Isao Matsuoka Chairman, Toho Co., Ltd.

Toho

is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...

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A graduate of the prestigious Konan University

Konan University

is a university located on the slopes of Rokko Mountain in Higashinada-ku, the city of Kobe, Japan. A private university with approximately 10,000 students, the university offers a wide variety of programs to Japanese students, as well as an international exchange program through the Konan...

, Matsuoka serves as Chairman of the Toho Co., Ltd., a position he has held for 12 years since his appointment in 1995. He had previously served as President and recently celebrated his 50th year with the company.

Recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by ShoWest, Matsuoka is credited with helping establish Toho as the preeminent film production, distribution and exhibition company in Japan with his revolutionary and innovative reforms.

Mr Matsuoka was awarded the FIAPF Award for outstanding achievement in film at the 2009 Asia Pacific Screen Awards

Asia Pacific Screen Awards

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honour and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience and to realise the objectives of UNESCO to...

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Established in 1932, Toho is known internationally for its Godzilla

Godzilla

is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...

 series and the Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

 classics such as Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Kagemusha

Kagemusha

is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. The title is a term used for an impersonator. It is set in the Warring States era of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate a dying warlord in order to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable...

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His son, Shuzo Matsuoka

Shuzo Matsuoka

, is a former professional tennis player from Japan.-Professional career:Matsuoka turned professional in 1986...

 is a former professional tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

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