Chasing the "Why," Turning "Impossible" into Reality: How Skills Competition Experience Is Shaping a New Era of Monozukuri

── To start, tell us about your work in the Advanced Testing & Evaluation Div.

I'm something like a "problem solver" who supports our R&D divisions with hands-on skills. Researchers come to us saying, "I want to do this, but I can't," and my job is to work alongside them and turn a solution into something real.

Take equipment for evaluating the performance of new materials. Even if someone develops a groundbreaking material, you can't judge whether it's any good unless you can measure its performance accurately. But because these are cutting-edge fields, there often aren't established measurement standards, and sometimes no dedicated equipment exists at all. So we combine existing instruments or build new ones from scratch.

We also build equipment that automates development processes to raise productivity. We make all kinds of things, depending on the research challenge and the situation.

── I hear "why-why thinking" is central to how you approach this work.

Yes. With every request, I try to dig into the background, purpose, and causes: What is this for? What's driving it? And when a problem occurs, why did it happen?

I'll ask what the material is for and how it will be used, what phenomena occur, why it's needed... Sometimes I even ask about small details that seem to have nothing to do with the request itself.

I picked up this way of thinking while training for skills competitions, and it's still the foundation of my work today.

── So that mindset goes back to the skills competitions. How did you use "why" back then?

In training, I was constantly asking myself, "Why this procedure?" "Why does this part matter?" By repeating "why?" with every problem, I came to understand the purpose and intent behind my coaches' instruction, and the principles behind the techniques.

Not just moving my hands the way I was told, but grasping the essence—that's what pushed me to grow as an engineer.

That's why I still value "why?" when I work with researchers. When you clarify why they want something and why it's needed, you start to see the real goal that wasn't expressed in the original request. Once you dig that deep, you're on the same page, and that shared understanding generates real, positive energy.

And if you understand the thinking behind a request, you can spot hidden issues, too, and expand into new proposals like, "Here's another way we could approach this."

── So pursuing "why" leads to better monozukuri. When you build all this equipment, what do you keep in mind in terms of safety and quality?

I always design with safety first, so that even if a researcher operates the equipment in an unexpected way, it won't become dangerous.

As for quality, we're doing things no one has done before, so we run small tests over and over to confirm as we go. Building up those checks lets us catch problems early in development.

Most of what we build is equipment for internal use, but beyond it lie the "future products" that will one day go out into the world. In other words, we're the first to evaluate products that will eventually reach our customers.

That's why I pay close attention to quality and safety, with a sense of responsibility for delivering reliable data.

── You mentioned skills competitions earlier. How did you come to join the DENSO Technical Skills Academy and decide to compete?

Originally, I had a vague plan of going from a regular high school to university. But right when I was thinking about my future, my mother fell ill. I didn't want to put a financial burden on my family, so I chose the DENSO Technical Skills Academy.

Fortunately, my mother recovered quickly. But because that's how I ended up there, I didn't know much about manufacturing. I even thought skills competitions were "for talented people—nothing to do with me."

Then one day, one of the instructors asked me, "Why don't you give it a try?" I was happy that someone believed in me, so I took on the challenge. I'm the kind of person who likes to see things through to the end, and before I knew it, I was completely hooked.

── So you started from a blank slate, too. What stands out most from your time in skills competitions?

The moment they called my name at the awards ceremony after I won gold at the national competition. I had trained only for that day, under the pressure of knowing a single mistake would end everything... I've rarely felt that happy in my life.

More than anything, my parents, who had come to cheer me on, were overjoyed. When I watched the video they took of the ceremony, you could clearly hear them cheering. It still moves me to watch it today. It was a moment when I truly felt, "I'm glad I worked so hard."

── After that, you competed internationally and later became a coach.

Yes. At the international competition, I fell short of the gold medal, which was frustrating, so I took on the challenge again as a coach. Unfortunately, we didn't reach the top of the world, but I really hope today's competitors keep pushing!

── Skills competitions are an unforgiving, one-shot stage. How does the experience of performing under that pressure help you in your work today?

If you make a mistake on the day, a whole year of effort goes down the drain. That taught me to anticipate every possible scenario—"What if this happens?"—and prepare meticulously. In my current work, too, I've made it a habit to predict potential problems in advance and plan countermeasures.

Skills competitions also have opponents. Even if you score 100 points, if someone else ties you, you have to keep raising your quality to come out ahead. So I had to obsess over details that didn't directly affect my score, like the material of my cutting tools and how beautiful the finish looked.

My work now isn't about competing with anyone, but when I notice, "I'm about to compromise here," and hold myself to a higher standard, that's unquestionably thanks to that experience. Even when the difference is tiny, the attitude of "if I'm going to do it, I'll do it right" leads to better quality.

── You also take part in all kinds of monozukuri activities through voluntary clubs outside your regular work.

Yes. I've taken part in Micromouse, where autonomous robots race to solve a maze in the shortest time; a golf putting robot competition, where robots read the slope of the green and aim for a 100% hole-in rate; and the Mini 4WD race held at our in-house event, Mulan (*).

Whenever someone asks, "Anyone want to do this?" my hand goes straight up. Once I start, everything becomes fun, so before I know it I'm doing this, that, and everything else (laughs).

Micromouse in particular required software knowledge, which was uncharted territory for me since my specialty is mechanical engineering. But once I dove in, it was fascinating. Exploring new fields expands your network, and I've been able to apply what I learned to my main job—for example, realizing, "Things will go more smoothly if I give the software engineers this kind of information."

* MULAN IS AN IDEA CONTEST THAT DENSO HOLDS ONCE EVERY TWO YEARS.

── As you keep taking on the unknown, how do you feel about AI and automation?

As a "problem solver," I want to master AI and automation so I can deliver better results faster. I'm studying every day and doing my best to keep up so I don't get left behind.

── What about areas that "only people can do," like the skills and experience built up on the shop floor?

Well, in our line of work, if we give up and say, "Only a person can do this," I feel like progress stops... So I want to rack my brain—"Is there some way to reproduce this?" "There must be a way"—and make it happen.

For example, the "intuition and know-how" that lets someone sense a slight difference in sound, appearance, or temperature during machining comes from skills and experience on the shop floor. But rather than writing it off as "craftsmanship," I want to dig into the causes and the essence: "Why can you tell from this sound?" "Why can you judge from this change?"

If we can unravel the "why" and turn it into data, we might be able to reproduce a craftsperson's judgment with machines and robots. That would be fascinating—and pretty amazing, wouldn't it?

── So you're approaching it positively, without closing off possibilities.

That's right. At the same time, I also feel a sense of urgency. What AI and automation can do is far broader than I imagined, and it makes me think about questions like "What is human work?" and "How do I show my own value?"

I don't have a perfect answer yet, but what humans should do and what we should hand over—that's something I want to face head-on.

── How do you think DENSO's monozukuri will change going forward?

No matter how much things change, I believe human skills will never disappear. Looking back, the skills I built at the DENSO Technical Skills Academy and in skills competitions feel less like something I acquired consciously and more like something that "came to me naturally." So I don't think they'll fade away.

What matters is combining those skills with AI and digital technology. If we can make use of new technologies, we can take in knowledge we never had before and dramatically improve how efficiently we work.

── Even as AI and digitalization advance, "human skill" remains. Is that what lies at the core of DENSO's monozukuri?

I think so. DENSO also has people with expertise in all kinds of fields, and a culture of tackling problems persistently through genchi genbutsu—going to the actual site to see the actual thing.

There are people with all sorts of skills across the company, so when you want to do something, if you reach out and get them involved, it feels like "nothing is impossible."

I think having people like that come together as one to solve social issues is DENSO's core and its strength.

── In that environment, what challenges do you want to take on?

There's a lot I want to do, but one is the reliability of AI when it's brought into design.

For example, if you ask an AI, "Identify the risks of this equipment and the countermeasures," it'll give you an answer in an instant. But to confirm that it's truly safe, you need a system in which humans verify, evaluate, and prove it.

I want to remove the anxiety and resistance people feel toward AI and establish methods that anyone can use with confidence.

── Finally, what attitude do you want to keep holding on to?

Looking back, I've found that even in unfamiliar worlds, just giving something a try can lead to unexpected joy. Neither skills competitions nor club activities were my strong suit from the start. By taking a step forward when someone invited me and throwing myself into it, I expanded not only my skills and knowledge, but also my connections with people.

What I learned from that is the importance of not writing things off before trying them, and of diving into unknown fields with curiosity. If you keep asking "why?" once you're there, you can master even unfamiliar fields. And the experience you gain not only deepens your own expertise—it also creates new value that helps others. I want to keep valuing my curiosity about the territory I haven't explored yet and keep taking on new challenges.

* INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS CURRENT AS OF AUGUST 2026.