How One EO Leader is Pioneering a New Community for Women Entrepreneurs in Japan

By Brian Burnsed, EO Global Senior Writer

From the pursuit for gender parity to the systemic barriers and biases still facing women in business and societies today, the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, challenges us to “Accelerate Action” for women everywhere. This is the final piece in a series this week exploring how women entrepreneurs in EO and beyond are beyond are accelerating growth, leadership, and connection opportunities for women.    

Minako Suematsu has long been a business pioneer in Japan. In a country where only 8.4 percent of Japanese companies are led by women, Minako launched a web marketing and IT startup in the late 1990s. She was only getting started. She later founded a media company that, in 2017, acquired The Japan Times—the oldest English language newspaper in the country—and now serves as its publisher. In 2020, she pivoted to another field entirely, founding an international boarding school for primary school students, which was the first of its kind in Japan.    

Minako joined EO 20 years ago and went on to become a founding member of EO Setouchi in 2021. Along the way, she says she grew accustomed to being a distinct minority—often vastly outnumbered by men—in her business life and in her work with fellow EO members. Motivated to change that dynamic, Minako spearheaded the creation of a new chapter—EO Beyond Japan—that is committed to gender diversity and parity. The new chapter aims to achieve an even 50-50 split among male and female members, a model that she hopes will permeate to other EO chapters in Japan and beyond.    

Minako spoke with us as the chapter launched, detailing her experiences as a female founder and leader, her motivations to launch this new chapter, and her hopes for its impact on Japan’s EO members and business community. This is an edited and condensed version of that conversation:   

Why did you start your first company?  

I spent five years working in my family’s shipping business, but the company was built around men’s culture. I was ready for a change in that dynamic, so I started my own company.  

What was the biggest challenge you faced as you started a new business?  

Just as my business was picking up, my son was born. It was in 1999 when business was booming in the IT industry, but we were caught in a bubble that was poised to burst. It was a stressful time and a big decision for me.   

What unique challenges have you faced as a woman entrepreneur relative to your male counterparts? 

After-hours socializing and drinking are big parts of our business culture. They present opportunities to bond and network, but I have found it is difficult for me to attend those events. Communication in those settings—particularly outside of EO—can be difficult for me and other women because of the atmosphere. So, I like to keep my distance from those situations.    

Time management and business travel are also difficult. My son stayed home and I needed to arrange for someone to take care of my son in those situations. Compared to men who hold comparable positions and have more help at home, it was very hard for me.  

Why did you want to launch the new EO Beyond Japan chapter?  

For 20 years in EO, it felt very normal to me to be one of very few women in the room or to be in the minority. I met recently with EO peers from China and was struck that six of their nine chapters have female chapter presidents. Meanwhile, in Japan, we have had the only one female president in 30 years. So, this chapter is an experiment; we set the gender balance at 50-50, which is a huge challenge. We need more female members, and even the male entrepreneurs want to learn how to grow and adapt in this new atmosphere. Some of them have daughters: They want Japan to change for the next generation. I have always thought that EO can reflect Japan’s future, not its past.   

How are you recruiting new members?  

Sometimes in Japan, when a member joins a local chapter—particularly if it is a female member—there is a bit of a gap between the expectations and the experience. At Beyond Japan, we hope we can fill that gap and meet the needs of those who are looking for something beyond what their local chapter is giving them. EO Beyond Japan could be additive to the overall EO ecosystem.  

What are your hopes for the chapter’s broader impact?  

We as women cannot simply be comfortable with being in the minority in the business world and accept it as an unavoidable dynamic. We should not be accustomed to that. Even I had gotten used to being a minority in every situation, but my mindset shifted. I think women have a lot of potential and can bring more to the table than perhaps even we realize. I want them to feel empowered to do so and to feel like true equals. That is the change I am looking for.  

Would you like to connect with more inspiring women leaders? Join us at the EO Women Summit for an immersive experience that challenges convention, sparks innovative thinking, and brings together a global community of trailblazing women entrepreneurs from 2–5 June 2025 in Montreal, Canada.