Hiromasa Ezoe
Hiromasa Ezoe was a Japanese industrialist who founded Recruit Holdings. He is remembered as one of the most prolific entrepreneurs educated at the University of Tokyo, alongside Kiichiro Toyoda and Namihei Odaira. Ezoe was also the central figure in the Recruit insider trading scandal, which fundamentally changed the Japanese political landscape after the resignation of prominent figures including then-PM Noboru Takeshita.
Life
Hiromasa Ezoe was born in June 1936 in Namikata Village, Ehime Prefecture, where he spent the first three years of his life. His family relocated several times due to his father's teaching career and the impacts of World War II, eventually evacuating to Saga when air raids intensified.Philanthropy and later life
Ezoe became a passionate advocate for opera and supported the New National Theatre in Tokyo. He also founded the opera company La Voce and published a memoir detailing his perspective on the Recruit Scandal. His later works advocated for judicial transparency in Japan. Ezoe died in February 2013 due to pneumonia after a fall at Tokyo Station.Founding of Recruit Holdings
While studying educational psychology at the University of Tokyo, Ezoe founded a company called University Newspaper Advertisement Company, which evolved into Recruit Holdings, in 1960. The business began with a temporary office on the rooftop of the 2nd Mori Building, which was leased by Minoru Mori, also a member of the university newspaper and later the CEO of Mori Building. Early achievements included the publication of Invitation to Companies, a precursor to Recruit Book, which significantly elevated the status of recruitment advertising in Japan. In its 10th year, Recruit established a scholarship programme to support students.Under Ezoe's leadership, Recruit diversified into various industries, including real estate, travel, and resorts. Notably, it launched projects such as the Appi Kogen Ski Resort and a residential development company, Recruit Cosmos, which later became a major player in its sector.