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Our employees

01
Noboru WakatsukiDepartment Manager, Sales Department

Meeting various customer requests quickly with extensive stocks of
high-quality black wagyu beef and advanced processing skills.

I work primarily in sales to hotels in Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures. I chiefly propose products in menu preparation for hotel restaurants and wedding and banquet halls.
It is not unusual for a wedding hall to make menu decisions at least half a year in advance. They also prepare food in large quantities. It seems to me that one of our greatest strengths is our extensive stock of high-quality beef perfect for a special occasion like wedding day. I think that the cooperation between different sections in Maruyoshi Shoji, such as the discriminating judgment of President Hirai and the inventory control skills of foreperson Hirayama, plays an important role in our ability to maintain stocks ready to meet demand at all times, instead of merely gathering together what we need after receiving an order. Another strength is the way we can meet precise processing needs, including not only large blocks of meat but also slices of varying thickness and meat cut into small portions.
We began having special sales to the general public after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. These continue today at a monthly pace. On the day of a sale, our entire warehouse becomes a marketplace, and employees work together as vendors. I too take part in these sales, and it's so refreshing and encouraging to hear direct feedback from customers telling us that the beef they purchased before was so delicious that they're looking forward to enjoying our meat again. We deal mainly in black wagyu heifers. Learning in person from these sales how many people love the taste of heifer beef is inspirational for future sales activities.

02
Takashi NohiraManager, Quality Control Section

Realizing safe, reliable meat processing through JFS-B certification,
FSM, HACCP, and good manufacturing practice.

Maruyoshi Shoji earned a JFS-B certificate in 2021. JFS-B is a food safety standard developed in Japan. It has requirements in three areas food safety management systems (FSM), hazard control (HACCP), and good manufacturing practice (GMP). Similar standards in other countries include FSSC 22000 and the international standard ISO 22000. I suppose that JFS-B differs from the ISO standard mostly by incorporating GMP for food products. I see JFS-B as a stricter standard.
We worked side by side with Earth Environmental Service Co., Ltd. (Yuki Nakamura, at right in photo) over a long period to earn this certification. We also began to consider HACCP certification before earning JFS-B, and even earlier than 2018 we launched a cleaning and sterilization process to keep general live bacteria to no more than 1.0×10×53, in line with our own internal standards.
As a result, we have earned a reputation as a leader in the meat industry, in both health and safety initiatives and JFS-B certification. Not a few of the requirements for processing clean, safe meat concern fundamental activities, such as maintaining cleanliness and keeping things tidy and in order. As Maruyoshi Shoji employees, all of us will continue to devote ourselves to the safe, reliable meat processing that underlies our products' quality.

03
Tsugio HirayamaFactory Manager, Manufacturing Department

Consistently meeting customers' expectations through sanitation and inventory control,
while training the employees to guide Maruyoshi Shoji into the future.

My work as plant foreperson can be divided into two main categories. One is sanitation management, and the other is inventory control. In sanitation management, how clean we keep the meat-processing environment is even more important than checking the meat itself. We inspect inside the plant thoroughly after processing, to make sure that no meat scraps remain on the floor and there are no cracks or scratches on the walls that could let in bacteria.
Inventory control also is an important job. We check to make sure that we are maintaining stocks to meet the quality and quantity requirements of regular customers and delivering these in customers' requested forms, while also keeping a constant eye on general inventories. Customers have their own individual needs in areas such as aging methods and periods and taste preferences, and it is essential to get these right.
I have been with Maruyoshi Shoji for 40 years. When I joined the company, it still was a young, small butcher shop with only about seven employees. Since then, we have grown rapidly to where we now handle everything from the beef carcass stage. We also have a staff of highly skilled meat cutters. I have one more responsibility: to raise the skill level of our next generation of employees. I will strive for an environment in which all of us can grow together, sharing with young staff not only the quality demanded by customers and the president but also their visions for the future.

04
Basnet KuberSection Chief,
Manufacturing Department

Meeting even detailed cutting and processing needs through skilled craftsmanship.
Our flexibility to handle even orders in small lots is another of our strengths.

Our job is to turn cattle raised with care by producers unto beef and cut it to customers' desired cuts, sizes, and weights, all while maintaining its high quality. We believe that one of the things that makes Maruyoshi Shoji unique is our ability to handle everything from splitting a beef carcass to carving it into small cuts of meat.
Quality beef is easy to cut. Its fat and tendons are tender, and the meat has a solidity and roundness about it. Put another way, meat that's hard to cut tends to have tough fat and tendons and a limp, moist texture. Since joining Maruyoshi Shoji, we have been impressed by the way its meat is so easy to cut, and that impression has grown stronger over the years. From a meat cutter's point of view, the meat seems to be getting even higher in quality.
In processing meat, we pay close attention to the quality of the yield. We process it with care, out of respect for the life of the cattle and to bring smiles to customers' faces. We are able to handle even small lots and precise requirements. Feel free to contact us about your wagyu beef needs.

05
Hiroki TakahashiChief Staff, Quality Control Section,
Manufacturing Department

Checking final products for any impurities,
to deliver the safest, highest-quality meat.

I work in quality control. In this process, cut, vacuum-packed meat flows from the cutting room to the inspection room, where we use metal detectors to inspect it for any impurities.
Once we have ensured that there are no impurities, we attach traceable levels to the products and record their data. Occasionally, a fragment of bone remaining in the meat from the boning process may tear the bag. At such times, we check closely for any breakage or holes in the vacuum seal.
I joined Maruyoshi Shoji after starting my career in another industry. If I may say so myself, in working with meat everyday I have learned how to sense high quality, and I have picked up a lot from the skilled craftspeople who handle our quality meat with such care. Since earning JFS-B certification, all of us have been even more thorough about sanitation management. We will continue to make improvements, even in the smallest details, to deliver high-quality beef in even better conditions.