Chairmen over the years
Founder Rihachi Mizuno
On April 1, 1906, Rihachi and his younger brother Rizo founded Mizuno Brothers Ltd. in Kita Ward, Osaka. The shop sold sports outfits, baseballs, and so on.
In 1910, the company name was changed to Mizuno Shoten (Mizuno shop). Before passing away at age 85, Rihachi said, “I want to have all my shares donated and give back to the sports industry to which I owed my life.” Mizuno Sports Promotion Association was established in his will.
Rihachi spent his entire life improving and promoting sports items, contributing to the development of sports in contemporary Japan. He was a man of high spirits, donating substantial amounts of money to vitalize sports in Japan, and he had many ideas to establish the foundation.
Rihachi’s management philosophy of “contributing to society through better sports items and by promoting sports” has been preserved to this day.
On March 9, 1970, Rihachi passed away at age 85.
In 1971, Rihachi is inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rihachi was awarded the Medal with Blue Ribbon in 1956.
Rihachi was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays in 1964.
First-generation chairman Kenjiro Mizuno
Kenjiro graduated from the Science Department of Osaka Imperial University. He spent the Taisho, Showa, and Heisei eras working as a manager. With the credo of “founding is easy, continuing and growing is hard,” he boldly explored new fields, proposing “sportology,” a new study of sports that positions sports as a culture.
In 1942, he joined Mizuno as a director, and was appointed as the president in 1969, and the chairman in 1988, focusing on the promotion of sports following Rihachi’s will, especially the promotion and development of amateur sports through international exchanges.
On February 9, 1977, he used his private fund to establish the Mizuno International Sports Exchange Foundation. The fund was used to promote sports and develop athletes who made prominent records in international competitions, and to develop the Olympics, National Sports Festival, and various sports organizations.
Kenjiro passed away on April 15, 1999, at age 85.
He was awarded the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon in 1976, Medal with Blue Ribbon in 1978, the French Legion of Honour in 1984, Olympic Order in 1985, and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in 1986.
Second-generation chairman Masato Mizuno
Masato served as Mizuno’s third president. The former Mizuno chairman and representative director is currently chairman of the board. He graduated from the Department of Economics, Konan University in 1966, and from chemistry at Carthage College, Wisconsin, U.S. in 1970, joining Mizuno in the same year. He was appointed as a Mizuno director in 1978; a representative managing director in 1983, and the president in 1988.
He was appointed as a 1996 International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sport and Environment Commission member and the 2001 Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) Director. In 2006, he was appointed as the Mizuno chairman. In 2007, he served as the JOC vice president. In 2011, he was appointed as the CEO for the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee; and to focus on the invitation, he stepped down from his position as Mizuno chairman, successfully bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Japan.
In terms of foundations, he became the chairman of the Mizuno Sports Promotion Association in 1999, and he merged the association and the Mizuno International Sports Exchange Foundation in 2010 to establish the Mizuno Sports Promotion Foundation, immediately becoming its chairman. In 2011, the foundation became a public interest incorporated foundation.
Awards: Masato Mizuno received the Olympic Order (silver) in 2001, the Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2004, and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in 2014.
Third-generation chairman Akito Mizuno
Akito graduated from Wesleyan University School of Management, United States, in 1974 and Kwansei Gakuin University School of Commerce in 1976.
He joined Mizuno in 1975. He was appointed as a director and vice manager of the Accounting Department in 1984, a managing director in 1986, a senior managing director in 1990, an executive vice president in 1994, the executive vice president and representative director in 1998, and the fourth-generation president and representative director in 2006.
In the foundation, he served as director of the Mizuno Sports Promotion Association for 10 years from June 1989, and was appointed as the vice chairman of the association and chairman of the Mizuno International Sports Exchange Foundation in 1999. After serving as vice chairman of the Mizuno Sports Promotion Association, he became chairman of the foundation in September 2011, following in his brother’s footsteps.
Ever since, he has continuously engaged in and promoted (1) sports; (2) the development of academic studies on sports; and (3) the collection of sports materials, which are the three pillars of the company’s foundation.
Awards: Akito received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in 2020.