PARTNER STORY

All the partners who support Urawa Reds in various ways.
We will talk about the history of the partners and the Reds behind it, as well as their passion.

An indispensable presence in the history of Urawa Reds. Urawa Reds Red Diamonds would not exist without this partner company. That is Mitsubishi Motors.

It has a long history. In 1950, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Soccer Club, the predecessor of the Reds, was born. Participated in the Japan Soccer League, the predecessor of the J.

At that time, Mitsubishi Motors was the automobile division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In 1970, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation was established as a separate company, and in 1990, 20 years later, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Soccer Club was transferred to the Mitsubishi Motors Soccer Club.

Hirotaka Indo, General Manager of Mitsubishi Motors' Domestic Sales Division, explains why.

"I heard that the soccer team, which was at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was transferred to Mitsubishi Motors, which has direct contact with consumers, so that more people could support it."

The Reds have had a 30-year relationship with Mitsubishi Motors, and a 70-year relationship with the Mitsubishi Group. However, Indo continued, it is not just the history that has kept them as top partners.


"It's also because I empathize with Urawa Reds' philosophy. Within Urawa Reds' philosophy, there is a set of 'values we hold dear,' one of which is 'sincerity.' This is in common with Mitsubishi Motors' mission of 'acting with integrity as a trusted company.' We have a history of moving forward together, upholding the same ideals."


The Reds and Mitsubishi Motors have been partners for a long time, but an incident has occurred that has raised fears that their relationship may be dissolved.

In 2016, Mitsubishi Motors entered into a capital and business alliance with Nissan Motors. Nissan Motors is a major shareholder of Yokohama F･Marinos, and J.League club licensing rules prohibit two club teams from being in the same group. Therefore, Mitsubishi Motors had no choice but to end its direct relationship with the Reds. It was a difficult decision. "Still," continued Indo.

"My first priority has been to continue supporting Urawa Reds."

As a result, they established Diamond FC Partners Co., Ltd. through a joint investment with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Although it was an indirect way, they were able to continue to support the Reds. General Manager Indo spoke confidently as follows:

"Even though the management structure has changed, our feelings for Urawa Reds will not change. Together with all our fans and supporters, we will continue to do our utmost to support Urawa Reds."

Indo served as president of Kanto Mitsubishi Motors Sales Co., Ltd. (now East Japan Mitsubishi Motors Sales Co., Ltd.) from 2014 to 2018. The person who served as president of Kanto Mitsubishi Motors Sales Co., Ltd. before Indo was Keizo Fuchida, who served as the representative of the Reds from February 2014 to January 2019.

"Because of that, I felt really close to him, and he treated me really well."

Indo laughed as he said this and revealed that he felt the influence of the Reds when he was president of Kanto Mitsubishi Motors Sales Co., Ltd.

"Saitama Prefecture is one of our sales areas, and there are a lot of Reds fans and supporters there, some of whom are very enthusiastic. We really feel that our customers were pleased."

Furthermore, the Reds' influence seems to extend beyond relationships with customers to also be felt within the company.

"Some of our employees have said that they wanted to work for us because we are a partner company of Urawa Reds. Our employees are very proud to be a partner company of Urawa Reds. During Trial, the Reds are the talk of the town, and when we win, the whole company is in a cheering mood, which really energizes the company."

When asked about the appeal of the Reds, Indo answered first, "The passionate support of the fans and supporters." This is not just something that Indo himself feels, but something he has also heard from Osamu Masuko, former chairman of Mitsubishi Motors.

Former Chairman Mashiko, who passed away in August this year, spoke to the media in 2016, saying, "We will take appropriate measures to ensure that we do not violate the J.League regulations and that there will be no impact on the Reds." He was a close friend of not only the top team but also the ladies team. He was an indispensable figure in the history of Urawa Reds. General Manager Indo recalls:

"Former chairman Mashiko had said, 'If Urawa Reds Ladies win, let's celebrate,' and I heard that he actually had a dinner party with Reds Ladies players."

Former Chairman Mashiko passed away just over a month after the Nadeshiko League Division 1, which had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, began. Reds Ladies were in the midst of a winning streak. However, I'm sure that former Chairman Mashiko was in heaven watching Reds Ladies win the championship.

General Manager Indo, who knows the passion of former Chairman Mashiko, hopes that the Reds will continue to "stay strong." The Reds' philosophy includes the words "to create a strong and attractive team," and Mitsubishi Motors also sympathizes with this philosophy and wants to continue to provide strong and attractive cars.

One of them is the Eclipse Cross PHEV, which was announced and released on December 4th. Since releasing the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle, the i-MiEV, in 2009, Mitsubishi Motors has been a pioneer in the field of electric vehicles. The Eclipse Cross PHEV is the second PHEV (plug-in hybrid) SUV model, following the Outlander PHEV.

“We announced our medium-term management plan in August of this year, and we are trying to focus on eco-friendly vehicles by introducing new models by fiscal 2022. We are thinking of enhancing our lineup of vehicles that are excellent in terms of

2020 has been an unprecedented year. The impact of the new coronavirus was not small not only for the sports world, the Reds, but also for Mitsubishi Motors. "eK Cross Space" and "eK Space" were announced and released in March, but the new coronavirus infection spread just after that, and it was not possible to attract customers as expected.

However, Mitsubishi Motors wants to overcome this situation together with the Reds and their fans and supporters.

“Mitsubishi Motors would like to continue to support Urawa Reds Red Diamonds in order to establish their football. Let's overcome this difficult situation together."

The bond will continue to be strong. Urawa Reds and Mitsubishi Motors will continue to run together, with the aim of continuing to build a strong and attractive team and eco-friendly and attractive cars with sincerity.