<figure id="attachment_415590" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2431px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415590"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e5997178"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/8eda68b6eb2eafb34f3047dbcc89230b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415590" class="wp-caption-text">In 1998, he became the president of Osaka Yusen Broadcasting Corporation, a family business at the time. In addition to this company, he led two other companies, including U-NEXT (now U-NEXT HOLDINGS), which was spun off and became independent in 2010, to go public.</figcaption></figure>
In the domestic video streaming service market, &#8220;U-NEXT&#8221; holds the second-largest share, positioning itself just behind the global giant Netflix. Priced at 2,189 yen per month (including tax), its business is thriving, offering not only movies, dramas, sports, music, and stage performances but also magazines and manga. The number of subscribers is approaching 5 million, nearly doubling over the past three years.
&#8220;In fact, we started our video streaming service business even before Netflix. The competition is fierce, but we must continue to create unique value that only we can offer.&#8221;
With a wry smile, this is revealed by Yasuhide Uno (61), the President and CEO of U-NEXT HOLDINGS. At just 25 years old, he co-founded the staffing company Intelligence (now Persol Career), and at 34, he took over Osaka Yusen Broadcasting Corporation (formerly USEN) from his father, leading both companies to successful IPOs and continuously expanding businesses. In the early 2000s, he was known as one of the key figures driving the venture boom.
As a business leader, Uno gained fame and became known as a mentor figure among the so-called &#8220;Hills Tribe&#8221; alongside Takafumi Horie (52) and Susumu Fujita (51). However, the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse struck.
&#8220;At the time, venture companies were expanding their market capitalization and using it to raise funds and rapidly scale their businesses. We were also venturing into new areas, but the Lehman shock caused our performance to deteriorate, resulting in consecutive fiscal years with losses exceeding 50 billion yen. We had no choice but to sell off key businesses one after another, and I was effectively forced to step down as president of the former USEN.&#8221;
Thus, in 2010, Uno suddenly disappeared from the public stage. Once celebrated as a star entrepreneur, he was now branded as a failed businessman.
&#8220;The media published harsh articles about me daily, and my family would see them as well. It was painful and embarrassing. At times, I even thought that it might be better to end it all&#8230; But in the end, my desire to prove that the business I believed in could grow, benefit society, and validate everything I had done won out.&#8221;
Among the businesses that financial institutions had ordered him to sell at the time was the video streaming service that later became the foundation of U-NEXT.
The March 14-21 double issue of &#8220;FRIDAY,&#8221; released on February 28, along with the paid version &#8220;FRIDAY GOLD,&#8221; features Uno speaking candidly about his struggles in the wake of the Lehman shock. He also reveals the untold stories behind getting U-NEXT back on track and the core beliefs he values as a business leader (honorifics omitted in the text).
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For more details and multiple photos, click here↓.
<div data-friday-gold-link-url="https://friday.gold/article/322649" data-friday-gold-link-title="U-NEXT President Yasuhide Uno: &quot;Switch to Strike Back&quot; on the verge of stepping down after losing 100 million yen a month" data-friday-gold-link-excerpt="Interview with the president of UNEXT, Yasuhide Uno, who was on the verge of stepping down when UNEXT lost 100 million yen a month and was on the verge of going public." data-friday-gold-link-thumbnail-wide="https://assets.friday.gold/friday-wp-production-assets/app/uploads/2025/02/01_K5R7570dev-27112503645971.jpg/v/crop-faces:width=256,height=144/format:type=webp?Expires=4102444800&amp;Key-Pair-Id=K2H5GZZHVJCN4V&amp;Signature=EalqWQUHtDMRBRxqq7k9NkDtTyZzJGUGHurFqLTvSjno1mLvqnWijg3cOuEE36yzcb6FpsdU2~FqFyS3O7GsoWbLP4Lqz~ZJ-X~Uk7JSPSRZCegNES-DfZ-pGf-H~-88gMHxAxE7pIxnwqut~T7K-GSohS-4dPRsgSX9BRdhjSF9RsIejzN0yaQTGXxi5dJ2nhEEm-dA-dSpyMYj95kXK~Npj5PKdZQf8rP1wNZZfp4AJ-fWzFzQUHy-ZHL5MGYFC9B2HIWYHbiI60jgyU08CXSqdMbXSWD6OuOOERx4VebbWFSJ-qzcxGyHNO7wInMbqe29ZOztu8RxGgxcuOOBDw__" data-friday-gold-link-thumbnail-square="https://assets.friday.gold/friday-wp-production-assets/app/uploads/2025/02/01_K5R7570dev-27112503645971.jpg/v/crop-faces:width=105,height=105/format:type=webp?Expires=4102444800&amp;Key-Pair-Id=K2H5GZZHVJCN4V&amp;Signature=E11ShylUOZZOqt7DM2vk52DcmZ8YD3OJ~8apD88e6J2GZ61nQsDntkvWv3XKVF-5oS5W5ypc3SsBuprL0Nx57DWOx5-v3uc4pnx~3h4jqKjPuXKit3M-k7O72j-JsFv8UVdZH~-lRNRwh7FTFhJi8Tv~Hw02f14YBOtF~aiTdcenKYC-8FWq0Kp2~vvoOSE1OxQlrMuFokTOy3TXmFUGTwrkKLD6aH1CngHQ1y7PVzs-TuiXWIm5Ve99~lkABB3HtsgJuuXAhjO7H1zPIrbi1sV-0UHZAPvBYl~hZ83B0Y4ZTzxiXW0e3BlIgcjfIZKnal4Yt0Ygsdr4ijTRE7eICg__"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_415592" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1755px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415592"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="57fa46cb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/60876d8ab6d80a6ef2257d85f1185103.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415592" class="wp-caption-text">Uno wrote down his motto, which has strangely remained in his memory since he first heard it in middle school.</figcaption></figure>
From the March 14-21, 2025 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221;

 Hiroyuki Komatsu

 Toru Uesaka

 Special interview with Yasuhide Uno, President and CEO of U-NEXT HOLDINGS Co. Uno, who was known as the darling of the venture boom, reveals how he felt when he was in a difficult situation due to the Lehman Shock.

U-NEXT President Yasuhide Uno’s 50 Billion Yen Deficit—A Struggling Leader or a Visionary in Crisis?

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