EO Japan doubled its membership from 500 to 1,000 in the past three years despite the pandemic

2 May 2023. Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a global organization for entrepreneurs and business owners, arrived in Japan in 1995 with the launch of EO Tokyo Central. Since then, EO’s presence in Japan has grown to 14 chapters, making it the country with the most chapters in the North Asia region. Despite challenges posed by the global pandemic, EO in Japan doubled its total membership from 500 members to 1,000 members from 2020-23.

EO’s Japanese expansion started with member Koki Uchiyama’s 5-5-5 vision in 2015. At that time, Japan had 300 members and two chapters: Tokyo Central and Osaka. Uchiyama and his fellow member-leaders had a vision to expand to five chapters with 500 members nationwide and to have five member-leaders elevate to EO’s Tier Two Path of Leadership, a programme designed to bring members along a progressive path of influence and leadership. In 2019, EO Japan surpassed its goal, totaling 550 members, with six chapters, including Tokyo Central, Tokyo West, Osaka, North Japan, Nagoya and Fukuoka.


Members from the Board of Directors award EO Hokuriku the Randi Carroll Award during the 2023 GLC

“This is great news for the EO North Asia region. The growth of Japan is very impressive, it represents 21% of annualized growth” said Myrna Hausséguy, EO Vice-President, EMEA and Asia.

During this year’s Global Leadership Conference (GLC) which took place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 25-27 April, the Randi Carroll Award was presented to EO Hokuriku, Japan. The Randi Carroll Award celebrates EO’s growth by recognizing the start-up chapter that had the most innovative chapter launch. Hokuriku is situated in the northwestern part of Japan’s main island, Honshu, and has a population of five million people. EO Hokuriku was established in June 2022 and achieved success thanks to EO Japan’s model of existing chapters supporting new chapter growth. The chapter has grown to 31 members in its first year thanks to the dedication of its leaders and the active participation of its members.

“EO Japan is an example of the power of a clear vision, leadership consistency and disciplined execution. We look forward to continuing EO’s expansion through Asia,” said Alan Cheung, Asia Regional Chair.

In 2022, EO Tokyo was honored with EO’s Mark Lincoln Volunteer of the Year Award. The Mark Lincoln Award recognizes one member who goes above and beyond in their Forum, chapter, community, and region. On this occasion, the award was bestowed on a group of EO Tokyo members who drove the expansion of EO in Japan. In February 2023, EO Tokyo members met with EO’s current and former Global Board Chairs in Japan to be recognized in person.


EO Tokyo members receiving the Mark Lincoln Volunteer of the Year Award

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About Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO): The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a high-quality support network of more than 17,500 business founders and owners across 70+ countries. EO helps entrepreneurs achieve their full potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learning. EO has been helping entrepreneurs achieve transformational growth since 1987 and its member network is committed to learning and helping each other succeed. For more information or to get involved, follow us on Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and visit our website: www.eonetwork.org

Learn more about EO Japan:

  • Japanese members hold their monthly meetings in person and rotate the hosting chapter to different chapters in Japan every time.
  • They host Japan Winter Sports Festival in February and Japan Summer Sports Festival in May, two annual integration events among members from all chapters.
  • Multiple regional leadership events, such as Leadership Summits and Trifecta Summits, occur throughout the year.
  • EO Tokyo Central is EO’s largest chapter, with 350 members.
  • 100+ new members register annually in EO Japan.

 

2022 Recipients of the Mark Lincoln Volunteer of the Year Award:

Yoshito Hori, 28-year member, founder of EO Japan
Masataka Yamamoto, 23- year member of EO Tokyo West, past North Asia Regional Chair, the first non-English speaking Tier 1 leader in EO and has led North Asia and Japan to achieve its highest growth in history.
Nobi Fujita, 12- year member EO Sentouchi, past Growth Director and current GMC member whose biggest contribution is to really integrate EO Japan community with EO global community.
Koki Uchiyama, 17-year member of EO Tokyo Metropolitan, founder of Japan 5-5-5 vision.
Masaru Tange, 13- year member of Tokyo Central, setting the vision for Tokyo Central to be the largest chapter in the world in 2017/2018.
Daichi Sakamoto, 17- year member of Tokyo Central, EO Japan Area Director during FY2020-2021. Sakamoto led Japan to reach the highest new member intake during the pandemic.
Jun Tarikino, 14- year member of EO Kobe, past Member Products’ Director and Japan Area Director for FY2021-2023 who continues Japan’s growth to this date.
Kenichi Sano, 22- year member of EO Fukuoka, current Member Products’ Director. He works on integrating Japan with the South Asia and APAC regions.
Katsuyuki Fuji, 6-year member of EO Osaka, actively contributes in sharing best practices among chapters to have a better regional integration
Hideo Kuwahara, 22- year member of Tokyo West, Member Experience Director and who supported transformational growth of local trainers in EO Japan.
Ryoichi Nishizawa, 18 -year member of EO Hokkaido and founder EO Tokyo Platinum
Tadao Uematsu, 14-year member of EO Okinawa, a Champion of multiple signature events in EO Japan