Yoshiaki Tsutsumi
堤 義明
Born (1934-05-29) May 29, 1934
Alma materWaseda University
OccupationChairman of Seibu Corporation
Years active1964–2004
Children3
Parents
RelativesSeiji Tsutsumi (half-brother)

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi (堤 義明, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki, born May 29, 1934) is a Japanese businessman. During the Japanese economic bubble, Forbes listed Tsutsumi as the wealthiest person in the world during 1987–94[1][2] due to his extensive real estate investments through the Seibu Corporation, which he controlled. In 1987, he had a net worth of $20 billion (approximately $44.4 billion in today's value). However, as a result of a series of scandals and his 2005 arrest, his net worth has fallen to such an extent that he was taken off the Forbes list of billionaires in 2007.[3]

Early life

Tsutsumi was born May 29, 1934, to businessman Yasujirō Tsutsumi and his mistress Ishizaka Tsuneko.[4] He was one of Yasujirō's seven children,[5] and spent his childhood in a Tokyo suburb with Tsuneko and his two younger brothers, Yasuhiro and Yuji.[6][7] When he was around 7 years old, he met his then-14-year-old half-brother Seiji Tsutsumi; the two were said to have an immediate disdain for each other.[6]

Tsutsumi was said to have inherited his father's personality; he claimed to have begun assisting his father's business in elementary school, beginning with simple tasks like holding blueprints.[5] Though his father subjected him to physical discipline,[7] Tsutsumi was said to be his favorite—something that gained him significant corporate and political influence.[8][4]

Tsutsumi graduated from Waseda University in 1957.[4][9]

Business and sports career

Tsutsumi made his earliest forays into business as a university student: in 1956, he opened the Karuizawa Skate Center in Nagano.[4][10] Upon graduating in 1957, he was employed by Kokudo Keikaku Kogyo (later Kokudo Corporation), of which his father was the chairman.[7]

In April 1964, Tsutsumi's father Yasujirō died. Despite the disagreement of his widow Masao,[11] the thirty-year-old Yoshiaki Tsutsumi inherited control of the Seibu Corporation. Most observers had expected the designated successor to be his elder half-brother Seiji Tsutsumi, who instead inherited the Seibu department stores. Though Seiji subsequently parlayed these stores into the Credit Saison empire, perceived rivalry between the two brothers' fiefdoms provided fodder for the popular press.[8]

As chairman, Tsutsumi focused on developing and expanding the vast land holdings inherited from his father.[4][10] At one point, his companies were believed to own one-sixth of all the land in Japan.[12]

A significant portion of Tsutsumi's business ventures went towards sports: he served as chairman of the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and owned the Seibu Tetsudo hockey club.[13] Though he reportedly did not have much knowledge of baseball, 1979 saw his purchase of the Seibu Lions baseball team and the construction of a new stadium in the greater Tokyo area.[14][4] He later served as the first chairman of the Japan Olympic Committee, resigning in 1990, after less than a year.[15] Despite his resignation, he continued to exert significant control over the committee by selecting future chairmen, which effectively prevented his opponents from serving in the position.[16]

Tsutsumi's total net worth has been unclear, as it is unknown how much he owned in assets: he almost always refused interviews, and did not permit Seibu spokespeople to reveal company information.[14][6]

1998 Winter Olympics

When Nagano bid to host the 1998 Winter Olympics, Tsutsumi—then head of the Japan Olympic Committee—used his financial and political influence, as well as a connection to the International Olympic Committee president, to give Nagano an edge on the bid.[17][15][6] He continued to work with them even after stepping down from the committee, and has been cited by former Japan Olympic Committee members as the reason for Nagano's successful bid.[15]

The decision to host the Winter Olympics in Nagano was heavily criticized by environmentalist groups, noting that the construction of the ski runs necessitated the removal of forestry,[12] and the ski runs themselves infringed upon protected land.[18][6] Also criticized was the financial conflict of interest: many of the businesses in the region were owned by Seibu.[12][17]

Honors

For contributions to international ice hockey, Tsutsumi was inducted into the builder category of the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1999.[19][20]

Suspicions of insider trading and arrest

The January 17, 2005 edition of The Wall Street Journal made an investigation on Tsutsumi and the Seibu Corporation public to English readers. According to the paper, the Seibu corporation's headquarters were raided by police, who allegedly found evidence of several Japanese business law-breaking incidents. The police, for example, claimed that the company declared that their major shareholders accounted only for 64 percent of the company's shareholders, but that, in reality, the major shareholders at Seibu actually owned 88 percent of the company's shares. Such bogus ownership statement is suspected to be illegal falsification. Major shareholders can only get up to 80 percent of a Japanese company's stock to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. That scandal was originally opened in 2002 in Japan, after which Tsutsumi was ordered by a court out of the company, but he remained in it, although at a much less paid employment.[21]

While multiple Seibu employees were involved in the scandal, Tsutsumi was considered the ringleader, as a result of position in the company and his authoritarian management style.[22]

On March 3, 2005, Tsutsumi was arrested on suspicion of violation of securities trading law. Tsutsumi pleaded guilty, and on October 27, 2005, the Tokyo District Court sentenced him to 30 months in prison, suspended for 4 years, and a fine of 5 million yen. His suspended sentence expired in October 2009 and he remains indirectly a major shareholder in Seibu Holdings.[21]

Seibu Corporation later sought legal action against Tsutsumi. The parties reached a settlement in 2016, with Seibu receiving ¥25.6 billion.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Tsutsumi was the richest man on earth during 1987-94, says Forbes
  2. ↑ "Japan Keeps Hold on Billionaire List's Top Spot". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  3. ↑ Lash, Herbert (2007-03-08). "Forbes list shows rich getting richer". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nagaharu, Hayabusa (April 1988). "The Tsutsumi Brothers, Feuding Magnates". The Japan Quarterly. Vol. 35, no. 2. The Asahi Shimbun – via ProQuest.
  5. 1 2 Jameson, Sam (1991-05-21). "10 Pacific Rim Giants Tread Own Path to Influence". The Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 WuDunn, Sheryl (1998-02-06). "Japan's King of the Mountain; The Man Who Made Nagano Also Owns Part of It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  7. 1 2 3 "Once world's richest man, Tsutsumi's arrest marks end of an era". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 2005-03-03 – via Gale.
  8. 1 2 "Brotherly hate". The Economist. Vol. 309, no. 7571. 1988-10-08. p. 69 – via Gale OneFile.
  9. ↑ "Tsutsumi held in fraud involving Seibu Railway financial statements". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 2005-03-03 – via Gale.
  10. 1 2 Arai, Takuya (2005-01-25). "No one to follow in Tsutsumi's footsteps". Kyodo News International – via Gale.
  11. ↑ Miyano, Takeo (2005-01-13). "Seibu's shareholding methods turned into minefield". Kyodo News International – via Gale.
  12. 1 2 3 Jennings, Andrew (1998-02-03). "A ski race to riches". The Guardian. p. 17 – via Gale.
  13. ↑ Oliver, Greg (2017). Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey. Toronto, Ontario: ECW Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-1-77041-249-1.
  14. 1 2 Taketa, Mari (1987-08-23). "World's richest man just can't help being stingy". The Morning Call. The Associated Press. p. D2 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 3 "Tsutsumi brought Olympic Games to Nagano, but tenure as JOC head had dark side". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 2005-03-04 – via Gale.
  16. ↑ "Scandal-ridden Tsutsumi loses power over sports world". Kyodo News International. 2005-01-26 – via Gale.
  17. 1 2 Calvert, Jonathan; Connett, David; Gillard, Michael; Mackay, Duncan (1999-01-24). "Olympic scandal: There's all to pay for". The Observer. p. 16 – via Gale.
  18. ↑ "Olympic Games: Nagano backs down over skiing course". The Independent. 1997-12-02. p. 31 – via Gale.
  19. ↑ "Halla Group Chairman Chung Mong-won Inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame". Canada Newswire. Toronto, Ontario. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "IIHF Hall of Fame". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  21. 1 2 Morse, Andrew (2005-01-17). "Seibu's Delisting Shows Harder Regulatory Line in Japan". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  22. ↑ "TSE, banks share blame for Seibu Rail scandal". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 2005-03-28 – via Gale.
  23. ↑ "Former world's richest man Tsutsumi settles suit with Seibu". The Japan Times. Bloomberg. 2016-02-10. Archived from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
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