Sheer frustration at the inconvenience of everyday shopping led Toshifumi Suzuki in 1973 to set up a company to operate the Seven-Eleven chain of convenience stores in Japan.

That was half a century ago and, since then, shoppers have used the outlets without thinking simply because they are so “convenient,” says Suzuki, who currently serves as honorary adviser to Seven & i Holdings Co., the parent company.

In a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun, the 91-year-old entrepreneur shared his thoughts on the indispensability of convenience stores to Japan and to himself personally.

Excerpts of the interview follow:

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Question: I heard that you set up the convenience store chain in the 1970s while many people stated that small shops wouldn’t survive. Would you elaborate?

Suzuki: I happened to visit a store of the 7-Eleven chain during a business tour of the United States.

Many people told me there was no sense in setting up a chain of small stores in Japan, which already had streets of small shops, unlike in the United States, where there were big shopping centers.

I went ahead with my plan nonetheless, and I think history shows that people were not necessarily satisfied with the streets of small shops as few things around them were very convenient. I think that has been demonstrated by the fact there are so many convenience stores now.

Q: Five decades ago, rice balls were homemade delicacies. But now I’ve been told that as many as 2.1 billion rice balls are now selling annually at Seven-Eleven outlets around Japan. Did you personally come up with the idea of selling rice balls at your stores?

A: Yes. People simply did not imagine in those days that rice balls, which were usually made at home, could be offered for sale at a store.

Bread was on sale at 7-Eleven outlets in the United States. I thought, if that’s the case, we could do the same thing with rice balls and other cooked food that appeals to Japanese tastes.

But Japanese people were not eating rice balls every day. Even in those days, I think children’s excursions and field days, and lunch for farm workers, were about the only occasions for eating them.

Q: ATMs began to be installed at your stores in the 2000s, which was also groundbreaking. What can you tell our readers about that decision?

A: Teller windows at banks are open only from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m., and only on weekdays into the bargain. What else would be more inconvenient and frustrating?

Most company employees are working during those hours. The idea was their full-time homemaker wives could withdraw cash as needed. But it didn’t strike me as very logical.

People, after all, tend to think along the lines of established notions. I simply had this novel idea about what could be made more convenient at the time. At no time did I ever fancy competing with existing banks.

Q: Rice balls have since become a typical food item of Japan that can be readily bought over the counter for consumption. ATMs are now available 24/7 for withdrawing cash and topping up to make cashless payments. I realize that convenience stores have greatly changed our lives. What are your thoughts about this?

A: I never gave any thought about changing society or anything so highfalutin or lofty. People will spontaneously get to use things that they find convenient. It’s like developing a desire to eat good-tasting food when such things become available. And that’s why different chains of convenience stores have expanded so broadly.

Q: Isao Nakauchi (1922-2005), founder of supermarket chain operator Daiei Inc., came to see the first Seven-Eleven outlet when it opened in Tokyo’s Toyosu district in 1974. And that gave him the inspiration for founding today’s Lawson Inc. (a rival chain of convenience stores). What are your thoughts on that?

A: Nakauchi took an interest in all sorts of things. He came all the way from Osaka on that occasion. I didn’t talk to him in person at the time, but I clearly remember how he stood across the street and looked at our outlet.

Q: Is there anybody you see as a rival?

A: No. But let me say this: Convenience may turn out inconvenient if it comes too early, and what you think is convenient may turn out to be already behind the times. It’s a question of whether you can retain an acute sensitivity to change.

I have never worked as a cashier or in a salesroom, but I have held this belief that it is important to always imagine, every day of your life, how things will change five or 10 years down the road. That’s about seriously pursuing convenience and good taste that are human instinct.

And I have always maintained this belief that, if you are ever going to do something, you must make it succeed, and you must begin by being a pioneer.

Q: Are convenience stores indispensable to you personally?

A: No. My wife has never worked and only kept house. But two-income couples of these days would probably be inconvenienced if there were no convenience stores.

Q: Most people in Japan now would be inconvenienced if convenience stores disappeared. What do you think?

A: Oh, you don’t have to worry. Those who have experienced convenience will never fail to pursue convenience. Brick-and-mortar outlets will never be gone as long as people pursue convenience as required by the time. If circumstances arose that were inconvenient to many people, somebody would immediately turn up and provide an alternative.

The definition of convenience varies from age to age. People with foresight succeed, but those without foresight don’t. That’s all there is to it.

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Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1932, Toshifumi Suzuki graduated from Chuo University in 1956 and joined leading book distributor Tokyo Shuppan Hanbai, today’s Tohan Corp.

He joined supermarket chain operator Ito-Yokado Co. in 1963 and went on to serve as president of Seven-Eleven Japan Co., president of Ito-Yokado and chairman of Seven & i Holdings Co. as well as in other posts.

Suzuki has been honorary adviser to Seven & i Holdings since 2016.

(This article is based on an interview by Yukako Ito.)