Directors
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President and Representative Director
Shin Shibata
After graduating from Hitotsubashi University in 1998, he joined Nissho Iwai Corporation (now Sojitz Corporation). In 2001, he joined ITX Corporation, an IT investment company, and was responsible for the acquisition of Net Protections, Inc. He was immediately seconded to Net Protections and created NP Atobarai, Japan's first risk free-guaranteed Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service. In 2017, he received the Entrepreneur of the Year Special Award. He is now the chairman of the Japan BNPL Association.
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CFO and Director
Kazuharu Watanabe
Certified Public Accountant. He joined Asahi & Co. (now known as KPMG AZSA LLC) and engaged in auditing listed companies and supporting IPOs. After that, he worked at consulting division at New York office of Arthur Andersen and then he was involved in starting up Asahi Arthur Andersen Ltd., a consulting company in Japan with over 600 employees. He served as Management Strategy Group Leader for DISCO Corporation and Director of SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd. prior to joining Net Protections Holdings, Inc in July 2020.
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CIO and Director (Corporate Affairs)
Takashi Yamashita
After graduating from Keio University's Faculty of Economics, he worked in research and development in the telecommunications industry, and then moved on to an internet advertising company, where he was in charge of developing new services, overseeing the development department, and launching offshore development as an executive at a subsidiary. After joining Net Protections Inc. in 2014, he was responsible for the organizational development of the IT department and service improvements for NP Atobarai. He is currently in charge of the corporate domain, including human resources and legal affairs, as well as promoting risk management, governance, and sustainability across the entire group. He was appointed as a director in 2024.
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Director（Sales and Alliances）
Shun Akiyama
After graduating from Keio University, he joined a human resources startup in its second year as a new graduate. After working as the head of new business and the Kansai branch manager, he joined Net Protections Inc. in 2009 as the head of human resources. Since 2013, he has also been serving as the general manager of the sales group, and has contributed to increasing sales for many e-commerce businesses, including major online shopping malls. In 2017, he was appointed as an executive officer and established the business development group, which conducts corporate alliances. The following year, he released "Natura", a performance evaluation system that abolished the manager position. He is currently in charge of the sales and alliances as a director.
Outside Director
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Outside Director
Yuichi Ejiri
Graduated from the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology and holds a masters degree in philosophy, cosmology and consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He has started new businesses in Asia and has managed local subsidiaries at Sumitomo Corporation, Sony Corporation, and Rakuten, Inc. Since returning to Japan in 2016, he has engaged in management advisory services for human resource development. He is currently the CEO of Axela Partners Inc. and Yokitomo Inc.
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Outside Director
Kumi Nakamura
After starting her career at Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. (now Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.), Nakamura was engaged in M&A, corporate turnaround, and management support for portfolio companies at KPMG FAS Co., Ltd. and Ant Capital Partners Co., Ltd. She then moved to operating companies, where she was involved in business development, business portfolio restructuring, corporate planning, and finance at LIXIL Corporation, Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited, and UNITED, Inc. Since 2020, she has served as an executive officer overseeing corporate planning and corporate strategy at Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. In June 2025, she was appointed as a Director of Net Protections Holdings, Inc.
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Outside Director
Kentaro Takita
Takita joined Ricoh Leasing Company, Ltd. in 2004, where he gained experience in credit guarantee, collection agency sales, leasing sales, and solar power plant development. He later took on responsibilities in corporate planning. In 2025, he was appointed as a Director of Net Protections Holdings, Inc.
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Outside Director and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee
Koichi Nakano
He joined Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in 1982, and was in charge of accounting, finance, and business planning. He joined the Konami Group Corporation in 2000, and served as the head of the IR department at the head office and director of the management division of a subsidiary. In 2006, he joined Asahi Net, Inc, where he served as Director and General Manager of the Corporate Planning Office and General Manager of the Corporate Management Department. In 2019, he was appointed as a full-time auditor at BUSICOM, Inc. In June 2024, he was appointed as a Director and Audit Committee Member and as an auditor of Net Protections, Inc.
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Outside Director and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee
Yusuke Ichikawa
After working for the Industrial Bank of Japan, Limited, he joined Advantage Partners, Inc. in 2003. He was involved in M&A, business investment and PMI for over 20 years. He incorporated M&A as a main strategy at Oishes Co., Ltd. and Nihon Meika Souhonpo Co., Ltd. to design a corporate entity that integrates and operates multiple brands. Also at Advantage Partners, he led industry initiatives related to IT, B2B services, and healthcare, and accumulated industry knowledge. He has also served on the board of directors of Material Group Inc., SPIRAL Inc. and other companies in the same industry.
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Outside Director and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee
Yuki Sato
Graduated from the Faculty of Law of Hitotsubashi University and the University of Southern California Gould Law School (LL.M.). She is qualified as a Japanese lawyer and New York State attorney. Once worked at a global law firm's Tokyo office. Then she holds the position of Partner of SO & SATO Law Offices since January 2019. Providing advice regarding investment, M&A, financial regulation, and legislation for various startups, she is also the External Director of listed companies.
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Outside Director and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee
Ryuichi Ishii
After working for Bridgestone Corporation, he joined Sony Group Corporation in 2000, where he was mainly engaged in IT and digital business. After his assignment to Sony Corporation of America, he became CEO of So-net Taiwan in 2008, President and Representative Director of So-net Inc. (now Sony Network Communications Inc.) in 2014, and President and Representative Director of SMN Corporation, a digital marketing company using AI in 2017. He has become Outside Director of ARC System Works Co, LTD. and established Quantum Leaps Growth Initiative Corporation, a success-based corporate value enhancement support company, and was appointed President and Representative Director in 2023.
Executive Officer
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Executive Officer
Takayuki Okada
After graduating from the University of Tokyo Graduate School, he began his career in finance in the Fixed Income team at Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (now known as Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd.), and then joined Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. In the Securities division, he engaged in proprietary investments and financing backed by real estate-backed loans and consumer loans, as well as receivables liquidation. In the Investment Banking division, he provided business clients with specialized financing methods, including structured finance, as well as related market risk hedging solutions. He joined Net Protections, Inc. in July 2024 and has been appointed as an executive officer of Net Protections Holdings, Inc.
External Partner
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Architect Advisor
Shiro Suzuki
After graduating from the Graduate School of Information Science and Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1996, he joined Kozo Keikaku Engineering Inc. Throughout his career up to his time at Techmatrix Corporation, he was mainly worked in research and development using mathematical technology, such as computer simulation and financial calculations. He joined Net Protections Inc. in 2002 and was appointed as a Director and CTO in 2004. He launched NP Atobarai with CEO Shibata. He has also supported subsequent payment businesses and overseas expansion. He has also launched data science initiatives as the first step in transforming Net Protections into a data-driven company. He retired Director in June 2024 and continues to support Net Protections as an advisor.
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Corporate Advisor
Yuzo Arita
He started his career at Avex, Inc. in 2005. After working in the music production division, he was in charge of the R&D section in the group strategy office, and later served as chief producer of the new business planning group and the digital creative group. In 2018, he established a fintech company within the group and became its president. In 2020, he became independent and founded Thalia Corporation, which provides consulting and marketing support for new business development and content development, and FAVOLIST5 Corporation, which develops and provides a next-generation entertainment platform. He serves as representative director.
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Technical Advisor
Yuki Takezawa
He started his career at Yahoo Japan Corporation in 2014 and engaged in overall improvement activities and quality improvement while being in charge of Android application maintenance and development. He wrote a technical book, and joined Istyle, Inc. in 2015. In 2018, he became CTO, responsible for management, design of application architecture, and design of analytical infrastructure related to big data, stream processing, etc. He is currently Engineering Manager and Principal Engineer at STAR FESTIVAL, INC and mainly responsible for data infrastructure development using Go and Scala, improvement and restructuring of infrastructure areas, management and product development support and data strategy. He is also involved in scalable application development, stream processing, support for reactive systems and microservice architectures, and support for implementing domain-driven design.
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Corporate Advisor
Tetsuro Shimizu
After graduating from Gakushuin University in 1990, he joined The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan (now known as SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited). He later worked at IY Bank (now known as Seven Bank), and Rakuten Group (Rakuten Edy). In 2012, he joined Shinsei Bank and became a Senior Managing Executive Officer in 2021. He later served as Representative Director and CEO of Aplus., Co Ltd and currently serves as a professional officer for Monex Group, Inc, Outside Director of Kotora Co., Ltd, Director of Lifull Co., Ltd and Representative Director of Lifull Financial, Inc.
