Shusaku Hayakawa, Chairman and CEO of Ryukyu Astrea Sports Club Co., Ltd.

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Chairman and CEO of Ryukyu Astida Sports Club Co., Ltd.　早川周作(Hayakawa Shusaku)

■ Profile
He started his own business while still in college.
He studied as a secretary to a former prime minister and ran for the House of Representatives election at the age of 28.
He then served as an advisor to approximately 90 venture companies.
In 2018, he became the representative director of Ryukyu Astida Sports Club Co., Ltd.
He is currently a lecturer at Meiji University's MBA Business School and a visiting professor at the University of the Ryukyus, a national university corporation.
In December 2021, he was selected as one of Forbes JAPAN's "100 Faces of the Year."

Ryukyu Astrea aims to be "like the sun that shines on the future." Shusaku Hayakawa is the first professional sports team to be listed on the stock market, and has achieved the remarkable feat of making the team number one in Japan in just three years. He talks about his fierce student days, the passion that inspires his players, and his unwavering beliefs throughout his life. We spoke to the incredibly positive Hayakawa about his life, the appeal of his company, and his aspirations.

■ Newspaper delivery, student entrepreneur, and running for national elections. A passionate student life filled with challenges

When he was 19, his father's company went bankrupt and disappeared, so he had an unusual student life, starting his own business and running for national elections.
My father's company went bankrupt and he disappeared, and when he consulted with the government, he felt strongly that "Why does the world only give credit to the strong and not to the weak?" This is what made me want to run for national elections. Even at just 19 years old, I felt that we needed to change this social structure and system itself. We need to live in a society where taking on challenges is valued. In other words, a society that only evaluates people based on results is wrong. I thought that my mission might be to create a society where everyone can take on challenges and move forward with their dreams. So, I decided to run for election in my twenties.
After the family business went bankrupt, I saved up money by delivering newspapers and went on to study law at night at Meiji University's Faculty of Law, which offered the cheapest tuition fees. From my first year of university, I started working as a legal clerk, working during the day and studying at night.
The law firm I was working at at the time handled real estate auctions, and my boss, a lawyer, was constantly cramming real estate knowledge into me. An investor from the law firm then told me, "You're not the type to be a salaryman, so start your own company," and invested about 5 million yen in me. My mother was still in my hometown of Akita, so I decided to start my own business so I could call her my mother and live with her.

■ "I want to shine a light not only on the strong but also on the weak." A sudden encounter with a table tennis team that coincided with my beliefs

After graduating from university, I ran for election and almost all the money I had earned at the time was gone. I then received calls from companies and served as an advisor and consultant for nearly 80 companies, and when I felt I had earned enough, I moved to Okinawa.
At that time, a table tennis league called the T-League was formed in Okinawa. Despite the fact that there are roughly 800 million table tennis players in Japan, there was no professional league at the time. So, with the idea of ​​"making table tennis a national sport," the T-League was launched at the Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Ryogoku. The person who started the league suddenly told me, "Even if you start playing table tennis at age 5, you have the potential to win a medal by age 15. With the wealth gap in Okinawa widening, table tennis is the only ball game that offers opportunities without spending money." This idea resonated with me, a philosophy I've always held dear in my politics and venture support: "Shine a light not only on the strong but also on the weak." Despite having no prior experience in table tennis, I decided to take on the team within just 30 minutes.

■ What drives people is "passion, passion, and ambition"

However, when I actually jumped into the sports industry, I felt very uncomfortable. The reason was that there were very few companies willing to invest in sports, and at the time there was not a single listed sports team company. I felt that unless we could create a better circulation model for sports, which inspires dreams and excitement, sports in Japan would come to an end. So, as soon as I took over the team, I decided to create Japan's first publicly listed professional sports company. However, at first, no one took me seriously. That's why I had no choice but to show it through results.
I believe that a business that is approved by everyone from the start will never succeed. This is because it is easy for competitors to enter the market and anyone can copy it. A business that clearly differentiates itself from others and is opposed will not take off. Acquiring strong players was particularly difficult. In our first season, we were by far the bottom of the league and lost a single game. So I took players from various teams out to dinner and repeatedly listened to them, asking them, "I want to build the best team in Japan within three years," and "I want to build an absolutely strong team, so what can I do to achieve that?" I also talked to Tomokazu Harimoto every time we met, hoping to get him to join our team, and after four years, we finally managed to get him to join. I was so happy when he told me, "The reason I transferred to Ryukyu is because of your passion," that I cried. I truly realized that passion, determination, and ambition are the driving forces that motivate people, and it was a moment when I truly felt glad that I had played professional sports.

■Work is supposed to be fun. We want people who enjoy working in a fun and enjoyable environment!

Our headquarters website says, "Have fun, be happy, and always in a good mood. Never give up, and give it your all!" The bottom line is, it's okay to be a fool. Work is inherently fun, and I believe the true reward comes from changing society and showing how you live your life. That's why I've never been angry at work. I want to hire people who are always in a good mood and can have fun and be happy. To achieve this, the ability to forget is important. When you're in business, there are good and bad things, and you're not always blessed with good fortune. In these waves, many people end up dragging along the bad, but I think I've gotten this far because I've always pulled in the positive parts. Everyone, try to be someone who carries only the good with you and enjoys work!

■Now is the time to absorb information. Use time to your advantage and enjoy the best university life possible!

Cherish your youth while you have the ability to absorb information. What you can learn with 10 minutes of study now may take 3 hours in 10 years. This is why it's so important to use time to your advantage, and working hard now will buy you time in the future. Cherish the time you have now, live each day to the fullest, and leverage your time to enjoy a fulfilling university life.

Student Newspaper Online Interview November 17, 2022, Tokai University 4th Year Student Misaki Otsuka