CLAIMS TO FAME
- A 40-year veteran of the Japan Racing Association across numerous roles
Masayoshi Yoshida replaced long-time CEO Masayuki Goto in the top job last September, with Goto having provided nearly a half century of service to the Japan Racing Association, including the last nine years at the helm of this consistently underrated gambling colossus. Goto remains in the organization as a “supreme adviser” to the JRA and keeps his senior posts with the Asian Racing Federation and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
Yoshida has inherited an extraordinary Asian gambling industry success story of growth and durability – and he has a formidable track record with the JRA.
He joined the JRA 40 years ago, rising through the ranks via corporate planning and racecourse management and becoming a board member and JRA finance and facilities director in 2016. He was appointed executive director in 2021 and then executive vice president in March 2023.
The JRA continues to surge, having seen turnover climb by 5.4% to JPY3.27 trillion (US$21.5 billion) in 2022 and then showing incremental improvement again to JPY3.28 trillion in 2023 (US$21.6 billion). That makes it 13 straight years of growth, including the pandemic years, highlighting just how resiliant Japan’s horse racing industry remains to this day.
For the full list of 2024 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
