Camera expert turns his focus to rugby

Fujio Mitarai is in New Zealand during the World Cup to learn how to run the rugby tournament in 2019. Photo / Richard Robinson

Fujio Mitarai, the head of Japanese multinational Canon, is undergoing rugby immersion during a five-day visit to New Zealand.

The chairman of the company with sales of US$45 billion ($53.8 billion) is also head of the organising committee for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, to be held in Japan.

He is among the first of a number of top-ranking global executives who will be in the country during the next six weeks, although his visit is aimed at soaking up as much about running a rugby tournament as possible.

"I'm here to study and see and learn from the organisational aspect and the running of the event."

Mitarai helped turn Canon around by focusing on profit rather than volume and, as a relative newcomer to rugby, has been appointed to the World Cup job for his business expertise. But he is keen to learn more about rugby during his short stay.

He met New Zealand organisers and volunteers on Thursday.

"I had the great opportunity to get first-hand input about what is going on so it's been very helpful for me," he said.

On Thursday he watched Japanese parliamentarians play their French counterparts and will be at North Harbour Stadium when the national sides from each country clash tonight. In 2009 he had a taste of test rugby when he saw the All Blacks defeat Australia in Tokyo.

"It was moving, overwhelming - I thought it was an art form," he said.

In New Zealand, Canon claims more than 50 per cent of the camera market.

But in Japan especially, Canon and Nikon are facing intense competition from Sony and Panasonic which have developed lighter, cheaper mirrorless cameras to take on the traditional single lens reflex cameras. All camera-makers also face competition from smart phones.

Mitarai said the global consumer market for cameras had been strong, growing by up to 10 per cent year on year, until the global financial crisis hit in 2008. There would be continued pressure on prices.

"We will continue to have fierce competition - I do foresee that prices might come down for some time."

He saw potential for growth in developing the video capability of SLR cameras that had brought down the cost of film-making.

Fujio Mitarai
* Chairman of Canon.
* Aged 75.
* Worked at Canon since 1961.
* Named as one of the world's top 30 chief executives by Barrons Magazine for the past four years.
* Former chairman of Japan's most powerful business lobby, the Japan Business Federation.

The Canon group
* Last year, the Canon Group generated US$45 billion ($53.8 billion).
* More than 167,000 employees worldwide, including 230 in New Zealand.