Mitsutaka Tsuchiya has long been an advocate for the promotion of Japanese corporates outside of Japan. Four months into his new role as Head of Japanese Banking Europe, we spoke to him about where this passion came from, his career to date, and his mission to transform Mizuho’s banking business for Japanese corporate clients.
When Tsuchiya-san was a sophomore at The University of Tokyo, he travelled to Oxford, UK to attend a language school. It was during this visit that his curiosity surrounding Japan’s visibility on a global scale was piqued.
“At that time, Japan was the world’s second largest economy. I had confidence in Japan and had always been interested in the growth of Japanese corporates, industry and the economy,” explains Tsuchiya-san. “But, arriving in the UK, I realised that whilst not many people knew about, or were interested in Japan’s culture or Japan itself, many people knew a lot about large Japanese companies, such as auto and electrical manufacturers.”
After returning to Japan, Tsuchiya-san learned that even those large companies started out as startups, which experienced rapid growth after World War II, and he became more interested in business and industrial growth. Upon beginning job hunting two years later, Tsuchiya-san met with a lot of employees from the Industrial Bank of Japan (IBJ), which had caught his eye due to its focus on corporate banking businesses with a long-standing contribution to Japan’s economy, and doing business on a global scale.
“It was a very diverse company, everybody I met was unique and different and the employees had a confidence in what they were doing - much like its own customer base. I thought it was somewhere that I could widen my perspective.”
Tsuchiya-san went on to join IBJ in 1998, holding a variety of roles before achieving his MBA at Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley in 2009. One year later, in 1999, IBJ would agree to merge with two other founding banks to establish Mizuho Financial Group.
After achieving his MBA, Tsuchiya-san went on to concurrently work in the Asia Department and Global Corporate Co-ordination Department, where he was responsible for developing Mizuho’s business in Asia - a role that would see him relocate to Hong Kong and work all over Asia, gaining greater insight and understanding into Mizuho’s role as a global bank outside of Japan.
During this time, Tsuchiya-san supported the expansion of Mizuho’s branch network in Asia. Two projects that come to Tsuchiya-san’s mind are his role in the establishment of Mizuho Bank Malaysia - the first foreign bank licence opened for bidding in 35 years - and the establishment of multiple branches in India, and undertaking close discussions closely with the Central Banks in those countries.
Having engaged in varied work, from preparing hundreds of pages in applications, to organising meetings between top bank executives and government officials, Tsuchiya-san says, “I needed to understand Mizuho’s role on a global scale; I needed to demonstrate Mizuho’s expertise and edge in providing services to clients in specific countries and showcase how we stand out from our competitors, resulting in Mizuho's potential contribution to a country’s growth.”
Looking back on his formative experiences and challenges, Tsuchiya-san’s advice to those just starting their careers is short and to the point – “Understand the value of youth, take on more challenges, and don’t be afraid of failure.”
His role at Mizuho EMEA
In his current role as Head of Japanese Banking Europe, Tsuchiya-san is responsible for the business promotion and competitive enhancement of over 2000 Japanese companies across the EMEA region.
“By offering an analysis of industry trends and strategic business hypothesis, on top of macroeconomics and financial market situations, we are able to propose new and innovative ideas to our clients.”
Mitsutaka Tsuchiya,
Head of Japanese Banking Europe
“Our clients are often focussed on their own industry only; however, by offering an analysis of industry trends and strategic business hypothesis, on top of macroeconomics and financial market situations, we are able to propose new and innovative ideas to our clients,” he explains.
Tsuchiya-san states that it is difficult to differentiate most financial products or services dramatically. However, as a long-term relationship-orientated bank, the focus is on providing value added industry information and strategic business ideas by collaborating with Industry Research Department based on individual client needs.
“We need to understand the pain points and the targets of our clients so that we can provide them with tailor-made proposals, and capture investment and business opportunities for them.”
Less than six months into his role, Tsuchiya-san has spent most of his time meeting with clients across the region to deepen his knowledge on the role of Mizuho outside of Japan.
“Even though web-communication is common now, it’s important to meet clients face-to-face at key moments so that you can have a direct exchange of opinions and ideas - it also helps in deepening our business relationships.”
“Ultimately, my mission is to transform our banking business for Japanese corporates in the region,” says Tsuchiya-san.
Supporting Japanese Corporates in the EMEA region
When asked why the EMEA region is important for his clients, Tsuchiya-san states that EMEA is an advanced region in many key areas, including sustainability, technology, investment, and regulation.
“Many Japanese companies are looking to acquire that knowledge and experience and apply that within their own country or other regions to support their advancement.”
Relating back to Japan specifically, he says the energy transition, circular economy, and healthcare sector are of particular interest to Japanese corporates.
“Many Japanese companies are looking to acquire EMEA's knowledge and experience and apply that within their own country or other regions to support their advancement.”
Mitsutaka Tsuchiya,
Head of Japanese Banking Europe
Tsuchiya-san emphasises three main points for how his team is optimising their support for Japanese corporates: Mizuho’s Universal Bank, the global CIB (Corporate and Investment Banking) model, and Mizuho’s 2023 acquisition of M&A and restructuring advisory firm Greenhill.
In October 2023, Mizuho announced its intention to create a Universal Bank in the EU, bringing together its Banking and Securities business in the region, something that Tsuchiya-san says will be instrumental in Mizuho’s value added services approach.
“Our new single EU passport for employees, alongside our sector-based approach and integrated CIB model, will be critical in providing our customers with more sophisticated services.”
He continues, “by having one Regional Relationship Manager for each customer group across the EMEA region, we can make proposals and provide services in a more consistent manner. Our communication is smoother, information flows are clearer and faster, and I believe this efficiency enables us to improve our service level.”
Regarding the global CIB model, Tsuchiya-san says that his sector-based teams have already started working closely with stakeholders like Slava Slavinskiy, Head of Banking, EMEA, as well as counterparts in the Americas and Japan internally to provide enhanced service levels across the region.
“We are able to support Japanese corporates with both buy and sell side M&A activity in addition to DCM and ECM areas,” he explains. “As part of our global CIB model, we aim to connect Japanese corporates with European corporates going forward to further contribute to our clients’ business development.”
On his final point, Tsuchiya-san notes the importance of collaboration with the recently acquired Greenhill team and beyond.
“We have already begun to collaborate with Greenhill by pitching and visiting targeted clients together after we identified them across the region,” says Tsuchiya-san. “If a client is interested in these potential opportunities, it is important that we collaborate and take the initiative to win those deals.”