Early Life
Yasumitsu Shigeta was born in Tokyo in 1965. From a young age, Shigeta displayed an entrepreneurial spirit. He briefly explored vocational training in acupuncture before enrolling in Nihon University's economics department. However, he dropped out, convinced that business lessons couldn't be confined to textbooks. This decision would set the stage for a career marked by innovation and risk-taking.
Rise to Success
Shigeta founded Hikari Tsushin in 1988 at the age of 22. Starting with little capital, he began selling telephones and later focused on mobile phones, anticipating the growth of cellular communications. His company expanded rapidly, opening numerous retail outlets and diversifying its offerings. Shigeta became Japan's youngest self-made billionaire in 1999.
Key Business Strategies
Shigeta's success can be attributed to several key strategies. He understood the power of human capital, hiring and intensively training young, motivated individuals and incentivizing their performance. He also had a keen sense of market timing, entering the deregulated telecom industry early. His focus on scalable operations allowed Hikari Tsushin to rapidly expand nationwide. After the dot-com crash, Shigeta diversified Hikari Tsushin into office equipment, insurance, and other services.
Philanthropy
Shigeta established the Shigeta Education Foundation. This foundation provides scholarships to Japanese students for higher education abroad or medical degrees.