Notice of Reading Group for 'The Inconvenient Truths of Organizations'

Shosukabu.com Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nerima-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and Chairman: Yutaka Yamanaka, hereinafter "the Company") will hold a reading group themed around "The Inconvenient Truths of Organizations" (written by Nobuo Takahashi), co-hosted by the Nerima Political Research Association and the Civil Division 8 Monitoring Committee. According to Nikkei BP Nihon Keizai Shimbun Publications, this book explains how the author, who has analyzed Japanese organizations for over 40 years, conceptualized and verified phenomena that certainly exist in reality but are difficult to express in loanwords, such as the "lukewarm" environment, "waiting it out," and "foreseeability."

A major feature of this book is that it presents business administration not as buzzwords or success formulas, but as an endeavor to capture organizational reality through observation, hypotheses, measurement, and verification. The table of contents lists Chapter 1, "Scientifically Analyzing the Lukewarm Feeling," Chapter 2, "New Discoveries and the 'Delusion of Performance-based Pay'," and Chapter 3, "'Waiting it out' through Simulation," showcasing the process of theorizing phenomena widely seen in Japanese companies and organizations.

This reading group will discuss main points such as what the "lukewarm feeling" in organizations means, the limits of performance-based pay, the rationality of waiting it out, whether business administration can be a science, and how to interpret Japanese organizations. It aims to be a place of meaningful learning and dialogue for those interested in management, organizational theory, human resources, and institutional analysis.

Book URL: https://x.gd/upOwy

Author Profile:
Nobuo Takahashi
Professor, Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration, Tokyo University of Science; Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo. Born in Otaru, Hokkaido in 1957. Graduated from Otaru University of Commerce and obtained an academic doctorate from the University of Tsukuba. A business scholar who has long studied organizational theory, decision-making theory, and Japanese management, having served as a professor at the Graduate School of Economics, The University of Tokyo.

Event Overview:
Theme: "The Inconvenient Truths of Organizations" Reading Group
Organizer: Shosukabu.com Co., Ltd.
Co-organizers: Nerima Political Research Association, Civil Division 8 Monitoring Committee
Date: Late May 2026 (Scheduled)
Format: Online via Zoom
Fee: Free (Pre-registration required)
How to apply: Please email info@shosukabu.com with the subject line "Desire to Participate in The Inconvenient Truths of Organizations Reading Group".

■ Speaker Profile
Yutaka Yamanaka
Born in December 1976, he is a representative activist investor of the '76 generation, art collector, philanthropist, political activity sponsor, election consultant, policy advisor, social activist, and Akita dog enthusiast. Internationally recognized as a "tech-savvy activist investor," he is the first Japanese individual in history to build over 150 billion yen in assets purely through investing.

In the early 2010s, he focused on NVIDIA, which develops semiconductors related to GPGPU and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as an investment target, investing over 2 billion yen. As a result, he realized a return of over 100 times, becoming the first Japanese to join the billionaire ranks purely as an investor.

Graduated as valedictorian from the Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo. Obtained a Master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School (Financial Engineering major) and studied abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) graduate school. Co-representative partner of Investment Brothers LLC, Co-founder and Chairman of Shosukabu.com Co., Ltd. He is currently a shareholder of over 1,000 listed companies and over 200 unlisted companies worldwide. His investments range from AI startups in Israel to healthcare ventures in Nigeria and battery makers in Taiwan, making him a truly global investor.

Drawing from his own childhood experiences of suffering from dyslexia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), he launched a support program for children with learning disabilities, modeling it after the major US discount broker Charles Schwab. His attending physician is the renowned psychiatrist Professor Akira Iwanami (former Director of Showa University Karasuyama Hospital).

Founder and Representative of the political group "Association to Establish a Constitutional Court in Japan," Head of the "Yamanaka Hoya Politics and Economics Academy," Founder and Representative of the "Association to Realize a Tax-Free State in Japan," Founder and Representative of the "Association for the Early Realization of Restarting Nuclear Power Plants in Japan," Founder and Representative of the "Renewable Energy Interests Monitoring Committee," Founder and Representative of the "Association Opposing Reduced Consumption Tax Rates for Foodstuffs," and Founder and Representative of the "Association to Realize Constitutional Revision Aiming for a Unicameral System."

Born in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo in 1976 as one of the grandsons of Shigeru Yamanaka, the founder of Hoya Glass (now HOYA Corporation, listed on TSE Standard, Securities Code: 7741), a high-end crystal glass manufacturer, and raised in Shakujiidai, Nerima-ku. He excelled academically from a young age, graduating from Oizumi Bunka Kindergarten, Ochanomizu University Attached Elementary School, Private Musashi Junior and Senior High School, and as valedictorian from the Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.

During his childhood, he lived in the corporate housing of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in front of his home...