Watanabe: I am the fourth president of the company. We have a very long history as a "Tonkatsu" restaurant and have been loved by business people and tourists not only in Tokyo but also throughout Japan and the world. Hotel New Otani Tokyo, which was built as an international hotel at the time of Tokyo Olympics 1964, is the birthplace of our restaurant, and we are grateful to our predecessors in management, to the chefs and service staff who have preserved this flavor, and to the longtime Fumizen fans who have supported our restaurant. Without any of them, we could not have preserved our long history.
Our main restaurant is still located at Hotel New Otani Tokyo, and celebrities have visited us, and we sometimes deliver lunch boxes to diet members at the National Diet Building.
In fact, all of the presidents before me were women, and I myself feel most protected by the power of great motherhood.

Watanabe: That is not true. As an authentic Japanese food brand with a long history in Japan, we would like to expand our business overseas so that people around the world can understand the true taste of Tonkatsu. In other words, we are trying to find a balance between inbound and outbound. We want our overseas customers who come to Japan to become Fumizen fans and enjoy it back in their own countries. In the past, I have been helped by Japanese institutions that support overseas expansion, and in cooperation with them, I myself went to overseas exhibitions and felt a positive response. Japanese food and my dream are the same extension: overseas. Someday I would like to expand into Europe and the United States. We are still conducting marketing research in various forms. We are very particular about our ingredients, and we use TOKYO X pork in Japan. This is a Japanese brand of pork, raised in a specific area in the Kanto region and certified by a Japanese specialized agency as a new synthetic strain. This pork, quality bread crumbs, and secret sauce are the roots of Fumizen.

Watanabe: Before COVID-19, we frequently went overseas researching to find partners such as France, Germany, Italy. We are now expanding into two countries, the Philippines and Cambodia. We have found good business partners in both countries and especially the Philippines is doing very well and we are planning the third restaurant. In Cambodia, our restaurant is located in a hotel in a tourist area and is very stylish and we are very excited about its future growth.
We look for good quality pork locally and export the sauce and breadcrumbs, which are the key to the flavor, from Japan. We also serve ramen and gyoza in Cambodia, and sushi and hot pot in the Philippines. It is a style of positioning Tonkatsu as the main dish and offer other Japanese foods as side dishes.

Watanabe: We felt that the response was much greater than we had expected. Many people tasted our Tonkatsu and praised it as "delicious," and business discussions are now well underway. This opportunity has given me even greater confidence and certainty. I am reminded that “the history and taste of our Fumizen are irreplaceable and deserve recognition”, and through this opportunity I was able to get a bird's eye view of Fumizen from New York.
I strongly hope to continue to find partners in the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe, where I first dreamed of being, and to grow Fmizen so that its signs are present in all major cities around the world.