Shingo Kunieda is a global legend in the wheelchair tennis world who has become synonymous with the phrase, "I am the strongest." Kunieda was still ranked No.1 in the world when he retired in 2023 after achieving countless milestones. Now, he has embarked on a new challenge in the United States. Likewise, NEC—a fervent supporter of wheelchair tennis for over thirty years—has constantly sought new challenges in the 125 years since its establishment. Recently, NEC President and CEO Takayuki Morita and Shingo Kunieda sat down to discuss embracing new challenges and continuing to change.

──In December 2024, the discussion between Takayuki Morita and Shingo Kunieda at NEC's head office began with the two smiling as they exchanged pleasantries, saying, "It has been far too long!" and "Long time, no see!" Kunieda currently resides in the U.S., where he is learning English and training wheelchair tennis players.

Takayuki Morita: "I am blown away by the fact that you retired while still ranked No.1 in the world. Word has it that you have embarked on a new challenge."

Shingo Kunieda: "One of the main reasons I took on this challenge was my desire to spread the word about wheelchair tennis to as many people as possible. Despite being the birthplace of wheelchair tennis, the U.S. has no professional players. I want to see if this can be changed starting with the junior generation and if I have what it takes to make it happen. While I had given up on learning English while I was still playing as a professional because I wanted to focus on matches, I began to wonder if studying the language would help me expand my horizons in terms of what I wanted to accomplish. However, even with daily study, I find that there are times when I have to say the same thing many times before the junior players understand me."

Takayuki Morita: "I think that if you shift your focus from 'speaking English' to 'achieving something in English,' you should be able to get your gist across. Even if you use broken English, the other person will try their best to listen to what you are saying. For you, English is a means to bring about change in wheelchair tennis in the U.S. As long as you are working towards a goal, I am confident you will succeed in developing communication skills in the truest sense of the term."

──Having gone from being an undisputed champion to living in a completely different environment, Kunieda continues seeking new challenges as he deals with failure daily. What drives him?

Shingo Kunieda: "After retiring, I realized how difficult it is to have a goal. Once I no longer had any matches on my schedule, I didn't know what to do with my days. I tend to seek out tension, which goes hand in hand with having a goal. I feel more like myself when I have a challenge in front of me than when I'm home with nothing to do. Knowing that I have failed many times and successfully bounced back from those failures, I spend my days engaging in trial and error."

Takayuki Morita: "In business, profits are generated because there are risks. That's why risks should be managed rather than avoided. A company's ability to manage risk is what determines its strength. In this ever-changing world, a lot is going on behind the scenes, so you'll get left behind if you keep doing the same thing today that you did yesterday. That's why you need to take risks to bring about change. It's healthy to feel anxious about things being the same as yesterday."

──Change. The NEC Group and Shingo Kunieda have maintained a keen awareness of the importance of change in their journeys thus far.

Takayuki Morita: "The other day, one of our outside directors said to me, 'It's rather drastic how NEC has changed its business so dramatically over the past 20 years.' Change and challenges are at the core of the digital industry, and the lineup of major companies in this industry is changing rapidly. While it seems everything has been smooth sailing throughout your career, Mr. Kunieda, I'm sure there have been various changes, challenges, and obstacles beneath the surface that you've had to overcome."

Shingo Kunieda: "If you maintain the status quo when you're No.1, you'll lose your spot before you know it. I stayed ranked at No.1 because I remained focused on making changes, taking on new challenges, and improving. Those ranked second and third have experience in losing. This allows them to analyze what areas they lacked in against their opponents. Once you reach the top, however, you lose sight of who you are chasing. This makes it difficult to practice, and all you can really do is analyze yourself. It's not a battle relative to others, but rather a battle with your absolute self. Once I claimed the No.1 spot, losing became valuable to me because I viewed each loss as a chance."
 
"Constantly seeking challenges is fun. You can't keep growing if you don't keep changing. By undertaking challenges, we generate energy and innovation. Over the years, I've tried out various styles of play. There were even moves previously thought to be impossible in a wheelchair that I found to be relatively easy once I gave them a try. Trying something new enables you to gain understanding and insight, whether as an athlete, an individual, or a company."

Takayuki Morita: "Just like people, companies have nationalities. As a company originating in Japan, the NEC Group wants to become a global company. While there are certainly handicaps to being a company of Japanese nationality, including language, market scale, and regulations, you can also take advantage of the strengths you do possess to undertake challenges. To make Japanese nationality a valuable asset, it is vital to ensure that as an organization you have greater capabilities and that employees take on challenges. I want the NEC Group to become a company that has, as Mr. Kunieda put it, 'the ability to keep changing.'"

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