Minako Suematsu
Minako Suematsu is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded the online PR company News2uNews2u HoldingsNews2u Holdings is a Tokyo-based Japanese media holding company. It grew out of News2u, an online PR company founded in 2001, acquired the English-language newspaper The Japan Times in 2017 and is led by Minako Suematsu.Open the full entry in 2001. She is president of News2u Holdings and chairperson of the English-language newspaper The Japan TimesThe Japan TimesThe Japan Times is an English-language newspaper published in Tokyo. Founded in 1897, it is the oldest English-language newspaper still published in Japan; since 2017 it has been owned by News2u Holdings and led by Minako Suematsu.Open the full entry, and she opened the boarding primary school Jinseki International School in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Contents10 sections
Key facts
1903The Kambara Family’s Shipping Business
Suematsu belongs to the Hiroshima-based Kambara family; its ancestor Katsutaro Kambara founded the shipping company Kambara Kisen in 1903.[1]
In 1917 the Shiohama shipyard was founded at Tsuneishi in Numakuma, Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture; it was reorganized as Tsuneishi Shipbuilding in 1942.[2]
1993Completes Graduate Study and Enters the Internet Business
Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, she completed a master’s program at Gakushuin University’s graduate school in 1993 and then started an internet business.[3]
2001Founds News2u
In 2001 she founded News2u Co., Ltd. to promote online public relations.[3]
June 2017Becomes Chairperson and Publisher of The Japan Times
In June 2017, after News2u Holdings acquired The Japan Times, she became the paper’s representative director, chairperson and publisher.[4]
At the time she was also senior managing director of Tsuneishi Holdings, a shipbuilding, logistics, energy and leisure group.[1]
January 2019Explains Why She Took On the Paper
In January 2019 she said that after 25 years in the IT industry she understood both the strengths of print and the difficulties of digital media; on taking over The Japan Times, she said that, considering the paper’s reason for being, she thought it was a medium that should be carried into the future.[5]
April 2020Opens Jinseki International School
In April 2020 Jinseki International School opened in Jinsekikogen, Hiroshima Prefecture, describing itself as Japan’s first full-boarding primary school and an “Article 1” school accredited by the education ministry; she is board chair of the Jinseki Kogen Gakuen Institution and the school’s headmaster.[6]
January 1, 2025Becomes Chair of The Japan Times Agency
In December 2024 The Japan Times Agency announced a new management structure under which, from January 1, 2025, she became chairman and representative director and Hidenori Sasaki became president.[7]
As of October 2026: Current Roles
She is representative director, chairperson and president of The Japan Times.[8]
She is also representative director and president of News2u Holdings; in her message she says that in an age of information overload the group will provide trustworthy information as a media group that values reliability and fairness.[9]
She is also chairman and representative director of The Japan Times Publishing.[10]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
News2u Holdings: Official website: https://www.news2u-group.com/ (opens in a new window)[9]
The Japan Times: Official website: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/ (opens in a new window)[8]
Jinseki International School: Official website: https://jinis.jp/en/ (opens in a new window)[6]
Sources
- A new owner for the Japan Times (opens in a new window)
- 沿革|常石造船株式会社｜TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING Co.,Ltd. (opens in a new window)
- 役員体制 | 株式会社ニューズ・ツー・ユーホールディングス (opens in a new window)
- Board of Directors | News2u Holdings Corporation (opens in a new window)
- 注目されることが全てではない ジャパンタイムズが背負う新聞の意義 (opens in a new window)
- Jinseki International School (opens in a new window)
- ジャパンタイムズエージェンシー、新経営体制に関するお知らせ (opens in a new window)
- about us (opens in a new window)
- 代表メッセージ | 株式会社ニューズ・ツー・ユーホールディングス (opens in a new window)
- 会社情報 - 株式会社 ジャパンタイムズ出版 (opens in a new window)