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Atsushi Fukuda

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Atsushi Fukuda
Born (1965-07-26) July 26, 1965 (age 59)
Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materNihon University
Occupations
  • entrepreneur
  • businessman
Years active1988–present
Known forpresident of Speedy Inc. (2017-present)
president of Starto Entertainment (2023-present)
WebsiteSpeedy Inc. Official Website

Atsushi Fukuda (福田淳, born 26 July 1965[1]) is a Japanese entrepreneur. He was born in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He is best known for as president of Speedy Inc. and president of the entertainment company Starto Entertainment.

Career

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Fukuda was born and raised in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture.[2] After graduating from Nihon University College of Art, he joined Tohokushinsha Film Corporation in 1988.[3][4] When he first joined the company, he was working in the television advertisement production department, where he was involved in all aspects of video production from planning to delivery, and was in charge of production progression and management as production manager.[5] However, then-President Banjiro Uemura took a liking to him, and in his second year he was assigned to the newly established satellite broadcasting department, where he remained for eight years until 1997, travelling the world, including Cannes, Milan and Hollywood, Los Angeles, as close aide to Uemura.[5] In 1998, He changed his company to Sony Pictures in the United States, where he was involved in the launch of the TV stations themselves, including the satellite channels Animax and AXN, and became vice president in 2001.[6] In 2007, he founded Sony Digital Entertainment as Intrapreneurship,[7] he mainly engaged in branding and intellectual property management for content in the IT sector.[8] In 2017, he established Speedy Inc. and worked on various businesses, including consultancy, agency and running an art gallery in Los Angeles.[7][8]

Around 2015, Japanese actress Rena Nōnen wished to become independent from her then entertainment agency, but her agency refused to allow her independence, which led to trouble.[9] This trouble was reported daily in the tabloid journalism as a scandal, resulting in her losing her job.[9] In addition to this, she changed her name to her stage name Non, despite the name Rena Nonen being her real name, as her former agency reportedly insisted that she needed permission to use her name for entertainment purposes.[10] Fukuda has been involved in Nonen's management since 2016 and has again got her a lot of works.[11] She became to be said that her schedule was full for the next two years.[9] In an interview in 2019, Fukuda described the three-year absence of offers to Nonen for TV series as unusual.[11] In fact, there are many offers for her from the field staff to appear in the series, but for some reason, the offers disappear after a few weeks. He said that such strange things often happen in the Japanese entertainment industry, where it is hard to tell whether it is pressure from someone or consideration for someone else.[11] Fukuda said he had been in the US entertainment industry for a long time and did not understand such things.[9] Fukuda's agent contract is a form of management agreement with Nonen's personal agency, a format used in Hollywood, Los Angeles, where the entertainment agency and the celebrity sign a fair contract.[7]

In 2023, the sexual abuse of the late Johnny Kitagawa, founder of the Johnny & Associates, came to light. This led to the closure of Johnny's and the foundation of a new agency, Starto Entertainment. Fukuda became the new president of Starto.[12] His appointment was triggered when Julie Keiko Fujishima, the former president of Johnny's, and Noriyuki Higashiyama, the president of Smile-Up (former Johnny's), and others came to Fukuda in October 2023 to ask his opinion on agent contracts with their celebrities.[13] Fukuda was initially highly critical of Kitagawa's crimes, saying they were unforgivable on a global scale.[14] And although he turned down the offer to become president as too much responsibility, he accepted it because he thought it would be a good opportunity to modernise the Japanese entertainment industry.[14] Fukuda said that the Japanese entertainment industry's performance fee less than overseas due to the cost and effort of training and support systems, and does not allow freedom of transfer or independence.[7] He also questioned the unfair practices of the Japanese entertainment industry, such as the fact that "the wishes of the agency take precedence over the policy of activities and the selection of offers" and that "even the existence of contracts, let alone their content, is unclear", and stated that he would like to make contracts more fair to celebrities and allow them to work freely.[7]

Further information: Starto Entertainment § Fukuda's appointment as CEO

Charity activities

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Fukuda joined an US film company Sony Pictures because he wanted to make people laugh and entertain them, but after the age of 40 he became interested in charity because he realised that there was a certain number of people who were not laughing or did not have the luxury of laughing.[15] He became interested in non-profit organizations activities and is currently serves on the president of Achante Mama, an NPO that supports children in Africa,[16][17] and an auditor of Fathering Japan, a NPO whose philosophy is to enjoy being a father.[18][17] He did the Ice Bucket Challenge in August 2014.[19] The challenge was not well known in Japan at the time, so he did it in English, but then "END ALS", a Japanese ALS support group, saw the video of it and asked Fukuda to spread the challenge in Japan.[20] This triggered Hiroshi Mikitani, president of Rakuten, baseball critic Atsuya Furuta, author Hirotada Ototake, and others to gather right under Tokyo Tower for an Ice Bucket Challenge event, which was widely reported in Japan.[21][22][23] He also grows blue Java banana on his "Speedy farm" in Nanjō, Okinawa Prefecture, which he donates to the Nanjo Council of Social Welfare to deliver his produce to children.[24][25]

Awards

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  • Nikkei Web Company "Reading the 21st Century! 51 IT key persons" (2001)[26]

Books

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  • The Voice of the Town is a Lie (2006, Satemaga) ISBN 978-4901867191[27]
  • This is fine, I'm 14 years old (2008, Kodansha) ISBN 978-4062150613[28]
  • You don't think you can make money with SNS, do you? (2017, Shogakukan) ISBN 978-4093885522[29]
  • The Corona Era of Swissy Living (2021, Koryosha Shoten, co-authored with Naoki Sakai) ISBN 978-4771110427[30]
  • Streetwise City 2022 (2021, Koryosha Shoten) ISBN 978-4771110663[31]
  • What You Like, You Will Like (2024, Speedy Books) ISBN 978-4771110700[32]

References

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  1. ^ "20以上もの新規事業・企業再生を成し遂げた話題の連続起業家・福田 淳が贈るビジネス書！ 成功のキーは、「好き」のメカニズムを知ることだ。". prtimes (in Japanese). PR TIMES Corporation. 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  2. ^ Junko Iio (2022-07-12). ""泥船"の出版をどう変える？ 元ベストセラー作家が目指す 「印税率５割」革命とは（前編）". talked.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  3. ^ "東北新社 創業者 植村伴次郎さんのこと。". speedy Inc. (in Japanese). 2020-02-15. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  4. ^ "福田淳". j-wave (in Japanese). J-Wave Inc. 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  5. ^ a b Junko Iio (2022-12-16). "広告を語ることは、世の中を語ること。 ～広告界の巨匠に聞く、「夢中」の見つけ方（前編）". talked.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  6. ^ "旧ジャニーズの新会社長・福田氏とは 過去に「干す」文化に疑問の声". asahi.com (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun. 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  7. ^ a b c d e "福田淳"新社長"で旧ジャニ､芸能界に起きる超変化". toyokeizai (in Japanese). 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  8. ^ a b "Dream HEART vol.584 コンサルティング会社スピーディ 代表取締役 福田淳さん 著書「好きな人が、好きなことは、好きになる」". Tokyo FM (in Japanese). 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  9. ^ a b c d "「2年先までほぼ休みなし」のんが切り開く独自路線 ジャニーズ問題で「能年玲奈」使えない問題脚光...エージェント語る7年半". j-cast news (in Japanese). 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  10. ^ "能年玲奈｢改名｣で見えた焦りとかすかな希望". toyokeizai (in Japanese). 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  11. ^ a b c Ryosuke Kamba (2019-07-27). "芸能界はもう、のんの様なケースを出しちゃいけない。マネジメント社長が語った真意". buzz feed news (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  12. ^ "Former Johnny's agency to be renamed Starto Entertainment". asahi.com. The Asahi Shimbun. 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  13. ^ "「タレントみんな辞めんじゃないの？と言われる中で…」木村拓哉（51）のLINEメッセージにSTARTO社長が涙した理由〈社名変更から1年〉". bunshun.jp (in Japanese). 2024-10-20. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  14. ^ a b "福田淳氏「この集団と私の３６年間の経験を掛け合わせ化学反応を」…報道陣への発言詳報＜上＞". yomiuri.co.jp (in Japanese). The Yomiuri Shimbun. 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  15. ^ Junko Iio (2020-02-04). "「クラウドファンディング＝社会貢献」だけじゃない". talked.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  16. ^ "アシャンテママ". achantemama (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  17. ^ a b "福田 淳". speedy Inc. (in Japanese). 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  18. ^ "ファザーリング・ジャパン". fathering (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  19. ^ Get ready for the Ice Bucket Challenge! by Atsushi Fukuda on YouTube
  20. ^ "総裁×福田淳 IT企業経営者たちが考える「本当」の支援活動とは". itmedia (in Japanese). 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  21. ^ David Corbin (2014-08-21). "Japan's tech titans are doing the Ice Bucket Challenge too". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  22. ^ "【動画】乙武氏らが公開「氷水」かぶり 難病支援願う". oricon (in Japanese). 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  23. ^ Keigo Isashi (2014-08-22). "楽天・三木谷氏も「頭から氷水」--難病支援への思い語る". CNET Japan (in Japanese). Asahi Interactive, Inc. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  24. ^ "スタートエンターテインメントの福田社長、バナナ1500本を南城市社協に寄贈 自身の農場で栽培". exite (in Japanese). The Okinawa Times Co., Ltd. 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  25. ^ "スピーディファームがバナナ1500本を社協へ寄贈". Nanjo-city, Okinawa (in Japanese). 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  26. ^ "21世紀を読む!ITキーパーソン51人". Nikkei Web Company. Nikkei Business Publications Inc.: 47 January 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-07-21.
  27. ^ "町の声はウソ". satemaga (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  28. ^ "天才バカボン公認副読本 これでいいのだ１４歳。 ～バカボンパパに学ぶ１４歳からの生き方哲学１００～". kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  29. ^ "ＳＮＳで儲けようと思ってないですよね？". shogakukan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  30. ^ "スイスイ生きるコロナ時代". koyosha (in Japanese). 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  31. ^ "ストリート系都市２０２２". koyosha (in Japanese). 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  32. ^ "20以上もの新規事業・企業再生を成し遂げた話題の連続起業家・福田 淳が贈る ビジネス書！ 成功のキーは、「好き」のメカニズムを知ることだ。". prtimes (in Japanese). 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
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