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Profile

Takashi Inoue
Founder & Chairperson, LIFULL Co., Ltd. / Representative Director, PEACE DAY / Representative Director, NASU CON VALLEY Council / Director, Japan Association of New Economy / Councilor, Well-being for Planet Earth Foundation

Born in Yokohama in 1968, Takashi Inoue began his career at Recruit Cosmos (now Cosmos Initia) before launching his own business in 1995. In 1997, he founded NEXT Co., Ltd. (now LIFULL), where he currently serves as Chairperson. Beyond business, Inoue leads multiple philanthropic and social initiatives, including PEACE DAY and the NASU CON VALLEY Council, promoting peacebuilding, well-being, and regional revitalization.

At age 26, Inoue encountered the works of Kazuo Inamori, which inspired him to adopt altruism as both a personal philosophy and a guiding principle in management. Since stepping down as CEO in 2023, he has expanded his activities from entrepreneurship to a broader pursuit of social impact through philanthropy.

“The three main barriers in philanthropy are funding, talent, and measurable impact.”

Reflecting on his years in philanthropy, Inoue identifies three persistent obstacles: securing funding, attracting skilled professionals, and generating tangible impact—particularly in areas like global peacebuilding.

While certain themes like SDGs and well-being are gaining traction with corporate funders, initiatives such as PEACE DAY, which advocates for world peace, face skepticism. “Peace and diplomacy are often seen as the government’s domain,” he notes, “so companies hesitate to get involved.”

In contrast, the NASU CON VALLEY Council, which aims to co-create 21st-century solutions (including ecosystems, services, and products), more clearly aligns with corporate interests and therefore attracts greater engagement.

（NASU CON VALLEY Council）

Inoue is currently collaborating with academia to quantify the business risks of war—for example, simulating the financial losses companies face when supply chains are disrupted. “If we can show the economic impact of lost peace, companies may become more proactive in supporting it.”

“One million signatures can move a country.”

To amplify civic voices, Inoue is working to build a mailing list of one million supporters for PEACE DAY, aiming to mobilize large-scale petition campaigns as a form of grassroots diplomacy.

(PEACE DAY）

PEACE DAY began in 2018 and has drawn thousands of participants to peace-themed events in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park. However, Inoue wanted to ensure these gatherings would lead to concrete action.

In 2023, in response to the Israel–Hamas conflict, PEACE DAY gathered 26,000 signatures and submitted them to Japan’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Although the official response was minimal, the experience affirmed his belief in the power of civic mobilization. “If we had a million signatures—equal to the number of LDP party members—politicians wouldn’t be able to ignore us.”

By creating a global conflict information network and a signature-based infrastructure for civic engagement, Inoue hopes to transform awareness into collective action.

“Japan needs a roadmap and a community for aspiring philanthropists.”

Inoue sees a knowledge gap in Japan’s philanthropic ecosystem. Many philanthropists, often entrepreneurs, operate in isolation, with little shared guidance on how to launch and manage effective social initiatives.

Drawing from his own experience—having established organizations across five legal forms (public interest foundations, general foundations, incorporated associations, certified NPOs, and NPOs)—Inoue emphasizes the need for clarity around legal structures, startup processes, and advisory resources.

He advocates for the creation of a community where like-minded individuals can openly discuss their motivations and methods.
“If we can support each other and share best practices, we can lower the barriers to entry and scale up our collective impact."

“I don’t know if it will succeed—but I’m an entrepreneur, so I try, observe, and adjust.”

True to his entrepreneurial roots, Inoue takes a pragmatic approach to social change. He believes in experimenting, learning from outcomes, and continuously refining his methods.

By turning ideals into systems, data, and structures that invite collaboration, he reminds us that creating a better world is not just a dream—it’s a project we can build together.

Interviewer: Co-CEO Yoshiko Fujita

translated from Japanese into English by AI