Eitaro Itoyama (糸山英太郎 Itoyama Eitarō?, born June 4, 1942 in Tokyo, Japan) is one of Japan's wealthiest citizens with a fortune estimated to exceed $4 billion. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. He is a controversial figure in Japanese political and commercial life due to his flamboyant publicity seeking and alleged ties with organized crime.
He was born as an illegitimate son of Shintaro Sasaki, one of the wealthiest businessman in Japan at that time.
He married the niece of reputed gangster Ryoichi Sasakawa, a convicted war criminal who became wealthy after the War through promoting illegal betting on speedboat races. Ryōichi Sasakawa (笹川良一 Sasakawa Ryōichi) ( May 18, 1899 &ndash July 14, 1995) was a Japanese businessman He is believed to own as many as fifty golf courses in Japan and the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Property interests such as these comprise the bulk of his wealth.
Itoyama served four terms as a member of the Diet, the Japanese Parliament with nearly twenty years of active involvement in the ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party. The is Japan's Bicameral Legislature. It is composed of a Lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an Upper house, called The, frequently abbreviated to LDP or, is a Centre right, conservative, Political party and the largest party in Japan. In addition to political service, he is the Chairman and benefactor of an eponymous educational institution.
Unusually for a Japanese businessman, the former politician has a flamboyant and outspoken approach to business, he has publicly discussed his friendships with convicted criminals, including gangsters. Some journalists in Japan speculate that he is the link between the respectable business community and the underworld Yakuza. History Origins Despite their notoriety in modern Japan the precise origin of the Yakuza is still somewhat the subject of debate He does not reject the description, although once famously was stabbed in the arm by a gangster during a public speaking engagement and has publicly rebuked some aspects of organized crime, including extortion of public companies.
He is one of the largest shareholders and is a prominent investor activist within national airline JAL, publicly calling for significant changes to management and business structures, detailing his vision for change on his personal website. ( or JAL, is an airline of Japan It is one of the largest Airline operators in Asia. Corporate confrontations of this kind are highly unusual in Japan. JAL management recently moved to compromise with Itoyama by appointing him Special Adviser to the Chief Executive Officer, signalling a possible conclusion to hostilities after six years of highly public disagreement.
He is also a best-selling author, with books on political and business subjects.