Shintaro Tsuji
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture in December 1927, he joined the Yamanashi prefectural government in December 1949. After 11 years as a civil servant he resigned in August 1960 and that same month founded Yamanashi Silk Center, becoming its Representative Director and President. In April 1973 he renamed the company Sanrio. He served as President until moving to Representative Director and Chairman in July 2020, a tenure of about 60 years.
Selection
There was no predecessor; Shintaro Tsuji was the first President. In 1962, the company's second year, the manager of Dai-Ichi Bank's Bakurocho branch reportedly told him that joining Matsushita Electric and aiming for its presidency would be quicker than building a large company, adding that while there was a 99.99% chance none of his branch's clients would become a major company, if any had even a 0.01% chance, it was this one. As he explained in 1977, the idea behind founding the company was to sell not things themselves but the feelings people entrust to them.
Initiatives
In February 1974 the company launched gift goods featuring characters it had developed itself, and in April 1976 it began licensing them for use on other companies' products. It listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in April 1982 and opened Sanrio Puroland in Tama, Tokyo, in December 1990. Surplus cash was invested in stocks rather than land, and in the fiscal year ended March 1992 a valuation loss of about ¥16 billion on shares pushed it into its first loss and suspended dividend since listing. Consolidated bottom-line results were in the red for eight straight years from the FY ended March 1991 through the FY ended March 1998, with losses totaling ¥101.0 billion.
Career
Career
Yamanashi Prefectural Government
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Dec 1949 | Joined the agency |
Sanrio
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Aug 1960 | Yamanashi Shiruku Center and Representative Director, President (at founding) |
| Jul 2020 | Representative Director, Chairman |
| Jul 2020 | Stepped down as President |
Kokoro
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Feb 1984 | Representative Director, Chairman |
Sanrio Entertainment
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jul 2009 | Representative Director, President |
| Apr 2010 | Representative Director, Chairman |
| Jun 2014 | Representative Director, President |
References 3
References (Japanese primary sources)
- 日経ビジネス 1990年7月30日号「編集長インタビュー 辻信太郎氏（サンリオ社長） 儲けより評判大切にしたい」
- サンリオ 有価証券報告書【沿革】
- サンリオ 有価証券報告書【役員の状況】