Japan’s 50 Richest
KYODO/NEWSCOM; AKIO KON/BLOOMBERGF
orget muscles of steel. he hottest new sport globally
requires quick ingers and a screen. Esports—essentially
competitive videogaming—has taken of, especially in
North America, China and South Korea. Japan’s antigambling
laws stymied tournaments—until recently. In February the
Japanese Esports Union, a merger of the country’s three largest
esports organizations, began issuing licenses to pro gamers to
bypass the country’s strict laws.
Young fans who grew up playing games online are willing
to spend up to $100 or more to watch gaming competitions
in person. hey also spend to buy special computer-gaming
gear for their desktops. he esports industry pulled in approxi-
mately $650 million in revenue worldwide
in 2017, according to market research irm
Newzoo. By 2020 that could surge to $1.4
billion. More than half of esports’ most ar-
dent fans are in the Asia-Paciic, and esports
will be an ocial sport at the 2022 Asian
Games to be held in Hangzhou, China.
Videogame developer Konami—founded
by Kagemasa Kozuki (No. 3 7)—partnered
with esports irm eFootball.Pro last year
to create a professional competition usingKonami’s football game series. In February, Konami was one of
ive developers to award licensed professional gamers cash for
the irst time at an ocial Japanese esports tournament, before
a reported crowd of 72,000 people.
Cygames, a subsidiary of Susumu Fujita’s (No. 3 6) game
maker CyberAgent, partnered with California-based esports
irm Next Generation Esports last year to run an esports com-
petition in North America.
Kenzo Tsujimoto, an up-and-comer worth almost $400
million, founded and chairs game irm Capcom, whose Street
Fighter-branded games have been popular in esports competi-
tions outside of Japan. Tsujimoto announced that 2018 will
be “eSports year one” for Japan. Other
companies likely to pile on to the esports
craze include Yasuhiro Fukushima’s (No.
29) game maker Square Enix, as well as
powerhouses like Nintendo and Sony.
“Japan’s inherent gaming culture
provides the perfect conditions for the suc-
cessful development of esports, now that
obstacles to its growth have been lited by
the government,” says Jurre Pannekeet, se-
nior market analyst at Newzoo. —A.S.M.M.Joining the Esports Wave
ONLINE GAMES74 | FORBES ASIA APRIL 2018“Japan’s gaming culture provides
the perfect conditions for esports.”Tapping enthusiastic influencers to sell your cosmetics
and lotions can be a pretty good business. Satoshi
Suzuki’s firm Pola Orbis has some 46,000 “Beauty
Directors” peddling the company’s skin care creams
and antiaging treatments across Japan. Sales rose
nearly 12% to $2.2 billion last year. He’s betting on
boosting business with stores in China and Hong
Kong. Also gaining in the sector are new lister Hiroshi
Okura and the Kobayashi brothers, with their firm
Kose. “Chinese consumers are buying luxury cosmetics
products in stores, online, at airport duty-free shops
and abroad where they are traveling,” says Bolor
Enkhbaatar, analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley
Securities, who adds that Chinese tourists to Japan like
the lower prices, the bigger selection and the fact that
“they can be sure the products are not fake.”SATOSHI SUZUKI:
RINGING UP BEAUTY SALES