Den Fujita
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Den Fujita (藤田 田, ''Fujita Den'', March 3, 1926 – April 21, 2004) was the
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
founder of
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.


Background

Fujita was born in
Osaka, Japan is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Ja ...
to a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
mother and father who worked in a foreign company. Fujita, who was entirely ethnically Japanese, was reared differently from most other Japanese children. With a command of the
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
, he served as a translator during high school. However, after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Fujita found his life altered by the death of his father and the destruction of his house. Fujita was educated at the
University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
law school and after graduating in 1951, he decided to work at the importing business he started while attending the university.


McDonald's Japan

After his first McDonald's meal in 1967, Fujita was amazed by its efficiency and popularity. After selling imported bags and shoes, Fujita seized on the opportunity to start McDonald's
franchises Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
in Japan in 1971. His strategy for selling McDonald's to the Japanese people involved the following statement: "The reason Japanese people are so short and have yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and rice for two thousand years... if we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our skin become white, and our hair blonde." He opened his first McDonald's in
Mitsukoshi is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain. History It was founded in 1673 with the (shop name) , selli ...
department store in
Ginza Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...
(銀座三越), an upscale district in
Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. However, while McDonald's Japan opened its first restaurant in 1971, McDonald's Japan did not begin television advertising and radio advertising until 1973. McDonald's Japan now has 3,800 restaurants, earning revenue of approximately $4 billion a year (60% of the hamburger market). Much of the success was due to the Japanese styled offerings such as the
Teriyaki ''Teriyaki'' (kanji: 照り 焼き) is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Fish – yellowtail, marlin, skipjack tuna, salmon, trout, and ...
McBurger (テリヤキマックバーガー) and Chicken Tatsuta (チキンタツタ). After building McDonald's presence in Japan and building a net worth of about $1 billion, Fujita retired on March 5, 2003. His ambitions, however, did not recede with age as he predicted that there would be 10,000 McDonald's in Japan by 2010. In December 2003, McDonald's paid $57 million (estimated) for canceling its contract with Fujita & Co. (Fujita's consulting company) along with a $24 million retirement bonus. Fujita's family held a 25% stake in McDonald's Japan until selling it to Longreach private equity fund in 2005. At the time the shares had a market value of $674 million.


Other roles

Fujita served on the board of
Softbank is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the ...
, whose Japanese founder,
Masayoshi Son Masayoshi Son ( ja, 孫 正義, translit=Son Masayoshi, ko, 손정의, translit=Son Jeong-ui) (born 11 August 1957) is a Korean-Japanese billionaire technology entrepreneur, investor, financier and philanthropist. A 3rd generation "Zainichi Kore ...
, once idolized Fujita as a boy. He served as vice-chairman of
Toys 'R' Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pe ...
Japan. Fujita wrote eight books on business strategy. His first book, ''The Jewish Way of Doing Business'', explained that Jews had taken over the business world and exhorted his readers to use Jewish business methods to become rich themselves. The book was also part autobiography, in which Fujita drew parallels between
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
and the discrimination he himself faced because of his
Kansai dialect The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as suc ...
. (He also believed that Jews had settled in Osaka some 1,000 years ago, which was why people from the area were craftier businessmen.) Published the year after Fujita opened his first McDonald's restaurant in Ginza, the book was an immediate success and went on to sell over a million copies. His own words: He printed these words on all of writing tablets used in his company.


Death

At the age of 78, Den Fujita died of
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
on April 21, 2004. Two days earlier, McDonald's CEO
Jim Cantalupo James Richard Cantalupo (November 14, 1943 – April 19, 2004) was an American businessman. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of McDonald's Corporation until his sudden death by heart attack at the age of 60. Life Cantalupo was ...
had died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. After his death, Japanese media wrote about his estate and entrepreneur-advocates subsequently questioned the government about inheritance tax that his heirs had to pay. All his personal property and investments, which were left over from his earnings after paying income taxes, was subject to Japan's
inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...
.Japan's Inheritance Tax, Mr. Fujita's Case
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Awards and honors

* ''Business Week'': The Stars of Asia Managers (2001) * ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'': World's Richest People (1999 - ) * Blue Ribbon Award for business achievement from
Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
(1986)


References


External links


''Business Week'': The Stars of Asia Managers



2004: World's Richest People - Den Fujita & Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujita, Den 1926 births 2004 deaths People from Osaka McDonald's people Japanese billionaires 20th-century Japanese businesspeople 21st-century Japanese businesspeople