Company

Board of Directors

• 

  Representative director and CEO

  Taku Watanabe

  Graduated from Keio University, Graduate School of Science and Technology. Joined a start-up company as a new graduate and engaged in launching new businesses. After becoming independent, he supported a YouTuber friend and founded BitStar in July 2002.

• 

  Director

  Tomohiro Tamaki

  After graduating from Kwansei Gakuin University, they joined Dentsu. Following a role in charge of magazines, they worked as a communication planner, designing communication strategies for a wide range of companies in industries such as beauty, beverages, food, and apparel. Later, as a business designer, they supported new business development for major electronics manufacturers and formulated business strategies for startup companies. In September 2022, they joined BitStar. After serving as the head of marketing and planning, they were appointed as Executive Officer in April 2023. In September 2024, they assumed the position of Director, overseeing social media marketing.

• 

  External director (independent officer)

  Takayoshi Yamakawa

  He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Kyoto University and a Master of Engineering degree in Precision Engineering (Production Systems) from Kyoto University. After working at Yokogawa Hewlett Packard (now HP Japan) and Boston Consulting Group, he participated in the founding of Dream Incubator (DI) in 2000, serving as Director and CTO in 2000, Executive Vice President in 2005, President in 2006, and Business Producer since June 2008. In January 2009, he was appointed as a Director of the Company.

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  External director (independent officer)

  Takafumi Murakami

  Co-founded Siniffian with the aim of creating a new industry to pass on to future generations. He founded THE FUND, a growth capital firm, investing in startups in Japan. Prior to founding the company, he worked for many years in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs in Tokyo and London, where he also served as TMT Coverage and in the M&A group.

• 

  External director (independent officer)

  Koichiro Natsume

  After working in the character business and corporate planning department within the Sony Music Entertainment group, he was involved in the establishment of Aniplex, an animation production company. As president and chairman of the board, he has been in tow for 10 years and has been involved in many hit productions. In January 2010, he became a director of the company.

• 

  External director

  Kazuhiko Miyama

  After working for NTT, CCC / TSUTAYA online, and Recruit, joined Global Brain (GB). At TSUTAYA online, he was engaged in corporate planning and business development. At Recruit, he worked in the Corporate Planning Office, where he formulated company-wide strategies and provided support for business strategies in various areas, before launching new services and managing various services. Currently, as a partner of GB, he invests in and supports startups that challenge to create new innovations in the industry through technology-driven approaches.

Board of Auditors

• External auditor (full-time)

  Shinji Kabuyanagi

  Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters, and joined Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (at that time) in 1984. From 2010, he worked in the Corporate Strategy Department, where he was in charge of management planning, group company management, governance improvement, and the change of market listing to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In January 2012, he was appointed as a corporate auditor of the Company.

• External auditor

  Sayaka Kakegawa

  After graduating from Tokyo Woman's Christian University with a degree in English and American Literature, she worked at GDH (now Gonzo) before joining GREE in June 2009. In October 2001, he joined Mercari as the 10th employee. In April 2006, he became a director of Souzou, a subsidiary of GREE, and in April 2007, he became a corporate auditor of GREE.

• External auditor

  Yoshiki Sugihara

  Attorney at Law. After working at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, he joined Sato Sogo Law Office in 2011. In the IPO field, he provides general legal support to companies preparing to go public and conducts in-house seminars to prevent misconduct. He has been an outside auditor of M Marketing since June 2007 and was appointed as an auditor of the Company in September 2007.

Management Team

• 

  Executive Officer

  Shunsuke Sakuma

  After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Keio University, he worked in accounting and finance and business planning in the beauty field at Recruit Co. After working in the corporate division, he was involved in the launch of the Kansai branch office as branch manager, and was appointed as Executive Officer in August 2010, responsible for the social media marketing domain.

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  CTO

  Yuta Yamashita

  After graduating from Keio NY High School, he went on to study electronic engineering at Keio University's Faculty of Science and Technology, where he was involved in the founding of LUXUR. After graduating from university, he joined GREE, where he was involved in the launch of SNS and domestic and international platforms. In parallel, he was involved in recruiting new graduates in Japan and overseas, contributing to the hiring of human resources for the company's global expansion. After working as CTO of Luxul, he joined BitStar in July 2004. He became CTO of BitStar in July 2004 and has been in charge of the development area since October 2009.

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  CPO

  Atsuki Demizu

  After graduating from Keio University, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, he joined Yahoo! As an engineer, he was in charge of developing the backend system for Yahoo! In November 2010, he joined BitStar, where he was appointed as CPO and in charge of the product area.

• 

  Executive Officer

  Takamichi Ito

  After graduating from the School of Commerce at Waseda University, he joined KDDI, where he was in charge of accounting and finance, and was transferred to KDDI Summit Global Myanmar, where he was in charge of finance operations. He then joined Mercari, where he was in charge of IPO, consolidation, disclosure, and group management. He then joined a startup and was in charge of general corporate affairs. In March 2023, he joined BitStar, where he was appointed as Executive Officer in June 2024, responsible for the corporate area.

Advisor

• Consultant

  Akio Sato

  He established Sato Sogo Law Office in 2003 and has been providing a wide range of services including M&A, finance, IPO, venture, IT/Fintech, crisis management, litigation, etc. He also has CPAs, patent attorneys, judicial scriveners, etc. in his office and provides various consulting services in collaboration with these professionals. The firm also has CPAs, patent attorneys, judicial scriveners, and other professionals in its office. In the IPO field, where he has been involved for more than 20 years, he has consulted with IPO preparation companies, securities firms, audit firms, and trust banks (transfer agents), and is widely known among IPO professionals. He is well known among IPO professionals.

• Creative Consultant

  Hiroshi Osaki

  He joined Yoshimoto Kogyo (now Yoshimoto Kogyo Holdings) in 1978, became President and Representative Director in 2009, Chairman and Representative Director in 2019, and will retire as Director in 2023. Member of the Secretariat of the Headquarters for the Creation of Town, People, and Work, Cabinet Secretariat. Member of the Conceptual Committee of the Headquarters for Intellectual Property Strategy, Cabinet Office.
  Currently a member of the Management Advisory Council of Tottori University Hospital and a visiting professor at Kinki University; awarded the Zenkoren Japan Advertising Award and the Shoriki Award in March 2023; appointed co-chair of the Osaka-Kansai Expo in May 2023. He is the representative director of mother ha.ha, a general incorporated association, and was appointed creative director of the International Friendship Association in June 2024.

Corporate Profile

Name of company

BitStar Inc.

Date established

Jul 10 2014

President

Representative director and CEO: Taku Watanabe

Capital

1,729,390,224 JPY (including statutory capital reserves)

Location

Tokyo Headquarters
Shibuya Higashiguchi Building 10th Floor, 2-22-3 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Prefecture, 150-0002
Google Map

Kansai Branch
Hankyu Hanshin ONS office, 2F Hankyu Sanbangai South Building, 1-1-3 Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0012
Google Map

Kyushu Branch
Nishinippon Shimbun Kaikan (located within Tenjin Sky Hall), 16th Floor, 1-4-1 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 810-0001
Google Map

Scope of business

・Creator support
・Content creation

Personnel

216 people

Primary financial institutions

Mizuho Bank
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
MUFG Bank
Resona Bank

Group firms

Fun Co., Ltd.