Nice to meet you. Please go easy on me.

Listed companies make up only about 0.1% of all companies in Japan, so I think it would be difficult to meet their presidents. Executives sometimes come to clubs in Ginza, but you rarely see the actual president. Besides, many presidents of listed companies are salaried executives who worked their way up within the company. They may be good at improving short-term performance, but I feel that quite a few struggle to pursue long-term goals. (Though who am I to say that? Let’s put that aside.) I think a self-made small or mid-sized business owner would probably better fit what you’re looking for. Startup founders can be incredibly cool. Some are terrible people, of course, but I really enjoyed hearing about how my overseas papa started his IT company, and I still ask him about it from time to time. My other papas are also small or mid-sized business owners, and I feel truly lucky to watch their energetic work up close. The other day, I was asleep in a hotel room when one of my papas came back after closing a major deal. As he gently stroked my head, he quietly said, “You’re seeing me at my very best.” It made me happy.

CEOs of publicly traded companies are usually salaried executives who worked their way up, so I think owners of small or midsize businesses who started their companies themselves tend to have stronger personalities and more quirks, which makes them more interesting.

If that’s your goal, you’d probably have more opportunities to talk with company presidents and executives working at a reasonably reputable club or lounge in Ginza than through Universe. There probably aren’t many openings right now because of the timing, but once COVID settles down and customers return to clubs and lounges, I expect they’ll start hiring again.

I don’t think there are that many CEOs of publicly traded companies. In fact, publicly traded companies make up only 0.08% of all companies in Japan. They’re extremely rare. If you’re not fixated on publicly traded companies, you’ll probably find plenty of business owners and executives. That said, rather than making that your goal, I think it would be better to say something like: “I’m very lonely, so I’d be really happy to meet someone who will love and care for me.” For now, though, I think it’s best to give it a try and see what kinds of people you can actually meet.