Yoichi Ota, President and CEO, Tokyu Livable Co., Ltd.

Meeting diverse needs by capturing upstream information and disseminating it throughout the organization

Yoichi Ota, President and CEO of Tokyu Livable Co., Ltd.

■ Profile
Born in Tokyo in September 1960. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Waseda University, he joined Tokyu Land Corporation in 1983. He was seconded to Tokyu Livable in 1995. He gained a wide range of experience in the business and staff departments, becoming General Manager of Corporate Planning in 2007 and Deputy General Manager of the Distribution Business Division in 2012. He was appointed Director and Executive Officer of the company in June 2012, Managing Director and Executive Officer in April 2014, and Representative Director and President in April 2019. His hobbies are playing the saxophone, reading, and visiting castles.

President Ota has experience in a wide range of areas, including sales, labor, and business planning, at Tokyu Real Estate and Tokyu Livable. How is Tokyu Livable, a leader in the real estate distribution industry, able to meet the diverse needs of its customers? We asked President Ota about what he thinks is appealing about his company and the values ​​he holds dear in his work.

■What I learned from my volleyball coach and reading

During my first and second years of university, I was passionate about being a student coach for a high school volleyball team. I was on the volleyball team myself, and while it was rewarding, it was also difficult to coach younger students who were still the same age. Many members quit because they couldn't stand the hard training aimed at achieving long-term goals and the passionate coaching methods of the sports club. However, I spent my days trying to figure out how to guide the high school students who stayed.
I feel like I read a lot of books in the latter half of my student life. I had always dreamed of becoming a journalist, so I started by reading modern and contemporary "classics" to understand how the world works and myself. I tried to fit myself into the world and discover who I am. I studied law at university, but I think I spent time thinking about how I wanted to live my life in the future, rather than just gaining specialized knowledge. My experience as a volleyball coach taught me how to motivate people in an organization, and I feel like I gained the values ​​I consider important from reading.

The aspirations and hardships of urban development

I joined Tokyu Land Corporation as a new graduate. At the time, manufacturers were at their peak, but I didn't have much knowledge, so I couldn't imagine what I would do there. However, during my job search, the field that excited me the most was "urban development." I aspired to be involved in urban development, building social capital through projects like laying railways and attracting universities. Ultimately, I chose Tokyu Land Corporation, which was the major developer most focused on urban development. At the time, Tokyu Land Corporation was focusing on large-scale development projects, which are large-scale projects that can take 10 years to recoup their investment. I started out as a salesperson selling new homes in the Kansai region, then moved into redevelopment projects, where I worked tirelessly every day negotiating with housing complex residents and reaching agreements with landowners for reconstruction projects. After spending about 10 years in Kansai and three years in labor management at the head office, I was seconded to Tokyu Livable Corporation, where I worked in the new home sales department before moving on to the head office staff department. Here I mainly worked as a manager, gaining experience in staff work, including human resources and business planning.

■ Share information and add value

I think Tokyu Livable's appeal lies in its broad business scope and the large number of employees who love their company. We cater to a variety of needs, from providing real estate appraisals and property introductions to individual clients to supporting corporate real estate utilization. With over 200 sales offices nationwide, we leverage our direct contact with clients to capture the flow of real estate-related information and find ways to utilize it. This is only possible because all business divisions work together and have a system in place to ensure smooth information distribution. Our job is not to sell real estate, but to add value to information. For example, we can apply information obtained from local real estate agents to our urban condominium development business. Only by having a system in place to ensure information flows can we achieve optimal solutions. While we have a corporate philosophy, we also have a culture where each employee is involved in setting organizational goals and defines their own role within them, which naturally fosters a unifying force. Thinking about things from a qualitative rather than a quantitative perspective is also important when setting goals and processes.

■ Benefits of three virtuous cycles

At Tokyu Livable, our goal is to balance and improve the three elements of customer evaluation, job satisfaction, and business competitiveness. Meeting customer needs creates a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment for employees, and this motivation in turn creates momentum for the business, creating a virtuous cycle. With the advancement of IT and digital transformation, we now live in an age where all procedures and contracts can be completed digitally. However, the most important thing is "how the customer feels." I believe that only we humans can unravel the challenges of the boundary between real and digital customer service with hospitality. While meeting customer needs, we must also meet the demands of the modern era. Given current trends such as rising land prices and an increase in vacant homes, we sometimes determine business direction by looking at the market, while other times we gain perspective from individual customer needs. Rather than leaning too much to one side, the joy of our work lies in identifying opportunities while balancing both.

■Message to students

I urge all students to be mindful of the "two-sword" and "three-sword" mindset. Shohei Ohtani has been successful as both a pitcher and a batter, but I believe it's important to not just focus on one thing, but to devote yourself to multiple pursuits simultaneously. This is because, once you enter the workforce, you'll be juggling work, family, and hobbies—a constant cycle of "two-sword" and "three-sword" pursuits. While job hunting now begins in your second and third years, I urge you to not slack off on your studies or club activities. As long as you use your time efficiently, you can achieve personal growth without leaving any of your pursuits half-hearted. Job hunting is also a great opportunity to reflect on yourself, so I hope you enjoy this time of self-discovery by balancing your studies and club activities.

Interview with Student Newspaper Online on March 6, 2025 by Sophia University third-year student, Himari Shirasaka

Sophia University third-year student Shirasaka Himawari / Josai International University first-year student Watanabe Yurie / Bunka Fashion College second-year student Hashiba Momo / Nihon University fourth-year student Suzuki Junki