Originally published in Japanese on Jul. 6, 2022
Luxurious lifestyle
At Appi Kogen in Japan’s northern Iwate Prefecture, three new or rebranded luxury hotels, ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort, ANA Crowne Plaza Resort Appi Kogen, and ANA Holiday Inn Resort Appi Kogen, opened in quick succession from December 2021 to February 2022. They are all managed by Iwate Hotel & Resort Inc., a private company based in the city of Morioka.
“Mr. Luo is doing well thanks to the boost from the education restrictions in China,” said a person familiar with the situation, noting the burst of development in Appi Kogen. “Mr. Luo” refers to Luo Yiwen, the chairman of Laox Co., Ltd., a duty-free retailer in Japan.
What is the connection between China’s restrictions and a ski resort in Japan, and how does Luo, a prominent Chinese businessman, fit into the picture?
Harrow School, founded in 1572, is a prestigious public school in the U.K. that has produced global leaders like Winston Churchill, former prime minister of the U.K., and Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. The school opened its first international branch in Japan on Aug. 29 at Appi Kogen.
The new school’s name is Harrow International School Appi Japan (“Harrow Appi”). Skiing is usually a compulsory subject in the elite schools of Europe, so Appi Kogen, one of Japan’s premier ski resorts, is a perfect location for the new facility.
It is a full boarding school for students aged 11 to 18 that provides a British-style education to up to 920 students. As of the announcement of the project in 2019, the school assumes that half of the students will come from Japan, and the remaining half will come from other places in East Asia, such as China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Tuition alone will cost more than 62 million yen ($443,000) for a full seven years, so the school is expected to target wealthy Chinese for its international students.
Harrow International School Appi Japan (Harrow Appi)
The school was invited to the area by Iwate Hotel & Resort Inc., the same company that manages the luxury hotels. The company’s de facto owner used to be Recruit, but it changed to Kamori Kanko in 2003, Asia Gate Holdings and overseas investors in 2016, and finally, an investment company in Samoa in 2019.
Much about the current owner is unclear, but people on the ground and informed sources say that Chairman Luo of Laox, who rose to prominence by catering to overseas tourists coming to Japan, is behind the company. They believe that Luo is the central figure in the development of Appi Kogen.
Hiroshi Kurosawa, who has served as the CEO of Iwate Hotel & Resort since 2017, joined the company after he was dispatched by Asia Gate, a real estate-related company. The current chairman (and former president) and the current president used to be the director of the Corporate Planning Department at Laox. Kurosawa has also served as the president of Kosaido Holdings, a company that provides funeral services, from 2021. Among Kosaido’s major shareholders are several companies that have close ties with Luo, and Luo himself became an executive at Kosaido in June 2022.
The close ties between Luo and Kurosawa — and thereby Luo and Iwate Hotel & Resort — are unmistakable.
“Mr. Luo shows a keen interest in education and focuses on the importance of international education,” Harrow Appi told Diamond in a written response to a request for comment on the role of Luo. “He has offered support for the invitation and establishment of our school from a neutral standpoint, giving us advice from a broader perspective.”
“Our company is not in a position to know [the relationship between the invitation to Harrow Appi and Luo] and is unable to answer the question,” said Laox.
“We would like to refrain from commenting due to the personal nature of the information,” said Iwate Hotel & Resort.
A triangle business model
As the confrontation with the U.S. drags on, Chinese authorities have been tightening restrictions on education. Various reports have detailed the restrictions, including prohibitions on the use of overseas education materials that are unapproved for compulsory education (Beijing), dropping English tests in elementary schools (Shanghai), and including Xi Jinping Thought as a compulsory subject (Shanghai).
With these growing restrictions, tension is rising among international schools in China that also accept Chinese students. Rumors have spread of some exiting the Chinese market or abandoning plans to enter.
Wealthy Chinese who want to send their children to international schools are now looking to Japan, which is both geographically and culturally near. In that context, Harrow Appi’s website is also available in Chinese, and ads for the school appear in the prestigious English-language papers in Hong Kong and their digital editions.
The parents of students attending Harrow Appi are also expected to visit Appi Kogen repeatedly while their children are studying there. It is almost certain that they will stay at the luxury hotels in Appi Kogen and enjoy skiing or golf nearby. These facilities are also managed by Iwate Hotel & Resort.
The “golden triangle” of an international school, luxury hotels, and skiing will generate revenue for Iwate Hotel & Resort.
On top of that, IHG Hotels & Resorts, a global hotel franchise based in the U.K. that signed a contract with the new hotels in Appi Kogen, is a major player in the Chinese market. Chinese visitors to Japan often use IHG hotels.
Laox once established the shopping-spree meccas for Chinese tourists in urban Japan. Luo, who has a talent for capturing new markets, is now looking to make his mark in Appi Kogen.
(Originally written in Japanese by Masataka Tsuchimoto, translated into English by Erklaren Inc., and edited by Connor Cislo)
