Announcement of a Reading Session on "Historical Perceptions Across Borders: An Attempt at Japan-China Dialogue"

Shosukabu.com Inc. (Headquarters: Nerima-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and Chairman: Yutaka Yamanaka, hereinafter "Our Company") will hold a reading session on the theme of "Historical Perceptions Across Borders: An Attempt at Japan-China Dialogue" (Edited by Liu Jie, Hiroshi Mitani, Daqing Yang), in co-hosting with the Nerima Politics Study Group and the Civil Affairs 8th Division Oversight Committee.

This book is the result of research in which researchers from both Japan and China have organized key points and explored the possibilities for dialogue regarding the historical perception gaps that remain even after the normalization of Japan-China relations in 1972. A distinctive feature is its re-framing of historical issues not as emotional conflicts or diplomatic friction, but as complex challenges where historical materials, interpretations, memory, and education overlap.

A major characteristic of this book is that it does not discuss historical perception issues abstractly, but rather organizes points for each specific issue in the history of Japan-China relations and seeks points of mutual understanding. Part 1 deals with topics such as the period after the First Sino-Japanese War, the Twenty-One Demands, Japan-China diplomacy on the eve of the Manchurian Incident, the "Tanaka Memorial," Manchukuo, the Nanjing Incident, and the Wang Jingwei regime. Part 2 discusses the textbook system, mutual perceptions between Japan and China, perceptions surrounding Taiwan during the Japanese era, memorial services, war reparations and post-war compensation, and historical dialogue and historical material research.

Furthermore, as a collaborative work by researchers from both Japan and China, this book explains the representative issues concerning modern and contemporary Japan-China relations from both perspectives, aiming to demonstrate the possibility of rational dialogue that serves as a prerequisite for reconciliation.

This reading session will discuss key points such as the main issues surrounding the history of Japan-China relations, the politics of memory including historical textbooks, Yasukuni Shrine, and reparations, the relationship between historical material research and historical dialogue, and the question of whether it is possible to share historical perceptions across borders. It aims to be a place for beneficial learning and dialogue for those interested in the history of Japan-China relations, modern East Asian history, historical perception issues, and international reconciliation.

Book introduction URL: https://x.gd/pw8z7

Editor Profiles

Liu Jie: Professor at the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Waseda University. A historian specializing in modern Japanese political and diplomatic history, modern Japan-China relations history, and contemporary Japan-China relations theory.

Hiroshi Mitani: Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a researcher at the Toyo Bunko. A historian specializing in modern Japanese history and comparative history, researching the Meiji Restoration, modern state formation, nationalism, and East Asian history.

Daqing Yang: Professor at George Washington University. A researcher specializing in the history of Japan-China relations and East Asian international relations, serving as a co-editor of this book.

Event Outline

Theme: Reading session on "Historical Perceptions Across Borders: An Attempt at Japan-China Dialogue"

Organizer: Shosukabu.com Inc.

Co-hosts: Nerima Politics Study Group, Civil Affairs 8th Division Oversight Committee

Date: Late April 2026 (scheduled)

Format: Zoom Online Event

Participation Fee: Free (advance registration required)

How to Apply: Please apply by sending an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Application to Participate in Historical Perceptions Across Borders Reading Session".

■ Speaker Profile

Yutaka Yamanaka

Representative activist investor, art collector, philanthropist, political activist sponsor, election consultant, policy advisor, social activist, and Akita dog enthusiast of the '76 generation, born in December 1976. Internationally, he is known as an "activist investor who understands technology," and is the first Japanese person in history to have accumulated assets of over 150 billion yen solely through investment.

In the early 2010s, he focused on NVIDIA, a company developing GPGPU and AI-related semiconductors, invested over 2 billion yen, and ultimately achieved returns of over 100 times, making him the first Japanese person to become a billionaire purely as an investor.

Graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in Economics (Valedictorian). Obtained a Master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School (Financial Engineering) and studied abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is a co-representative partner of Investment Brothers LLC, co-founder and Chairman of Shosukabu.com Inc., and currently a shareholder in over 1,000 listed companies and over 200 unlisted companies worldwide. His investments span Israeli AI startups, Nigerian healthcare ventures, Taiwanese battery manufacturers, among others, truly making him a global investor.

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

Founder and Representative of the political organization "Association for the Establishment of a Constitutional Court in Japan," Director of the "Yamanaka Hoya Political School," Founder and Representative of the political organization "Association for the Realization of a Tax-Free Nation in Japan," Founder and Representative of the political organization "Association for the Early Realization of Nuclear Power Restart in Japan," Founder and Representative of the political organization "Renewable Energy Interest Monitoring Committee," Founder and Representative of the "Association Opposing Reduced Consumption Tax Rates on Foodstuffs," and Founder and Representative of the "Association for Constitutional Reform Aiming for a Unicameral System."

Born in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, in 1976, as one of the grandchildren of Shigeru Yamanaka, the founder of Hoya Glass (currently HOYA Corporation, listed on TSE Standard, securities code 7741), a high-end crystal glass manufacturer. He grew up in Shakujii-dai, Nerima-ku. From an early age, he excelled academically, graduating from Oizumi Bunkah Kindergarten, Ochanomizu University Elementary School, Musashi Junior and Senior High School, and the University of Tokyo with a degree in Economics (Valedictorian).

In his childhood, he received souvenirs from his school trip from Takahiro Matsumoto, who was a high school student at Kinjo High School living in the housing complex of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in front of his house and later became the guitarist for B'z. He attended Oizumi Bunkah Kindergarten, where he was a classmate of Yuki Suzuki, the second son and secretary of Member of Parliament Munao Suzuki (older brother of Member of Parliament Takako Suzuki, who returned to Hokkaido to prepare for his father's House of Representatives bid). This privileged cultural and educational environment naturally fostered his interest in music and politics/economics.

During his elementary school years, while commuting by train from Nerima Ward, he developed an early interest in history and economics from the academic environment of Bunkyo Ward. At the young age of 10, he was already involved in political activism on controversial topics. Surrounded by bright female classmates at Ochanomizu University Elementary School, including lawyer Takehiko Sorimachi (Tokyo Legal Mind Inc.), Dr. Keiji Kuroda (Director of Sugiyama Clinic Marunouchi), Keiko Takahashi (career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance, currently Director of the Minister's Secretariat - Customs Division), Kaori Hanyu (Professor of Sophia University, family law researcher), and Ai Hanyu (NHK announcer), he remains conscious of the need to improve the social status of women.

He turned several million yen, gifted by his grandmother in his childhood, into hundreds of millions of yen by the time he graduated from university through stock investments. His investment ability was already well-known during his university years. At the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Economics, he was famous in Professor Kazuo Ueda's seminar (current Governor of the Bank of Japan), earning him the nickname "Ueda Seminar's Top Stockbroker" and, due to his diverse academic interests, "Heisei Era Hiraga Gennai."

His graduation thesis on M&A in the pre-war paper industry won a special award. During his graduate school entrance interview, Professor Takeo Kikkawa (former President of International University) recognized him, saying, "Are you the famous Yamanaka-kun?" His undergraduate thesis advisors in economic history were Professor Tetsuji Okazaki (Meiji Gakuin University) and Professor Masayuki Tanimoto (Otsuma Women's University).

During his time in the College of Arts and Sciences, he read all the papers presented by Masahiko Aoki, a proponent of comparative institutional analysis, and Professor Avner Greif (Stanford University Department of Economics), an emerging economic historian from Israel at the time.

He passed the entrance examination for the Graduate School of Economics at the University of Tokyo with top grades. Although strongly encouraged by Mr. Hideo Hayakawa (former Executive Director and Director-General of Research and Statistics Department at the Bank of Japan), an alumnus of the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Economics, to join the central bank, he immediately went to the United States after graduation, completed his Master's degree at Columbia University Graduate School (Financial Engineering), and studied abroad at Harvard University, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, USC, and LSE. Aiming for a dual career as a life science researcher/physician and economic history researcher, he engaged in a wide range of interdisciplinary research, including genetics, computer science, psychiatry, applied mathematics, history, economics, and economic history. He studied under prominent economic historians such as Richard Easterlin, Peter Temin, Joel Mokyr, Claudia Goldin, and James Robinson, some of whom later won Nobel Prizes in Economics. He overcame his learning disabilities from childhood dyslexia and ADHD, establishing his own methods for speed reading and learning.

Currently based primarily in Dubai, UAE, he invests in over 1,000 listed companies and over 200 unlisted companies domestically and internationally through offshore funds and investment companies. He is known both domestically and internationally as one of Japan's leading activist investors, an expert in corporate law practice, and a foremost authority in new business creation, corporate acquisitions (M&A), technology management, and family business practices. He also maintains residences and bases in Taipei, Taiwan; Luxembourg; Tbilisi, Georgia; Oslo, Norway; Reykjavik, Iceland; Singapore; and Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis.

In the case of Public Office Election Act violations by the Tsubasa Party, he was involved as an advisor to the defense, contributing to the formation of the "strongest defense team in recent criminal justice" comprising lawyers Seong-bong Cho (Representative of Kollect Arts Law Offices), Keita Miyamura, Daisuke Igeta (Miyamura & Igeta Law Offices), and Shinya Sakane (Tokyo Defender Law Offices). Furthermore, in the so-called power struggle within the NHK Party, he provided strategic advice by introducing lawyers Kenji Toyota (Tokyo Sakurabashi Law Offices) and Keisuke Komatsu (Takano & Ryū Law Offices) to the anti-Tachibana faction, leading them to victory.

He openly declares himself a fan of former Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura, whose ancestral home is his grandfather's birthplace. During the reporting of the so-called "Kihara Incident," he defended Seiji Kihara, former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and his senior from high school. He maintains deep friendships with many figures in Japanese politics, across both ruling and opposition parties.

He has extensive interactions with numerous lawyers both in Japan and internationally and is also renowned as a leading consultant guiding legal professionals and firms on career strategies and how to effectively utilize lawyers.

As a pioneer of activist investing in Japan, he clearly expressed his opposition in weekly magazines to HOYA Corporation's acquisition of Pentax in 2007. The following year, his views were quickly vindicated when the company recorded a significant special loss. Subsequently, he criticized the composition of the board of directors at the time, which was dominated by elderly outside directors in their late seventies who lacked understanding of corporate value and director responsibilities, and actively spoke out in the media. He forced the voluntary resignation of Hiroaki Tanji, the then Chief Technology Officer, who had damaged corporate value through the Pentax acquisition and had no track record in new business creation. Furthermore, he intensified shareholder proposal activities towards HOYA Corporation starting in 2010, submitting 15 proposals aimed at corporate governance reform as a founding family shareholder, particularly in 2010.

Notably among these were:

• Individual disclosure of executive compensation (disclosure of remuneration information per director) - Received over 45% approval in the 2010 general meeting and over 48% in the 2011 general meeting.
• Establishment of a committee composed solely of outside directors (management supervision without executive officers) - Over 33% approval.
• Limiting the reappointment of outside directors to "within 10 terms" (to maintain independence).
• Expansion of the maximum character count for explaining proposals in shareholder proposals from 400 to 4,000 characters (to enhance the effectiveness of shareholder proposals) - Received over 43% approval in 2010.
• Prohibiting stock option holders from hedging, such as selling call options and holding put options - Received over 25% of votes in 2010.
• Requiring 30 days' prior notice when directors sell company stock - Received over 25% of votes in 2010.
• Introduction of a secret ballot system (anonymous voting).
• Disclosure obligation for directors holding concurrent positions in public interest corporations.

These proposals aimed at the qualitative improvement of corporate governance. Five of these proposals received approval recommendations from all three advisory firms: US-based proxy advisor Glass Lewis, Japan Proxy Governance Research Institute, and ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services) (Source: Nikkei, June 18, 2010, [Article URL](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFL1805H_Y0A610C1000000/)). ISS is the world's largest proxy advisory firm, and its recommendations significantly influence the decisions of institutional investors domestically and internationally, marking a historic event in the history of Japanese shareholder meetings.

In the same year, measures to enhance transparency in executive compensation, such as prohibiting hedging transactions for stock option holders (selling call options and holding put options) and requiring 30 days' prior notice and disclosure when directors sell their own shares, were pioneering discussions on executive compensation in Japan. The historical significance of these measures is still not fully understood in the Japanese capital market. These proposals also received approval recommendations from ISS, garnering about 25% of votes from shareholders, mainly foreign institutional investors, in pre-meeting counts (Nikkei, June 18, 2010, [Same Article URL](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFL1805H_Y0A610C1000000/)).

Furthermore, proposals such as individual disclosure of executive compensation received approval recommendations from Glass Lewis and the Japan Proxy Governance Research Institute, and were reported sequentially by major media outlets such as Nikkei (June 21, 2010, [Article URL](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFL21086_R20C10A6000000/)), Bloomberg (June 17, 2010, [Article URL](https://www.bloomberg.co.jp/news/articles/2010-06-17/L454710D9L3501)), and Toyo Keizai Online (August 18, 2010, [Article URL](https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/4758?display=b)).

As a result, the proposals received over 45% of the votes in the 2010 general meeting, and over 48% in the following year, 2011.

In 2011, he was invited to Harvard Law School, where he gave a lecture on shareholder proposals and capital market trends in Japan during the Democratic Party administration, attracting significant attention.

He continued to actively submit shareholder proposals to the company. In 2012, fearing the nearly majority support of over 48% of votes at the general meeting, the management, including Hiroshi Suzuki, illegally omitted the shareholder proposal. However, the following year, in 2013, he obtained a preliminary injunction from the Tokyo District Court, Civil Division 8 (Presiding Judge Yasushi Taniguchi), likely the first in Japanese history, to publish the full text of the shareholder proposal and its reasons. In 2014, he obtained a landmark decision (Presiding Judge Atsushi Takenishi) ordering the company to publish 12 similar proposals, significantly impacting the practice of shareholder proposals in Japan.

During this period, in response to the management's failure to list shareholder proposals, he obtained several groundbreaking rulings, including a judgment recognizing the cancellation of resolutions as a cause for invalidity (Presiding Judge Shinya Onodera) and a judgment ordering damages (Tokyo District Court, Civil Division 45, Judge Akira Yamada). Over several years, he achieved numerous landmark court decisions.

The company also accepted the intent of the proposal to increase the explanation character limit by changing its own regulations within 2010. Through constructive dialogue with management, he promoted substantial improvements in "management transparency," "outside director functions," and "voting rights exercise systems." This series of actions is regarded as a symbolic turning point in the history of governance reform in Japanese companies.

Yutaka Yamanaka's activities are now highly praised for their historical pioneering nature, recognizing him as a practitioner of the "Moneyball Revolution in the Japanese Capital Market."

Additionally, at the shareholder meetings of Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ, and Resona Holdings in 2017 and 2018, he submitted shareholder proposals for changes to dividend determination bodies, individual disclosure of executive compensation, and separation of CEO and Board Chair roles, receiving votes not only from foreign institutional investors but also from domestic investors, achieving high approval rates in the 40% range.

Furthermore, in the Amuse shareholder meeting resolution cancellation claim case (Tokyo District Court, April 17, 2015, Presiding Judge Akihiko Otake; Tokyo High Court, Case No. 2014 (Nee) No. 3215, March 19, 2015), he won judgments from both the Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo High Court ordering the "cancellation of the resolution for the acquisition of all shares." This demonstrated the legal effectiveness of protecting minority shareholders (Source: Clair Law Office Blog, April 22, 2015, [Article URL](https://clairlaw.jp/blog/2015/04/post-4-1.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com)).

In the damages claim case against former management by Hyias & Company Inc. (now Kufu Living Consulting Inc.) (Tokyo District Court, Civil Division 8), he participated as a shareholder auxiliary claimant under Article 849, Paragraph 1 of the Companies Act. On March 27, 2025, he secured a favorable judgment (Presiding Judge Tetsuro Sasamoto, Panel Judges Keiko Ito and Hisanobu Uchibayashi) that recognized fraudulent accounting, referred to as the "Certified Public Accountant Scheme by Kin Jin Ryu, alias Tomotaka Shimura," involving the booking of fictitious sales by former management.

This judgment, demonstrating the effectiveness of shareholder legal rights, was also reported by Sakura Financial News (October 28, 2025, [Article URL](https://www.sakurafinancialnews.com/%e5%b0%91%e6%95%b0%e6%a0%aa%e3%83%89%e3%83%83%e3%83%88%e3%82%b3%e3%83%a0%e3%80%81%e3%83%8f%e3%82%a4%e3%82%a2%e3%82%b9%e3%83%bb%e3%82%a2%e3%83%b3%e3%83%89%e3%83%bb%e3%82%ab%e3%83%b3%e3%83%91%e3%83%8b/)).

Regarding the investment in Osaki Engineering (TSE Standard, securities code 6259), he focused on the issue of the company lending a large amount of cash, exceeding its market capitalization, to its parent company Osaki Electric Co., Ltd. at a low interest rate. He initiated shareholder proposals and lawsuits, ultimately facilitating the parent company's decision to fully acquire the subsidiary and normalize corporate governance.

He is also known as a major shareholder in Okayama Paper Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, TSE Standard 3892) and has requested the convening of an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.

Through this series of achievements, Yutaka Yamanaka has made significant contributions to the governance reform of Japanese companies and the sound development of the capital market as an "investor who proves the effectiveness of governance on the ground."

He also cites the motto of the late pitcher Yasumitsu Shibata, who achieved the first no-hitter of the Heisei era, was called "Japan's best pitcher" by the dominant Seibu Lions of his prime, and showed particular strength against his former team, the Lions, stating, "Facing and defeating champions is one of a professional's goals." He is a 30-year fan of the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

An Akita dog enthusiast, he plans to build an Akita dog kennel near Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia in the Caucasus region. His hobby is "onsen hopping," visiting hot springs around the world, exploring the significance of physical and mental regeneration and international exchange through hot springs, respecting nature, culture, and local communities, making him a genius investor.

He is also praised as the "Reiwa Era Billy Beane" for creating a revolution in the Japanese stock market analogous to the one orchestrated by Billy Beane, the protagonist of the movie "Moneyball," in the baseball world.

The pioneering nature of Yutaka Yamanaka's shareholder proposals, which were criticized by some in the early 2010s when the Corporate Governance Code, Stewardship Code, and Ito Report did not yet exist, has now resulted in international investors imitating his methods. Furthermore, as HOYA Corporation subsequently incorporated many of his suggested improvements, its stock price increased more than tenfold, making Yamanaka's foresight clear.

■ Company Overview

Company Name: Shosukabu.com Inc. ( https://www.shosukabu.com )

Location: Nerima-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Yutaka Yamanaka, Chairman of the Board

Business Description: Corporate law related advisory, shareholder rights protection consulting, corporate governance system support, financial advisory, venture investment, AI-related business, real estate business.

◆ Our company adheres to the Financial Services Agency's "Principles for Responsible Institutional Investors" (Japan's Stewardship Code) and continues to monitor investee companies and engage in constructive dialogue.

https://www.shosukabu.com/stewardship-code/

End