This Company’s Robots Are Making Everything—and Reshaping the World

The headquarters of Fanuc sit in the shadow of Mt. Fuji, on a sprawling, secluded campus of 22 windowless factories and dozens of office buildings. The grounds approach the lower slopes of Japan’s most famous peak, encircled by a dense forest that Fanuc’s founding CEO, Seiuemon Inaba, planted decades ago to shield the company’s operations from prying eyes—an example of the preoccupation with secrecy that once led Fortune to compare him to a bond villain.

Since taking over as chairman and chief executive officer in 2003, Inaba’s son, Yoshiharu, has continued the tradition of privacy. He takes questions from investors only twice a year, wearing a blazer in the lemon yellow the company uses to brand the factory automation robots it produces, the factories its robots work in, its employees’ uniforms, and the company cars that shuttle engineers and executives around the neighboring village of Oshino.