Koji Hoshino

Koji Hoshino (星野 康二, Hoshino Koji) was born in 1956 in Sapporo, Japan. An MBA graduate of the State University of New York after graduating from Japan’s Soka University in 1981, Hoshino joined Walt Disney Japan in 1990 and became head of the Home Entertainment division in 1993. In addition to expanding Disney’s domestic home entertainment business, he successfully engineered the international distribution deal with Tokuma Shoten, former parent company of Studio Ghibli, in 1996.

Career
In 2000, as President of Walt Disney Japan, he oversaw the consolidation of Disney’s Japanese businesses and was charged with planning and executing Disney’s strategies for developing new regional business opportunities. Under his tenure, Disney Japan had its best fiscal results in consecutive years. In 2007, he was named Chairman of Walt Disney Japan.

In 2008, Hoshino became Studio Ghibli’s President, succeeding Toshio Suzuki who remains as the producer of Studio Ghibli’s award-winning films including Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, which won the U.S. Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Hoshino is the Executive Producer of Studio Ghibli films including Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea（2008）, The Secret World of Arrietty （2010）, “From Up on Poppy Hill” （2011）, The Wind Rises (2013), The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013) and When Marnie Was There (2014). On November 2017, Hoshino took on the role of Chairman of Studio Ghibli with a mandate to expand international businesses including merchandise licensing and exhibition events.