While the majority of companies in Japan do not have a team dedicated to making policy proposals, at Mercari, this is precisely the role our Public Policy Team fills. The first thing people tend to think of when it comes to their work is lobbying to influence legislature and government, but the Public Policy Team also plays an important role in the creation of new businesses and acceleration of innovation at Mercari.

We spoke with VP of Public Policy Noriaki Yoshikawa (@yoshikawa) and Public Alliance Manager under the Management Strategy Office Yurie Imaeda (@Vanessa-imaeda) to learn about the Public Policy Team’s vision and role in growing Mercari’s businesses, and the type of candidate who is ideal for the team.

The Public Policy Team is the node that connects business to society

—First, tell us about the role and day-to-day work of the Public Policy Team.

@yoshikawa: In a nutshell, we support the business with both offensive and defensive strategies as the node that connects Mercari to society. On the offensive side, our job is to help create new businesses as well as establish rules that will allow those businesses to grow stably.

Mercari is constantly taking on new challenges in various fields with our marketplace app, fintech products, on-demand labor service, and more to achieve our mission to “circulate all forms of value to unleash the potential in all people.” As we create new technologies and business models and release them into the world, oftentimes the laws and rules created for existing social systems do not cover them fully.

The Public Policy Team works to inform politicians and government officials on the latest technology and business trends and propose revisions to regulations in order to help Mercari provide its service to users smoothly.

Noriaki Yoshikawa (@yoshikawa)

@Vanessa-imaeda: These types of external-facing initiatives are probably what people think of when they hear “policy planning,” but I believe the work we do internally is extremely important, as well.

—Is that the defensive side of the job?

@Vanessa-imaeda: Precisely. In an ever-changing society, we see cases of technologies and services that faced no issues in the past now being abused for fraud, and similar concerns have been addressed toward us. If we see any such risks surfacing, it’s our job to address them and apply measures to our policies, products, and services.

As @yoshikawa just mentioned, we are a node—the team that connects Mercari’s businesses with society. We relay “information from the outside”—trends such as changes in the law and societal demands—to the company, and ensure that Mercari’s businesses are accepted by society at large. I believe that is also a part of the Public Policy Team’s mission.

—I see! What sort of members are on the team?

@yoshikawa: Many are former government officials with expertise in the field, but we also have former local assembly members, those who worked at private companies, and those who transferred internally from other teams. Our members come from diverse backgrounds.

Our team has to interact with stakeholders inside and outside of the company, so it’s an environment where someone who is capable of building rapport with a variety of people through thoughtful and thorough communicating can shine.

Driving new businesses via thorough understanding and building bonds

—In recent years, Mercari has launched new businesses one after another, from our bitcoin trading service to Mercari Hallo. Can you tell us specifically about the Public Policy Team’s role in creating new businesses?

@Vanessa-imaeda: Our team has two main roles in the creation of new businesses.

The first is to develop a thorough understanding of the new business or service and to conduct analysis. We will be communicating our business to external stakeholders, so we must deeply understand the business ourselves, first.

That’s why we work to understand what problems this business aims to solve for society, who the service is for, and what laws and guidelines are relevant to the business, not only by talking to members within the company, but by researching our competitors and looking into industry trade groups.

@yoshikawa: There are also trends we must pay attention to irrespective of industry, such as the protection of personal information and management of data. The Public Policy Team’s scope of involvement also depends on things like the type of business and industry and whether lobbying will be necessary. We conduct research both broadly and deeply to determine how the team should be involved.

—And what is the team’s second role?

@Vanessa-imaeda: Building bonds. The important thing when making policy proposals is to create a relationship of trust. We build relationships with industry trade groups, government ministries, and key individuals inside and outside the company to increase the number of stakeholders who resonate with the vision of our business and are willing to work toward achieving it with us.

—Could you share a specific example of how the Public Policy Team contributed to the creation of a new business?

@yoshikawa: The successful release of AI Credit provided by Merpay is one example.

We participated in a series of meetings where the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry discussed law reform and made proposals for specific credit evaluation methods and user protection policies. As a result of these efforts, the Installment Sales Act was revised, and today certified businesses are able to utilize AI credit evaluation to determine credit lines.

Although the process from proposal to law reform took nearly two years, I felt genuinely happy that a 10-year-old startup was able to accomplish such a feat, and the impact we made also motivated me to step up my game.

Leveraging expertise and trust to get the job done

—What do the two of you think is unique about the Public Policy Team, or what are the team’s strengths?

@Vanessa-imaeda: We consider there to be three things overall. The first is that our team is a collection of highly professional individuals. Lobbying is extremely challenging work. Even in a brand new field, we must be capable of identifying the right stakeholders to talk to and securing a meeting for them to hear us out. And that’s just the start line. If we’re able to explain the thought process behind our business and the value it brings to society, present a proposal with the specifics of how we would like them to cooperate with us, and get them to resonate with our ideas, that’s one job done.

I think the reason we are beginning to gain a foothold in the highly uncertain and challenging world of policy proposal is not only because of the relationships and trust we’ve established, but because Mercari is a company comprised of experts from all fields.

To propose policies, we need to collect information on the task at hand from various angles and perspectives, considering the law and corporate functions, and talking to PMs and engineers. When diving deep into issues with experts from various fields at Mercari, we often discover that the issue is one that applies to the industry, or even society, as a whole. I think an environment that allows for open discussion and sharing of issues and problems is an asset for discovering the seeds for policy proposal.

Yurie Imaeda (@Vanessa-imaeda)

@yoshikawa: The second is the relationships we hold with diverse stakeholders such as other companies, industry trade groups, and the government. We’ve continued to build these relationships and to build trust with a variety of stakeholders over a long period of time. I think this is a strength that is also one of the unique qualities of the Public Policy Team.

Thanks to the relationships we’ve built, we’re able to run initiatives with large-scale social impact, such as our collaboration with Yakult Sanyo and the cities of Akitakata and Miyoshi in Hiroshima Prefecture.

—And what is the third?

@yoshikawa: The fact that we as a company understand the importance of policy proposal.

Very few companies have a dedicated team for proposing policies. Yet, Fumiaki (Director and President of Mercari) placed the Public Policy Team under the direct report of the executive board in 2018, which had a powerful effect. It meant that the executives recognize the necessity and importance of policy proposal for the business.

Our work by its nature does not translate to readily visible business results. We work with laws and regulations, and even if the entire process goes smoothly, each initiative often takes over a year.

It’s not easy for companies to allocate resources to this sort of long-term initiative. That’s why I think the executive board recognizing its importance and reflecting it in the structure of the organization had such a key effect in fostering this understanding throughout the company.

@Vanessa-imaeda: To add to the topic of understanding within the company, I think it’s also an asset that other teams consider us an accessible resource. At Mercari, teams know they can consult the Public Policy Team if anything comes up. I think that publishing articles on our blog Merpoli has also helped people see the relevance of our work to theirs.

@yoshikawa: I’m grateful to be able to work in such an environment and want to continue working to fulfill the responsibilities our team holds moving forward. Especially now that we command a certain level of presence in the market, I would like to leverage the strengths of our company and contribute even further to the healthy development of our business.

Circulating value by providing hands-on feedback

—Tell us about how the Public Policy Team goes about rulemaking.

@Vanessa-imaeda: Our team recognizes that we play a role in only part of the rulemaking process.

Rules are created through the cumulative efforts of collaboration between stakeholders inside and outside of the company, and our foundational value around rulemaking is that if a rule is good for society, it’s good for our company, too.

With that in mind, let me address the topic. I feel like the societal trends around the domain of policy proposal are changing.

—How so?

@Vanessa-imaeda: Conventionally, the preconceived notion around laws and rules was that they are determined by the government, and that companies must conduct their business within the bounds of those rules. However, in recent years private companies too are considering laws and rules that should be in existence, speaking up, and are expected to be agile and active in pursing the creation of those rules.

With these societal changes, I feel like the importance of proposals made from the business perspective and the value of our team are increasing too.

—What would a proposal that can only come from having the perspective of a business look like?

@Vanessa-imaeda: Perhaps one that brings to light the reality of consumers and other stakeholders, gets the conversation started, and accelerates the development of society toward a more ideal state.

To make policy a reality, conversation is key. The government and businesses both have their own roles in contributing to that conversation. The role of government is to look at existing legal systems, thoroughly consider how to handle the issue at hand and the proposals of businesses, and discuss and adjust between various government ministries to make it happen.

The role of businesses is to provide hands-on feedback from those whom the rules are meant to serve. We collect and summarize real issues and situations that consumers and other stakeholders face, bring these to the government, and through conversation revise the rules so that they serve society better. I think this is one of the important roles that only we can play.

@yoshikawa: Another important role of businesses, besides making proposals and providing information, is to ensure laws and rules are understood by those they will affect after they have been enacted. The job isn’t done when a law or rule is put in place. It must be put to use by not just us, but society as a whole. Providing knowledge and insight into how these rules can be applied on the ground is another part of the value our team provides.
Enjoying uncertainty and taking the initiative to act

—What is the Public Policy Team’s vision for the future?

@Vanessa-imaeda: I think we’ve achieved a certain level of success through our activities until this point, proposing policies that involve the entire industry and move society forward. But I think we still have a role to play, and new challenges will continue to arise constantly.

@yoshikawa: This might sound a bit pessimistic, but the past does not guarantee the future. That’s why we can’t simply be complacent with the achievements we’ve made and the relationships we’ve built so far and must constantly aim higher and take on new challenges. I believe the Public Policy Team must continue to contribute toward the growth of the company and produce results as our business and organization become increasingly global.

—What kind of candidate would be able to unleash their potential on Mercari’s Public Policy Team?

@yoshikawa: I have a few traits in mind for this candidate. First, they should be someone who is able to think independently and move proactively to solve the issues that stand in front of them.

We are faced with a wide range of issues every day, and they’re not always straightforward. In the face of uncertain and challenging situations, they will be expected not to settle for solutions that only cater to one facet of the issue, but to look at the big picture, discuss and identify the root of the issue, and take initiative to propose and execute solutions.

In addition, the ideal candidate should constantly maintain a broad field of vision across issues not just within our company but in the industry and in society as a whole.

@Vanessa-imaeda: As mentioned earlier, the Public Policy Team is the node between the company and society, and is tasked with handling challenging communication as we propose improvements toward progress. High-stakes exchanges with stakeholders inside and outside of the company are part of the job.

If you can work together with the team and enjoy such an environment, we’d love to have you!