was a Japanese music industry executive who was the chairman of

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

Personal life

Born in Saitama-ken, he learned the

music of Japan In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese language, Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comfort). ...

while studying

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

. He graduated in 1968 in the same school.

EMI days

Ishizaka became an inside director in 1968 before being promoted at

Toshiba-EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

in 1991 and stayed until 1993. He was called "Mr.

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

" for endless efforts of promoting the British band's albums in Japan.

PolyGram/Universal days

In 1998, Ishizaka became the executive director of

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

. Three years later, he became the company's CEO, and in October 2006 he became the chairman until November 2009, when he

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

. He was replaced as UMG Japan's CEO the same month by former A&R VP and

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

Japan GM Koike Kazuhiko.

RIAJ chairmanship

Ishizaka was the RIAJ's chairman from July 2007, until he was replaced by

Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

CEO Naoki Kitagawa in the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include p ...

presidency in June 2011.

Warner days

In November 2011, Keiichi Ishizaka became the CEO and chairman of

Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * Nipsey Hussle, All Money In * Mike Caren, Artist Par ...

, replacing Hirokazu Tanaka who served as the acting head of the company since the October 2010 death of Takashi Yoshida. After three years, he resigned on April 1, 2014.

Awards

In November 2009, Ishizaka was awarded with a Medal of Honour with blue ribbon by the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

. He was later awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

on November 3, 2015.

References

1945 births 2016 deaths Japanese chief executives Keio University alumni Japanese music industry executives People from Saitama Prefecture Universal Music Japan Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class {{Japan-business-bio-stub