Read the full story with photos at:
https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/company/globalnews/2014/0710_01.html
For the fifth straight year Otsuka Pharmaceutical has supported TEDxTokyo, an event held at Hikarie Square in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.
TED, an acronym for “Technology,” “Entertainment,” and “Design,” provides a forum for individuals at the forefront of these three fields to come together to share innovative and creative ideas ~ “ideas worth spreading”.
TED started in the United States in 1984, and has spread to more than 140 countries around the world. The presentations given at the TED gatherings have been recorded and made available free of charge at the TED web site, and these “TED Talks” have been watched more than one billion times worldwide. In Japan, NHK has shown TED talks on a program called “Super Presentation,” which has drawn considerable interest.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical, which places a premium on creativity, and on the development and promotion of original products, immediately identified with the TED concept.
This year, in collaboration with TEDxTokyo members, Otsuka created an animated short based on the theme of “globalization” that gave a brief overview of the company.
At Otsuka’s booth on the day of TEDxTokyo, Otsuka showed the animation on monitors and displayed the illustrations that were used to produce it. A select few Otsuka products, such as SOYJOY and POCARI SWEAT ION WATER, were passed out in order to introduce attendees to Otsuka’s philosophy and international scope.
The animated short told the story of Otsuka’s ongoing efforts to develop and promote innovative products, based on Otsuka’s corporate philosophy, “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide,” reflecting the company’s belief that health is borderless.
From 1973, the year of the founding of Otsuka Thailand, Otsuka Pharmaceutical has been expanding internationally. In the 1980s, Otsuka Pharmaceutical was the first Japanese pharmaceutical company to establish research and development bases in America. This marked the true beginning of our globalization.
Employees based outside Japan now account for 70% of Otsuka’s workforce, and Otsuka markets products in more than 80 countries around the world. Otsuka’s animated short, which is less than four minutes long, tells the story of Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s journey to the present, and of the various milestones that were passed along the way.
At this year’s TEDxTokyo, more than 25 presenters spoke or gave performances focusing on this year’s theme, “Connecting the Unconnected.”