is a Japanese businessman.

Profile

Born May 27, 1940 in Chikuma,

Nagano-ken is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the no ...

, Tatsumi (nicknamed Tom) finished high school at Nagano HS in 1959 and Business Administration at

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

in 1963. In 1969, he became

Sansui Electric was a Japanese manufacturer of audio and video equipment. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, it was part of the Bermuda conglomerate (from 2011). The company was founded in Tokyo in 1947 by Kosaku Kikuchi, who had worked for a radio parts distr ...

's director until 1988, the year he founded TY Limited (then Thomas Yoda Limited). Still in 1988, Yoda, with

Max Matsuura , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese record producer and businessman. He is the founder of Avex Group, one of the largest music labels. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists into stars (most notably Ayumi Hamas ...

and Kazunari "Ken" Suzuki, founded

Avex Group is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

, one of Japan's biggest names in music and entertainment. In 1999, he joined

Gaga Communications Gaga ( he, גע גע literally 'touch touch') (also: ga-ga, gaga ball, or ga-ga ball) is a variant of dodgeball that is played in a gaga "pit". The game combines dodging, striking, running, and jumping, with the objective of being the last perso ...

as a director. Due to a feud with Matsuura over unknown circumstances, Yoda resigned as Avex's chairman in 2004,Japan Entertainment News
/ref> but reappointed as honorary chairman until 2005. As of now, he has his own entertainment company called

TY Entertainment Ty (stylized as ty) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was founded by Ty Warner in 1986. It designs, develops and sells products, most notably Beanie Babies, exclusively to speci ...

Other Institutions Served

Aside from Avex and Sansui: * Osada Electric (1969) *

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

(2000–2004) * Japan/China Year 2002 * Cabinet Secretariat of Japan (2002–2007) *

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry The or METI, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic activiti ...

(2003) * Japan/Korea Friendship Year 2005 * The Foundation for Promotion of Music, Industry and Culture (2001–2006) * The Japan-China Exchange Year of Culture and Sports 2007 * Rakuten Inc. (2003–2011)

References

About Tom Yoda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoda, Tatsumi Living people 1940 births Avex Group people Japanese businesspeople Japanese music industry executives People from Nagano Prefecture Meiji University alumni