and world famous dojo where Moriteru Ueshiba, the Aïkido founder and master, has been teaching and his heirs are still teaching. The day after I was at the Aïkikai, to watch training classes and be introduced to the master who was teaching. A very nice and moving souvenir! I shall be visiting Japan again very soon (in October) to visit and practice at another famous dojo, the Shiseikan! during that stay I had also met Tokura who had perfectly organized all the meetings with the Japanese companies.