[Aoba-BBT Group Anniversary Special Dialogue] From Bankrupt Publisher to 'End-of-Life Infrastructure': ABS First-Year Graduate Speaks on 30 Years of Business Transformation and 'Management Calculated Backwards from Death'
The Aoba-BBT Group will hold a special dialogue event on June 5, 2026, as a highlight of its anniversary project, featuring Mr. Yukitaka Shimizu, CEO of Kamakura Shinsho Co., Ltd. He will discuss 30 years of business transformation, turning a near-bankrupt publishing company into an "end-of-life infrastructure" firm, and his "management philosophy calculated backwards from death."
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 12, 2026 at 00:03
- 🔍 Collected: May 11, 2026 at 15:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 11, 2026 at 21:43 (6h 11m after Collected)
Aoba-BBT Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Iwao Shibata; hereinafter Aoba-BBT) will host a special dialogue event on Friday, June 5, 2026, as a symbolic initiative of its group-wide "Anniversary Project."
The guest speaker will be Mr. Yukitaka Shimizu, Representative Director and Chairman CEO of Kamakura Shinsho Co., Ltd. He is a graduate of the first year of ABS (Attacker's Business School) in 1996, who took over a publishing company on the verge of bankruptcy with debts three times its sales, confronted the taboo of "death" head-on, and nurtured it into a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.
"By facing the end of life, one can see how to live"—based on this belief, Mr. Shimizu, who has dedicated 30 years to building end-of-life infrastructure, will thoroughly discuss his trajectory of setbacks and transformations, and his "management philosophy calculated backwards from death" with our representative, Iwao Shibata.
▼ Application Page: https://go.aoba-bbt.com/l/963543/2026-05-07/8drbb
■ Background of the Event: The Origin of Challenge and Succession to the Next Generation
This dialogue is one of the main initiatives of the "Anniversary Project ~Life-time Empowerment in Invisible Continent~" that the Aoba-BBT Group is rolling out from 2025 to 2027.
Centering around 2026, several educational institutions within our group, including Attacker's Business School (ABS) and Business Breakthrough University and Graduate School, will reach significant milestones since their establishment. We see this period not merely as a passing phase, but as a starting point for creating new value aimed at the "next 50 to 100 years."
■ Aim of the Project
To demonstrate how our philosophy of "Life-time Empowerment (source of lifelong vitality)" can become a force for societal change, through the trajectories of challenge of the diverse alumni (graduates) nurtured by the Aoba-BBT Group.
Mr. Shimizu is a graduate of ABS's inaugural year in 1996. Subsequently, he took over a company in management crisis, burdened with debts three times its sales, and redefined "publishing" as "information processing." He found business opportunities in the often-averted domain surrounding "death" and promptly launched the funeral portal site "Ii Sougi" on the internet in 2000.
For the past 30 years, he has expanded his business into all areas related to end-of-life planning: "funerals, graves, Buddhist altars, inheritance, and nursing care." In 2025, he realized a capital and business alliance with major insurance group SOMPO Holdings, Inc. As chairman of "end-of-life infrastructure" for a TSE Prime-listed company, he continues to tackle the challenges of a super-aging society.
■ Highlights of This Dialogue
This dialogue will explore Mr. Shimizu's "human resource development strategy in the civic sector" and "the essence of NPO management" from the following three perspectives:
The Resolve to Turn "Death" into Business ── Reasons for facing an untouched market for 30 years
With debts three times sales, employee departures, and a decline in Buddhist practices—amidst these triple hardships, 28-year-old Mr. Shimizu chose to confront "death," a theme everyone avoids, head-on. Why did he not flee, and what motivated him? This segment delves into his origins as a business leader.
Redefining as an "Information Processing Company" ── How a Publishing Company Transformed into an Internet Company
The realization that "customers don't want books, they want information" spurred Kamakura Shinsho's 30 years of transformation. This segment unpacks Mr. Shimizu's unique management philosophy, which created a market by changing the definition of business.
From End-of-Life Planning to "Life Coordination" ── What the Alliance with SOMPO Signifies for the Next 10 Years
Expanding beyond funerals and graves to become an "end-of-life infrastructure" that solves all challenges in the latter half of life, including inheritance, nursing care, and insurance. This segment discusses the meaning of the capital and business alliance with a major insurance group and Mr. Shimizu's vision for a super-aging society.
■ Linkage with the Anniversary Project
This initiative embodies the core themes of the "Aoba-BBT Group Anniversary Project ~Life-time Empowerment in Invisible Continent~": "community strengthening," "visualization of role models," and "creation of a lifelong learning cycle." By broadly sharing the achievements alumni (graduates/completers) have created in the real world, it accelerates the following key measures advocated by the entire Aoba-BBT Group:
- Reactivation of communities and strengthening of networks
- Materialization of a lifelong learning model (Life-time Empowerment)
- Strengthening of next-generation leader development
- Promotion of global collaboration and international education
The special dialogue with alumni is positioned as a preceding initiative for multiple events and measures within the Anniversary Project, and the alumni network "LEN (Life" will be developed across the entire Aoba-BBT Group in the future.
The guest speaker will be Mr. Yukitaka Shimizu, Representative Director and Chairman CEO of Kamakura Shinsho Co., Ltd. He is a graduate of the first year of ABS (Attacker's Business School) in 1996, who took over a publishing company on the verge of bankruptcy with debts three times its sales, confronted the taboo of "death" head-on, and nurtured it into a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.
"By facing the end of life, one can see how to live"—based on this belief, Mr. Shimizu, who has dedicated 30 years to building end-of-life infrastructure, will thoroughly discuss his trajectory of setbacks and transformations, and his "management philosophy calculated backwards from death" with our representative, Iwao Shibata.
▼ Application Page: https://go.aoba-bbt.com/l/963543/2026-05-07/8drbb
■ Background of the Event: The Origin of Challenge and Succession to the Next Generation
This dialogue is one of the main initiatives of the "Anniversary Project ~Life-time Empowerment in Invisible Continent~" that the Aoba-BBT Group is rolling out from 2025 to 2027.
Centering around 2026, several educational institutions within our group, including Attacker's Business School (ABS) and Business Breakthrough University and Graduate School, will reach significant milestones since their establishment. We see this period not merely as a passing phase, but as a starting point for creating new value aimed at the "next 50 to 100 years."
■ Aim of the Project
To demonstrate how our philosophy of "Life-time Empowerment (source of lifelong vitality)" can become a force for societal change, through the trajectories of challenge of the diverse alumni (graduates) nurtured by the Aoba-BBT Group.
Mr. Shimizu is a graduate of ABS's inaugural year in 1996. Subsequently, he took over a company in management crisis, burdened with debts three times its sales, and redefined "publishing" as "information processing." He found business opportunities in the often-averted domain surrounding "death" and promptly launched the funeral portal site "Ii Sougi" on the internet in 2000.
For the past 30 years, he has expanded his business into all areas related to end-of-life planning: "funerals, graves, Buddhist altars, inheritance, and nursing care." In 2025, he realized a capital and business alliance with major insurance group SOMPO Holdings, Inc. As chairman of "end-of-life infrastructure" for a TSE Prime-listed company, he continues to tackle the challenges of a super-aging society.
■ Highlights of This Dialogue
This dialogue will explore Mr. Shimizu's "human resource development strategy in the civic sector" and "the essence of NPO management" from the following three perspectives:
The Resolve to Turn "Death" into Business ── Reasons for facing an untouched market for 30 years
With debts three times sales, employee departures, and a decline in Buddhist practices—amidst these triple hardships, 28-year-old Mr. Shimizu chose to confront "death," a theme everyone avoids, head-on. Why did he not flee, and what motivated him? This segment delves into his origins as a business leader.
Redefining as an "Information Processing Company" ── How a Publishing Company Transformed into an Internet Company
The realization that "customers don't want books, they want information" spurred Kamakura Shinsho's 30 years of transformation. This segment unpacks Mr. Shimizu's unique management philosophy, which created a market by changing the definition of business.
From End-of-Life Planning to "Life Coordination" ── What the Alliance with SOMPO Signifies for the Next 10 Years
Expanding beyond funerals and graves to become an "end-of-life infrastructure" that solves all challenges in the latter half of life, including inheritance, nursing care, and insurance. This segment discusses the meaning of the capital and business alliance with a major insurance group and Mr. Shimizu's vision for a super-aging society.
■ Linkage with the Anniversary Project
This initiative embodies the core themes of the "Aoba-BBT Group Anniversary Project ~Life-time Empowerment in Invisible Continent~": "community strengthening," "visualization of role models," and "creation of a lifelong learning cycle." By broadly sharing the achievements alumni (graduates/completers) have created in the real world, it accelerates the following key measures advocated by the entire Aoba-BBT Group:
- Reactivation of communities and strengthening of networks
- Materialization of a lifelong learning model (Life-time Empowerment)
- Strengthening of next-generation leader development
- Promotion of global collaboration and international education
The special dialogue with alumni is positioned as a preceding initiative for multiple events and measures within the Anniversary Project, and the alumni network "LEN (Life" will be developed across the entire Aoba-BBT Group in the future.