Japan celebrates past success

By Yuri Kageyama
Associated Press

Several hundred factory workers waved as they formed the letters "VHS" in the courtyard of the Victor Co. plant in Yokohama, west of Tokyo. The workers took part in the filming of the climactic scene from the "The Sun Will Rise Again," about how Victor beat mighty Sony to develop the standard for home video machines. Associated Press

Cameras are rolling on the rooftop of the Victor Co. of Japan plant, shooting the climactic scene from "The Sun Will Rise Again" — a film about how a relatively small Japanese company went on to beat mighty Sony Corp.'s Betamax and develop the world standard for the home video machine.

The story of VHS, which stands for "video home system," is 30 years old. But it's striking a chord with Japan today when this nation has lost much of its confidence of the past, having battled a decade-long downturn that has worsened in the past year.

Crushed by the global slump and competition from Asian rivals, Japan's electronics powerhouses, including Victor's parent, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., are sinking into deep losses.

"Maybe the victory of those times can help rekindle energy today," said Hideo Shimizu, a 48-year-old Victor worker who was thrilled to play his little part, helping make the letter "S."

The scene is based on a real-life event at Victor, the company famous for the emblem of the dog listening with a cocked head to a recording of its master's voice. The human letters were created in praise of section chief Shizuo Takano, fondly remembered at Victor as "Mr. VHS."

The VHS saga has inspired many in Japan. The story was an episode for a recent hit TV show about the heroes of Japan's industrialization. The new film is set for release here in June.

"The film shows both the limitations and the potential of the individual," said Masaaki Sato, who wrote the book on which the film is based. "It's all about people, and that hasn't changed."

Those who remember Takano say he was the perfect boss — unpretentious, hardworking and passionate. He despised favoritism and office politics.

Before the arrival of VHS, Takano's section had been branded as outcasts "by the window," the Japanese phrase for has-been, unproductive employees.

Takano, then 47, knew his section was doomed, bleeding losses from a disastrous industrial model of the videotape recorder that was flooding the company with complaints from clients. Pressures were high for job cuts.

Takano took his last chance. He chose a handful of engineers to secretly begin developing the platform for a consumer video deck although the common wisdom those days was that no one could beat Sony.

In 1975, Sony's Betamax video recorder went on sale, beating VHS by a year. But Sony was not as open with sharing its technology with rival companies as was Takano, who believed the standard had to become widespread if Victor hoped to win in the long run.

Sony's mistake proved fatal and it lost the video format war. The technology used in the millions of video recorders around the world is Victor's.

And Takano did it all, admirers say, without laying off a single worker.

Ken Watanabe, the actor who plays Takano's initially skeptical sidekick, says the message is that every ordinary employee has a crack at a dream.

Whether the success of VHS can be replayed remains dubious.

Even VHS hasn't been enough for Victor. The company has lost money two of the past three fiscal years and is forecasting losses for the year that just ended March 31.

And with the advent of DVD, the bulkier video is rapidly growing obsolete. Victor workers are the first to admit they must continue to lead in new technologies.

But Takano's supporters say his philosophy of believing in his workers remains especially relevant today when companies can no longer churn out commodities and must nurture creativity.

When Takano died in 1992 at 67, his hearse drove through the Victor plant in Yokohama. A crowd of workers came out to bid farewell.

Kiyoshi Sasabe, director of "The Sun Will Rise Again," hopes to recapture some of that feeling with his film.

"I hope people see this film and leave the theater feeling that maybe there's hope for tomorrow."