Yasuyoshi Tokuma

Yasuyoshi Tokuma  (徳間 康快, Tokuma Yasuyoshi, born October 25, 1925 in Kanagawa, Japan died 20 September 2000, Tokyo, Japan) was a businessman, executive film producer and a close associate of Toshio Suzuki, Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. He was a member of the All Nippon Producers Association and Japan Magazine Publishers Association.

He was the founding member of Tokuma Group, which owned Tokuma Shoten, Tokuma Japan Communications, and was the president of Daiei Film, Asagami Press Center, Studio Ghibli. He was also the director of the, Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, the Recording Industry Association of Japan and a general producer of the Tokyo International Film Festival. He was also the director of Zushi Kaisei Junior and Senior High School in Kanagawa.

History
Born in, on October 25, 1925. After graduating from Zushi Kaisei Junior High School, he studied in Waseda University Faculty of Commerce. During his adolescence, he joined. He began working for (currently the Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Headquarters) in 1943, but left the company in 1946 due to a leadership dispute. , who had retired from the news agency, became Deputy Director of the Social Affairs Department.

Tokuma's friend, Tatsuhiko Nakano (son of fascist political leader Seigō Nakano), became the managing director of the publishing company, Shinzen Misha (真善美社), but it soon went bankrupt. In 1950, Deputy Prime Minister Taketora Ogata became the president of Shinko printing at the age of 29. Tatsuhiko Nakano was appointed vice president of Shinko Printing. Shinko Printing was later absorbed Nippon Photo Plate Making Co., Ltd., which was owned by Tokuma. Some time after the acquisition, the company changed its name to Tokuma Press Center.

In 1953, Tokuma became the vice president of Nitto Shimbun, while his friend Hirotomo Takei, formerly from Yomiuri Shimbun, became president. The publisher's weekly tabloid  (which was known for gossip, yakuza and erotic content) was suspended in February 1954 due to a slump in sales. By March 1954, Tokuma became the president of Tozai Geino Publishing and restarted publishing Asahi Geino Shimbun. In 1956, due to sluggish sales of Asahi Geino Shimbun, a bank notified that the company's loan was being suspended. A modified B5-sized version of the Weekly Asahi Geino began in October 1956. In 1958, the company name was changed from Tozai Performing Arts Publishing to Asahi Performing Arts Publishing and Tokuma continued to be its president. In 1961, Tokuma Shoten was established as a general publishing company, and due to a special "two-company system", it co-existed with Asahi Geino Publishing. In 1967, Tokuma Shoten and Asahi Geino Shuppan officially merged and became known simply as Tokuma Shoten.

Tokuma the acquired Minoru Endo's Minoru Phone Music Industry, and after negotiating with composer Hiroshi Itsuki, he was able to make a name for himself as a hitmaker in the record industry. He changed the company's name to Tokuma Music Industry (later Tokuma Japan Communications). In 1973, he began managing the newspaper Tokyo Times, which was acquired from Daiei.

He later served as director of Zushi Kaisei Junior and Senior High School, described as his mother's alma matter. He also served as the director of Zushi Kaisei Gakuen and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

In 1984, Tokuma, who had become interested in filmmaking and film distribution, collaborated with Toshio Suzuki, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and founded Studio Ghibli. He was named president of the company. His publishing arm, Tokuma Shoten, handled publishing of the film's secondary works, and even provided source material for Miyazaki to adapt. Suzuki served as one of his closest confidante.

One of his greatest accomplishments was helping facilitate the partnership between his company and The Walt Disney Company for the distribution of Ghibli's films.

He died on September 20, 2000. He was only 78 years old.

Movies

 * Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
 * Laputa: Castle in the Sky
 * My Neighbor Totoro
 * Kiki's Delivery Service