Draft:Gen Matsuda
 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 3 months or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 4,544 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
Gen Matsuda | |
|---|---|
松田 元 | |
| Born | February 11, 1984 Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Alma mater | Waseda University |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, business executive, author |
| Known for | President of abc Inc. (TSE: 8783); former president of OKWAVE; blockchain ventures in Japan and Malaysia |
| Website | gen-matsuda-official-site |
Gen Matsuda (松田 元; born February 11, 1984) is a Japanese entrepreneur and business executive. He is the president and representative director of abc Inc. (formerly GFA Co., Ltd.), a company listed on the Standard Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker 8783),[1][2] and chairman and chief executive officer of Beat Holdings Limited (TSE: 9399).[3] He previously served as president and representative director of the Japanese Q&A community operator OKWAVE, and led blockchain-related ventures in Japan and Malaysia.[4][5]
Early life and education
[edit]Matsuda was born on February 11, 1984, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He studied at Waseda University, where he began founding student ventures.[6]
Career
[edit]Early ventures
[edit]Matsuda founded Az Co., Ltd., a marketing-services company, in 2006. A 2009 profile in Diamond Online described the company's model of dividing corporate sales work into specialized stages staffed largely by young part-time workers.[7] The company's rapid growth and its employment of young "freeters" were also covered by the Asahi Shimbun in its 2009 series on young workers.[8]
Public activities
[edit]In 2015, Matsuda stood as a candidate in the mayoral election of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, receiving 7,966 votes.[9]
On February 24, 2016, he appeared as a public speaker (公述人) before the Budget Committee public hearing of the House of Representatives, where he presented opinions on monetary policy; his testimony is recorded in the official minutes of the National Diet.[10]
OKWAVE and cryptocurrency ventures
[edit]Matsuda joined OKWAVE, the operator of one of Japan's largest Q&A community websites, as an executive responsible for blockchain business, and later served as its president and representative director.[4][11] In a 2018 interview with ITmedia, he discussed initial coin offerings and argued that token-based fundraising could support activities—such as athlete development—that are difficult to finance under conventional capital models.[4] As head of OKfinc Ltd., an OKWAVE-related company, he was involved in supporting the Singapore-based blockchain platform Wowoo.[12] Japanese media also covered entertainment programming associated with the company during this period.[13] In a 2019 interview with THE21, he described a vision of using blockchain so that "people who do good are rewarded".[11]
In 2018, Matsuda became an officer of Beat Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong–based company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where he serves as chairman and chief executive officer.[3]
Blockchain ventures in Malaysia
[edit]Matsuda established OK Blockchain Centre Sdn Bhd (OBC) in Malaysia and served as its chief executive officer. The company opened its headquarters at Medini 9 in Medini City, Iskandar Puteri, Johor, and signed a memorandum of understanding with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) on blockchain research collaboration, including a contribution toward a blockchain research laboratory at the university.[5]
abc Inc.
[edit]In February 2025, GFA Co., Ltd., a Tokyo Stock Exchange–listed financial company, announced that Matsuda would be appointed president and representative director effective April 1, 2025; the appointment was reported in the personnel columns of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.[1][2] The company was subsequently renamed abc Inc.[2]
Writing
[edit]Matsuda is the author of Japanese-language books on business, society and technology, including Sekai no Owari no Arukikata ("A Walking Guide to the End of the World", 2015).[11][14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "人事、GFA" [Personnel: GFA]. Nihon Keizai Shimbun (in Japanese). February 15, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ a b c "ａｂｃ[8783]：代表取締役の異動及び役職変更の内定に関するお知らせ（2025年2月14日 適時開示）" [abc [8783]: Notice concerning planned change of representative directors and officer positions (timely disclosure, February 14, 2025)]. Nikkei Kaisha Joho Digital (in Japanese). Nihon Keizai Shimbun. February 14, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ a b "ビート・ホールディングス・リミテッド (9399) : 企業情報・会社概要" [Beat Holdings Limited (9399): corporate information and company profile]. Minkabu (in Japanese). Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ a b c "仮想通貨でアスリート育成？ "資本の論理"に縛られない「ICO」の可能性とは" [Developing athletes with cryptocurrency? The potential of ICOs unbound by the logic of capital]. ITmedia Business Online (in Japanese). February 28, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ a b "OK Blockchain Centre Sdn Bhd official opening ceremony and OBC-UTM MoU at Medini 9, Medini City". iProperty.com.my. January 31, 2020. Archived from the original on July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "トップ1000人が証言「お金で失敗しない生き方」【中】" [1,000 top businesspeople testify: how to live without failing with money (part 2)]. President Online (in Japanese). President Inc. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "営業を"分業"し、業務を専門特化 フリーター活用ビジネスで着実に成長 アズ代表取締役 松田 元" [Dividing sales work into specialized stages: steady growth through a business utilizing young part-time workers — Az representative director Gen Matsuda]. Diamond Online (in Japanese). Diamond, Inc. June 3, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "フリーター魂、会社急成長 「とがった若者集まれ」" [Freeter spirit drives rapid company growth: "edgy young people, gather"]. Asahi Shimbun (asahi.com) (in Japanese). April 1, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "狭山市長選開票結果" [Sayama mayoral election results]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). June 2015.
- ^ "第190回国会 衆議院予算委員会公聴会 第1号（平成28年2月24日）松田元公述人の発言" [190th Diet, House of Representatives Budget Committee public hearing No. 1 (February 24, 2016): statement of public speaker Gen Matsuda]. National Diet Minutes Search System (Kokkai Kaigiroku) (in Japanese). National Diet Library. February 24, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ a b c "「いいこと」をした人が必ず報われる世界をブロックチェーンで実現する" [Creating a world in which people who do good are always rewarded, through blockchain]. THE21 Online (in Japanese). PHP Institute. February 4, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "OKfinc代表 松田元氏へ独占インタビュー！Wowooの仕掛け人が語る仮想通貨の未来とは！？" [Exclusive interview with OKfinc representative Gen Matsuda: the future of cryptocurrency as told by the man behind Wowoo]. Minkabu Crypto Assets (in Japanese). May 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "ワイド視聴室：ＯＴＯＳＥＮ アーティスト生き様にフォーカス" [Wide viewing room: OTOSEN focuses on how artists live]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "松田 元の紙の本一覧" [List of print books by Gen Matsuda]. honto (in Japanese). Dai Nippon Printing. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
External links
[edit]