W TOKYO Co., Ltd. President and CEO Noriyoshi Murakami

Creating history for over 100 years. To achieve this, we will continue to be No. 1.

W TOKYO Co., Ltd. President and CEO Noriyoshi Murakami

■ Profile

Born in Aichi Prefecture, he graduated from the Department of Sociology at Waseda University and worked at a major advertising agency.
After that, she participated in the launch of Tokyo Girls Collection as a casting producer.
In 2012, he was appointed Chief Producer, overseeing all departments, and in 2014, he became Representative Director of F1 Media Co., Ltd. In 2017, the company name was changed to W TOKYO Co., Ltd., a position he holds to this day.

Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC) is the largest fashion festival in history, which began in 2005 with the theme of "Bringing Japanese girl culture to the world."
President Murakami was one of the first to spot fashion shows at a time when they didn't exist in Japan. We spoke to him, who has always strived to be number one, about the history of TGC and his outlook for the future.

During my student days, I was absorbed in "what I loved and was good at." At the time, magazines were at their peak, when placing an advertisement in magazines like "ViVi" or "CanCam" would instantly sell products. Fascinated by the influence of such magazines, I became deeply involved in the media industry, and realized that originality was important to succeed in this industry. I started my own business by taking advantage of my status as a student to introduce university student influencers to magazine companies. My business got on track, introducing over 3000 influencers in a year, and although it was a small world, I became number one.

■ Always aim to be number one
After graduating from university, she initially worked for a company, but left after just one month, wanting to work in a position where she could demonstrate her originality. Utilizing her network of contacts in the magazine industry, she launched Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC). She realized that she wouldn't be able to reach the top by entering an already established magazine market, so she made Japan's first fashion show her platform. This is known as the Mount Fuji theory, where most people can answer the question "What is the highest mountain in Japan?" but most people can't answer the question "What is the second highest mountain?" This is because the difference between number one and number two is so great. At a time when fashion shows didn't yet exist in Japan, she set out to become number one.

■ Finding value in people
As we considered the future of TGC, we realized that we could not win by relying solely on technology, so we decided to find value in people.
We decided to do this because we believed that even without technology, as long as we could get the most popular performers, we could create a stage that would forever be number one in Japan. The 34th TGC was held on Monday, March 21st (national holiday), and by continually reevaluating the "people" each season, we keep things fresh. In this day and age of frequent rule changes, something that was previously considered "good" can suddenly become "bad." Our company is a small, elite team of 44 employees (as of March 16, 2022), and I think one of our attractions is our ability to adapt flexibly to the times.

■Continue to bring about change
TGC is like a smartphone that is constantly being updated, and continues to bring about change in four main areas. The first is the physical TGC venue, which offers a variety of experiential value. The second is online streaming for over 2 million viewers and the official TGC metaverse, "Virtual TGC," which provides a high-quality experience even for those who cannot attend the venue. The third is the press coverage area where approximately 500 press members gather on the day of TGC. The fourth is people-centered social media. The previous TGC garnered over 900 million impressions. By repeatedly destroying and creating in these four areas, we hope to provide content that will last for over 100 years.

■Message to university students
Society demands that we create new value. New value means originality, and we believe that this can be demonstrated by continuing to do what you love and are good at. Study hard and break away from the mindset of coming up with the same solutions as others, and create new value that is unique to you.
(Miyata Ayako, 3rd year student at Tsuda University)