Asia is undergoing a rapid transformation. While economic growth has made people’s lives more affluent, various problems are now manifesting at once in this region, such as economic disparity and environmental destruction. In addition, rural areas are experiencing a shortage of manpower due to the outflow of the younger generation to urban areas. In order to compensate for this, there is an urgent need to introduce agricultural machinery, which will lead to more efficient production, lighter workloads, and a stable supply of food for the growing population. These have been long-standing problems in Japan since its own period of rapid economic growth, and they are progressing at a dizzying pace in Asia.

Kubota has a long history of involvement in Asia for good reason. Not only is this region located in close proximity to Japan, but we also share the same thriving culture of rice farming. Starting with Taiwan in 1960, the company established sites for its business activities in Malaysia in 1968, Indonesia in 1972, Thailand in 1978, the Philippines in 1988, and China in 1998. The reason for this is that we believed we could help solve a variety of problems by utilizing the comprehensive capabilities we had cultivated in the Japanese rice farming market to provide support tailored to the specific economic, cultural, and agricultural conditions of different countries and regions.

The agricultural harvest area in Asia is many times larger than that of Japan, and has even greater potential for the future. With a total system that includes not only agricultural machinery, but also services and consulting, we will continue to work hand-in-hand with local farmers to contribute to the development of countries and regions in Asia, including the enrichment of rural areas, encouraging growth and stability in each country and region’s economy, and the improvement of food self-sufficiency.