A Different PathMy initial motivation for entering this world was not a grand vision for social transformation, as many might assume. To be frank, it was because I simply "could not picture myself working as a typical salaried employee."To study at university, graduate, and join a company—I just couldn't feel a direct connection between that stable path and the life of financial independence and freedom that I personally desired. This vague yet persistent sense of "discomfort" was the beginning of everything for me.A Lifelong "Discomfort"Looking back, ever since I was a child, I was drawn to the systems and numbers behind things, yet I often felt a sense of dissonance with the "way things were."I've been interested in environmental issues since elementary school, and in my school projects, I would analyze the annual consumption of electricity and water. But even back then, the phrase "environmentally friendly" never quite sat right with me. It seemed that many environmental activities demanded patience and sacrifice, and I wondered if that was truly "people-friendly."This spirit of inquiry led me to study environmental engineering at Chiba University's Faculty of Engineering. However, the event that definitively changed my life was not a lesson in a laboratory, but the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011.The Turning Point: A Crisis of InformationThe earthquake and the subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The information flowing from the media each day was, due to time constraints, inevitably fragmented. It was impossible to grasp what was true and what the full picture was. I felt an unprecedented sense of crisis about the problem of "information fragmentation" when society faces a major threat. This ignited the core principle of my actions: "to not leave a sense of discomfort as it is."I took a leave of absence from university and began working for an internet media company. My job was to live-stream the press conferences of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), word for word, and to continue archiving them as a "raw record" online. It was an action driven by a single-minded desire to alleviate the societal anxiety caused by fragmented information by providing complete, primary source data.Convergence: Opportunity Meets PartnershipThrough that work, I remained on the front lines of Japan's energy problems. Then, I learned that the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) system for renewable energy would begin in July 2012. This was a historic "opportunity" to change Japan's energy structure.Around that time, through a university contact, I reconnected with Takeshi Magami, who would later become the CEO of Chiba Eco-Energy. He, too, from a public policy perspective, had a strong awareness of the issues facing the future of Japan's energy and society.My personal sense of "discomfort," the major "challenges" facing society, the "opportunity" that heralded a new era, and the "partnership" with a comrade who shared my aspirations—at that moment, all the dots of my life connected into a single line. We decided to start a company together.My Guiding Philosophy"Never leave a sense of discomfort as it is." I now believe that all of my actions—from taking a leave from university to tackle the problem of information, to choosing the even more difficult path of energy and agriculture with my partners—have been driven by this one value.I believe that while cherishing empathy, we must live in a society that values logic and evidence. And, as the old proverb says, "Manners are known when food and clothing are sufficient." I hypothesize that only when people have enough food and energy to live satisfactorily can society become truly tolerant and constructive.Our business may be a grand social experiment to prove that hypothesis.The path is by no means easy, but with the spirit of "doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate," I intend to continue running down this path to the very end.