Shiro Murai, Founder and first Representative Director of the Murai SIIX Foundation, was also the visionary behind SIIX Corporation, where he served as President and later Chairman. He remained active in his endeavors throughout his life until his passing in March 2025.

After graduating from university, Murai began his career at Sakata Inx Corp. (formerly Sakata Shokai), a printing ink manufacturer. However, his ambitions extended beyond the ink industry. Driven by a spirit of innovation, he proposed launching diversified business ventures within the company, an early example of intrapreneurship. Despite lacking specific knowledge, experience, or capital, Murai championed what he called a “concept of zero”: the idea that having nothing can be a strength rather than a limitation, as constraints often hinder creativity. His approach focused on reaching optimal results quickly and exploring infinite possibilities.

In the late 1950s, Murai identified an untapped opportunity in exporting electronic components, an area overlooked by major trading houses at that time. With a creative observation that “INK (in Japanese, IN・KI) and ELECTRONICS (DEN・KI) differ by just one letter,” he took a bold step into the electronics trade. Focusing on Asia, particularly the Philippines, Murai simultaneously developed supplier and buyer networks, helping Japanese manufacturers expand overseas during Japan’s postwar economic boom. He believed business could thrive by simply connecting “needs” and “seeds,” establishing a unique business model he called the Global Business Organizer, creating value from nothing through strategic matching. This became the foundation of his lifelong career.

While his business grew globally, Murai always held a deep connection to his early experiences in Asia, where he had faced his toughest challenges. He often credited this period as formative and was determined to give back. Approaching retirement, he decided to donate his personal shares to establish a foundation that would continue his mission long after he was gone.

Though Murai passed away before witnessing the launch of the scholarship program, his vision lives on through the efforts of SIIX Corporation, the Murai SIIX Foundation, and the many young scholars who will benefit from his legacy. The Foundation remains committed to supporting and nurturing talented youth across Japan and ASEAN, with the belief that doing so will generate new value and contribute meaningfully to the global community.

The Murai SIIX Foundation