Panasonic Returns to Founder's Roots with AI and Social-Operations Strategy
Panasonic Holdings announced in May 2026 a group growth strategy rooted in founder Konosuke Matsushita's "Meichi" concept, focusing on AI infrastructure and social operations with a target horizon of 2032. President Yuki Kusumi said the company operates according to the founder's basic management principles. The strategy builds on Matsushita's 1932 ideal of material and spiritual prosperity and his tap-water philosophy. It follows major changes since Matsushita's death in 1989, notably Kunio Nakamura's 2001 structural reform, which re-examined everything except the founder's business philosophy.
Panasonic Holdings announced in May 2026 a group growth strategy that incorporates the concept of "Meichi" (knowing one's mission) attributed to founder Konosuke Matsushita. President Yuki Kusumi said the company is "managed according to the basic management principles established by the founder." The strategy focuses on two growth areas — AI infrastructure and social operations — with targets set for realisation in Reiwa 14 (2032).
"Meichi" derives from the ideal of "oneness of the material and the spiritual" declared by Konosuke Matsushita in 1932, envisioning an ideal society of shared material and spiritual prosperity. He also advanced the "tap-water philosophy," arguing that daily necessities should be supplied in abundance and at low cost, like running water, to eliminate poverty. The growth strategy outlines a concrete path toward the 100th anniversary of the "Meichi" declaration, with AI infrastructure and social operations as the core development directions.
After Matsushita's death in 1989, the company's operating environment changed markedly. In 2001, then-president Kunio Nakamura, experiencing the company's first loss since its founding, implemented structural reform under a "destruction and creation" policy. He declared that "everything other than the founder's management philosophy would be re-examined" and overhauled mechanisms such as the divisional system established by the founder.