Our Predecessors' Determination―Do What We Are Required to Do

In 1927, four years after the release of the Excel bicycle lamp (bullet-shaped battery-powered bicycle lamp), Konosuke Matsushita developed a square-shaped compact bicycle lamp that can be carried like a lantern.
The lamp, named National Lamp by considering it to be a necessity for the nation's people, saw sales increase at an accelerated pace. By 1930, monthly production exceeded 200,000 units, and monthly sales of dry batteries also grew rapidly, surpassing 500,000 pieces.
Batteries for the National Lamp had been purchased from a dedicated manufacturer, Okada Battery Company in Tokyo, but its supply fell short of meeting the increasing demand. Konosuke then commissioned production at Komori Dry Battery Works in Osaka. In 1931, he acquired the company and began in-house production of dry batteries.
National Lamp sales further increased. As its name implied, the National Lamp was literally a lamp for the people, illuminating even the remote mountain areas of Japan. Moreover, dry batteries became closely associated with the National brand by many people. There is a report that monthly sales reached 3 million pieces at their peak before World War II.
The increase in dry battery sales driven by the National Lamp contributed to the development of Japan's dry battery industry. The History of the Japanese Dry Battery Industry (Japanese only), when published in 1960, offered praise as follows.
If we refer to Sakizo Yai (1864-1927, the inventor of the dry battery) as the founder of Japan's dry battery industry, here is why we refer to Konosuke Matsushita as the father of the industry's restoration.

In 1931, Matsushita Electric started in-house production of dry batteries to expand National Lamp sales. Even after the mass production launch, battery use remained limited to bicycle lamps and flashlights for a long time.
To overcome such a plateau and expand demand, the Dry Battery Business Division stood up in 1955, the year after the release of the promising National Hyper.
"We need to develop appliances to increase battery demand. Let's expand the scope of battery use from light to heat, sound, and power!" They started the development of battery-operated products with this determination. First, they focused on heat with a battery-operated gas lighter. In those days, people lit gas ranges with matches, which sometimes became moist and wouldn't light if their hands were wet from kitchen work. The gas lighter, which eliminated this inconvenience, became a blockbuster and was bought by two million households in one and a half years.
Masao Funahashi, who served as the business division director and sales division director at Matsushita Battery Industrial, reflected upon the gas lighter development.
"A gas lighter uses two batteries, so a total of four million batteries will be used by two million households. If used 15 times a day, batteries must be replaced four times a year. As a result, 16 million batteries will be used a year. The annual battery demand was 100 million for lamps and flashlights, accordingly, the gas lighter development generated as much as 16% of the annual demand in one go."
Beginning with gas lighters, various battery-operated products were developed, including battery-operated clocks, automatic gas ranges, personal safety alarms, and bath alarms. These products significantly increased battery demand.

During the 1960s, Matsushita Electric successively expanded its overseas manufacturing operations in Asia, Latin America, and other regions, led by dry batteries. National Peruana, founded in Lima, the capital of Peru, in 1966, was one of the overseas manufacturing companies. Young Toshiro Yamada was appointed managing director of the company at the age of 31.
To Yamada leaving for Peru, Executive Vice President Arataro Takahashi, who was overseeing overseas operations at the time and was called the promoter of the Basic Business Philosophy said, "Choose the right approach according to the Basic Business Philosophy and then proceed with your work. Do your best with the belief that your work will be beneficial for Peru and, ultimately, for our company."
On the factory site, Yamada put up a notice saying, "This is a Peruvian company. We will contribute to Peru's development" to communicate his company's mission. Furthermore, he took drastic actions to avoid lagging behind a US manufacturer who had already begun factory construction.
Lima rarely has rain. "We can start operations in a factory without a roof." Guided by this concept, he postponed the roofing process, managing to put batteries on sale a week earlier than the competitor.
The labor laws of Peru at that time mandated a lunch break of four hours in the summer and three hours in the winter, which interfered with efficient operations. He decided to address this issue. While improving the well-being of employees by providing lunch and subsidizing evening class tuition, he repeatedly lobbied the authorities and the 45-minute lunch break was eventually permitted. Employees were also grateful for the breakthrough to eliminate an outdated practice. Every time he returned to Japan temporarily, Konosuke Matsushita and Takahashi asked Yamada the following questions.
"Is your company helping the country?" "Are the Peruvian people satisfied with the products?" and "Are the employees working energetically?"