D-POPS GROUP has a wide range of talents, from people who
have served as executives and directors in large corporations, entrepreneurs who have developed
businesses from scratch and created listed companies and multi-billion scale enterprises, founders who
have created major global companies, to ambassadors who have supported Japan in the diplomatic
world.
We are committed to working with aspiring entrepreneurs to help them realize IPOs and become
professional managers, and to support their rapid growth.
Kazuhiro Goto graduated from Musashi University, Faculty of Economics and studied abroad as a scholarship student at the University of Kent, England (majoring in International Relations). In 1997, he joined a venture company to train in entrepreneurship. D-POPS Corp., a origine of D-POPS GROUP and its subsidiary now. The goal was to establish a more sophisticated new distribution model in the continually growing telecommunications industry. In 2013, the company achieved group sales of 10 billion yen within 15 years of its founding. From the fiscal year 2014 to 2015, he served as the 19th term chairman at EO Japan (Entrepreneurs’ Organization Japan), which gathers rapidly growing young entrepreneurs. Currently, under D-POPS GROUP, he manages 19 business companies. His management philosophy is strongly influenced by Konosuke Matsushita, and his business strategy is influenced by Den Fujita. D-POPS GROUP'S mid-term business plan aims for a group sales of 50 billion yen, while the long-term business plan aims for a group sales of 100 billion yen, and the company is making strides in expanding its business.
Sachio Semmoto graduated from the Engineering Faculty of Kyoto University, and then joined the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT). He completed his doctoral program at the University of Florida as a Fulbright scholar. During his time as a department head at the Kinki Telecommunication Bureau, he met Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, which led him to decide to start his own business. Alongside Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, he co-founded Daini Denden (later known as KDDI). He held positions such as Vice President of Daini Denden and President of DDI Tokyo Pocket Telephone (now known as Y!mobile). After serving as a professor at the Keio University Graduate School of Business Administration from 1996, he founded eAccess and took the company public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section in record time. Subsequently, he founded eMobile and served as the company's Honorary Chairman until March 2014. He also held positions such as Visiting Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.
Ichiro Fujisaki dropped out of Keio University's Faculty of Economics and training at Brown University and Stanford University graduate school in the United States, he joined Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1969. He served at various positions at the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia, the OECD Representation, the Ministry of Finance's Budget Bureau, the Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom, and the Embassy of Japan in the United States. He held positions such as Director-General of the North American Affairs Bureau in 1999, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2002, Ambassador to the Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva in 2005, and Ambassador to the United States in 2008. After retiring, he served as a specially appointed professor and international strategy advisor at Sophia University, a board member of ITOCHU Corporation, a board member of Nippon Steel Corporation, and the Chairman of the Nakasone Peace Institute. He received the Order of the Rising Sun, Grand Cordon, in 2022. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Japan-United States Association, the Director-General of the Kita Kamakura Joshi Gakuen Foundation, and the Chairman of the International Education Promotion Association.
In 1991, Shinichiro Naito graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at Nihon University. He joined Recruit Co., Ltd. Human Resources Center (now Recruit Career Co., Ltd.) upon graduation. In 1996, he founded ALEST Co., Ltd. (now Findstar Co., Ltd.) and assumed the role of President and Representative Director. In 2002, he entered a niche media advertising agency business. As a pioneer in the industry, he conducted business with over 1,100 advertisers and recruited more than 3,000 niche media website. In 2012, he was awarded the "Management of the Year" award by the Diamond Management Club for creating a new advertising agency model in the direct marketing industry. In 2015, he became the representative of the Findstar Group. He has also served as the 25th term chairman of EO Tokyo Central, a global network organization for entrepreneurs and founders.
Fujiyo Ishiguro graduated from Nagoya University's Faculty of Economics and earned an MBA from Stanford University in the US. After managing international marketing at Brother Industries, Ltd and leading new business ventures at Swarovski Japan, she founded a high-tech consulting firm in Silicon Valley. She worked on alliances and technology transfers between Japan and the US, with clients like Yahoo, Netscape, Sony, and Panasonic. In 1999, she joined NetYear Group's MBO and became its President and CEO from 2000 onward. Currently, she holds roles as Director and Chief Evangelist at NetYear Group Co., Ltd., and as a Director at Mitsui & Co., Ltd. In recent years, she's served in public capacities such as the IT Headquarters and Public-Private Data Strategy Council at the Cabinet Secretariat, the "Choosing the Future" Committee at the Cabinet Office, the Industrial Structure Council at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the 2016 Japan-US Economic Research Council at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Genta Sugihara graduated from the Faculty of Information Science at the University of Tsukuba in 1990, and he joined CSK (now SCSK). In 1993, he moved to Daini Denden (currently known as KDDI), where he engaged in various projects during the early stages of the PHS mobile phone business. Since 2001, he worked in the start-up and transformation phases of tech ventures such as AOL Japan, eMobile and Napster. In 2007, he joined Google Japan, where he served as Head of APAC Business Development and Director of Partner Business Solitions, Japan and Korea, and led various business alliances in Asia and contributed to the expansion of search market share and publishers' network. In 2016, he joined Kakaku.com, Inc. as an Executive Officer of the Corporate Strategy Division, where he was responsible for M&A and startup investment worldwide. After serving as the Japan Country Manager of an Israeli tech venture, he was appointed as an advisor to the D-POPS GROUP in January 2024.
Tetsuya Watanabe graduated from Dokkyo University and joined Yodobashi Camera in April 1993 as the person in charge of communication and information products procurement. He implemented various business ideas on-site, such as broadband counters, mobile carrier-specific sales areas, 100-yen computers, entry packages for SIM cards, and SIM-free counters, contributing to the growth of Yodobashi (sales of 650 billion yen/profit of 55 billion yen) as one of the key players. After serving as an Executive Officer and Head of the Business Division at Yodobashi Camera, he founded W.H.O Corporation in 2016. Alongside providing consulting services to telecommunications and sales companies, he also ventures into various new businesses.Appointed Advisor of D-POPS Co., Ltd. in 2017, and appointed as Managing Executive Officer of D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd. in 2021.
Yoshihiro Yoneya left the Faculty of Economics at Hokkaido University and passed the Certified Public Accountant Exam in 2009. He joined the Financial Business Division of Deloitte Tohmatsu in 2010 at the Sapporo and Sendai offices. He engaged in financial statement audits and internal control audits for various companies including regional financial institutions. Through auditing regional financial institutions, he gained extensive experience in corporate analysis and advisory services. In 2018, he worked as a manager in the Corporate Accounting Department at Kita-no-Tatsujin Corporation, and in 2021, served as an overall leader in the Accounting Department at Tsuruha Holdings. He was in charge of handling consolidated financial statements for prime-listed companies, establishing management systems in financial accounting, management accounting, and taxation areas. He joined D-POPS GROUP in 2023, currently supporting the establishment of management systems for multiple companies within the GROUP, including PMI.
Our mission is to "create Japan's leading venture
ecosystem."
We emphasize support for self-reliance and focus on developing a group of independent
business leaders.
Join us in a partnership to grow together and shape our future.
We focus on investing in companies that demonstrate
sustainable growth and innovative business models.
Below are some of the companies we are proud to
invest in and support.
