# 10月19日（月）：ヒューリック、教育シフト／ダイキンの盆踊り／ニデックが役員責任調査報告書 - Show: 日経ビジネス　モーニングニュース - Published: 2026-10-18 - Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1786590822_862e07f56a25.html - Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBP2544619881.mp3 - Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary. Major real estate company Hulic (ヒューリック) is pushing aggressively into education and other fields outside its core business under a diversification strategy led by Chairman Nishiura (西浦). At Daikin Industries (ダイキン工業), the world's largest air conditioning manufacturer, an annual Bon Odori festival at the Yodogawa plant draws more than 1,000 employees — a tradition that looks wasteful on paper but is credited with sustaining the company's organizational strength. And Nidec (ニデック) has disclosed that it received a director liability investigation report on October 16, 2026, with the central question being whether the document holds founder Nagamori Shigenobu (永守重信) accountable. ## What this episode answers ### What criteria does Hulic apply when pursuing entry into non-core businesses like education? Hulic targets companies that maintain lean, elite staffing, operate with a clearly differentiated model, and can grow self-sufficiently without outside support — the same efficiency-first discipline that defines its real estate core. ### What is the Bon Odori at Daikin's Yodogawa plant, and what scale does it reach? Each summer, young employees leave the floor during working hours to prepare for the festival; on the day itself, more than 1,000 employees gather to entertain visitors — an event with no direct connection to production but regarded as foundational to Daikin's strength. ### What is the central focus of the director liability investigation report received by Nidec? The central focus is whether the report holds founder Nagamori Shigenobu — the company's long-dominant former honorary chairman — accountable; the contents have not yet been made public. ### What significance does Daikin's Bon Odori tradition hold for the company? Despite appearing wasteful on its face, the tradition is said to have built Daikin's organizational strength over many years, serving as the core of the company's culture. ### How did Nidec's third-party committee conclude on Nagamori Shigenobu's role in the accounting fraud? The third-party committee concluded that 'no facts were found establishing that Nagamori directed or led the accounting fraud,' though the director liability committee's report remains undisclosed and a final judgment is still unknown. ## Article ## Hulic's "Committed Shift" into Education, Led by Chairman Nishiura Major real estate company Hulic is rapidly pushing into business domains well outside its core operations. A new Nikkei Business series puts a spotlight on the effort, centering on Chairman Nishiura's decision to pursue a full-scale entry into the education sector. The criteria Hulic applies when evaluating acquisition or entry targets are deliberately narrow. The company seeks out businesses that maintain a lean, high-caliber workforce without adding headcount, operate under a clearly differentiated model, and are capable of growing under their own power without relying on external support. In Chairman Nishiura's view, the same relentless focus on efficiency that has defined Hulic's real estate business is what will give rise to new revenue streams able to survive the competition ahead. Entering education — a field that bears little resemblance to real estate — is described in the series as a "committed shift," an expression that underscores the strength of the chairman's personal conviction behind the move. ## Daikin's Yodogawa Plant Bon Odori — A "Wasteful" Tradition with More Than 1,000 Participants Daikin Industries is the world's largest manufacturer of air conditioning equipment, and the Yodogawa plant (淀川製作所) is one of its flagship facilities. Yet every summer, something that looks decidedly un-factory-like takes place there: younger employees begin disappearing from the floor during working hours — not for client calls or training sessions, but to help prepare for the annual Bon Odori festival. By the day of the event, more than 1,000 employees have gathered to welcome and entertain visitors. The activity has no direct bearing on the plant's production output and, judged purely by operational logic, appears to be a conspicuous waste of time. A new Nikkei Business series — "Ultra Soul Resounds: Daikin's Bon Odori" — pushes back on that reading entirely. The series contends that this tradition is, in fact, the very thing that has built and sustained Daikin's organizational strength over many years. The bonds that form between employees through the festival, and the sense of collective identity it reinforces, are qualities that no production figure can measure — yet the series suggests they are inseparable from what makes Daikin competitive. ## Nidec Receives Director Liability Report — Founder Nagamori at the Center On October 16, 2026, Nidec disclosed that it had received an investigation report from an external director liability investigation committee, a body the company had established back in March of that year. The question drawing the most attention is how the report handles accountability for Nagamori Shigenobu, Nidec's founder and the towering figure who effectively ran the company for decades as honorary chairman. As of now, the contents of the report have not been made public, leaving the specifics unknown. What has already been established is that a separately constituted third-party committee completed its own inquiry into the accounting fraud scandal and concluded: "No facts were found establishing that Nagamori directed or led the accounting fraud." The pivotal question now is whether the director liability investigation committee will align with that finding — or reach a different conclusion. ## Other Notable Stories in the Nikkei Business Digital Edition Elsewhere in the digital edition, there is a story about an optical components manufacturer that has spent 40 years honing its core technology and is now aiming to capitalize on the wave of demand generated by AI — described in the article as the company's "third big wave." There is also reporting on the credit risk associated with cloud infrastructure company CoreWeave. A note of caution: certain company names and figures were not clearly audible in the original podcast recording, so for precise details readers should refer directly to the full text of the digital edition. ## Takeaways - Hulic is aggressively diversifying into non-core fields such as education, guided by strict criteria centered on lean staffing, clear differentiation, and self-sustaining growth. - Daikin's annual Bon Odori at the Yodogawa plant, drawing more than 1,000 employees, is a seemingly inefficient tradition long regarded as the bedrock of the company's organizational strength. - Nidec has received its director liability investigation report but has yet to disclose its contents, with all attention on how it addresses accountability for founder Nagamori Shigenobu.