Yomiuri: Seven & i Holdings Honorary Advisor Toshifumi Suzuki Dies at 93

Dow Jones05-25

By Yukiho Takaichi

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Toshifumi Suzuki, honorary advisor to Seven & i Holdings Co. and a leader in Japan's retail industry known for the success of 7-Eleven, passed away on May 18 due to heart failure. He was 93 years old.

At the request of the family, the funeral will be held for close relatives only. A memorial service is scheduled to be held at a later date.

Born in Sakaki, Nagano Prefecture, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Chuo University in 1956. After working at Tokyo Shuppan Hanbai (now Tohan Corp.), he joined Yokado (now Ito-Yokado Co.) in 1963. In 1973, he signed a licensing agreement in Japan with Southland Corp., which operated 7-Eleven stores across the United States, and as senior managing director of newly established York Seven Co., now Seven-Eleven Japan Co., he led the domestic expansion of the convenience store business.

He became president of Seven-Eleven Japan in 1978 and chairman in 1992. In the fiscal year ended February 2001, the company's total chain sales exceeded 2 trillion yen for the first time, surpassing Daiei Co. at the time to become the top retailer in Japan.

In 2005, he established the holding company Seven & i Holdings and assumed the positions of chairman and CEO. In 2016, following the rejection of a personnel proposal he had spearheaded, he announced his resignation and assumed the role of honorary advisor.

Junro Ito, executive chair of Seven & i Holdings, issued the following statement: "Honorary Advisor Suzuki's efforts in taking on challenges and spurring innovation over half a century have formed the foundation for our group's development and growth. We are reaffirming our resolve to continue striving for the growth and development of the retail industry."

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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May 25, 2026 00:51 ET (04:51 GMT)

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Yomiuri: Seven & i Holdings Honorary Advisor Toshifumi Suzuki Dies at 93

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