Dr. Sachio Semmoto is a rarity in Japan. He is a bold, controversial and outspoken entrepreneur. He co-founded DDI Corporation (now KDDI) in 1984. KDDI is now capitalised at over $60bn and employs over 35,000 people as Japan’s second-largest provider of telecom services. Semmoto shares his story of entrepreneurship in Japan, shedding light on the nation's culture, its strengths, and its political and economic challenges.

Dr. Semmoto is a successful entrepreneur in the telecommunication industry, with more than 30 years in senior management positions with leading Japanese telecommunication companies. His career began when he joined Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT, Japan) in 1966, staying until 1983. After favorably campaigning for a deregulated telecom industry in Japan, he cofounded the first private telecom startup, DDI, now KDDI Corporation in 1984. In 1999, Dr. Semmoto founded and served as CEO of eAccess, Ltd. an Internet access startup that commercialized Japan’s DSL market. Following the IPO of eAccess in 2004, he founded and became CEO of EMOBILE, which became Japan’s fourth largest mobile network operator. EMOBILE and eAccess were sold to SoftBank in 2013. Today he serves as Executive Chairman of RENOVA, Inc., a leading renewable energy power company.

Building a Telecom Giant

Evening Conference