Ryuko Hira

Ryuko Hira (born 30 May 1948) is an Indian businessman born and brought up in the Indian State of Rajasthan with the name Kamalesh Punjabi who later emigrated to Japan, changed his official name to Ryuko Hira, married a Japanese woman, became a naturalised Japanese citizen and settled in Japan. Hira is the owner of HMI Hotel Group, a hotel management company, which operates several prestigious hotels in Japan. The company is headquartered in Kobe, Japan. He is the Chairman of the Indian Commerce and Industry Association of Japan. He is one among the top ten richest Non-Resident Indians. He is also the richest Indian in Japan.[1][2] In the year 2022, Govt of India honored him with the Padma Shri award for his services in the field of trade and industry.

Ryuko Hira is an ardent follower of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Early life

Ryuko Hira was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan in 1948 as Kamalesh Punjabi and attended a Cambridge school in Mumbai. In 1966, at the age of 16, Hira moved to Japan where his family had a business. The family business had started in Yokohama in 1921 as a silk exporter to India and this company eventually led to the founding of the HMI Group. He studied gemology in the Gemological Institute of America. He had also completed a Certificate Course in Japanese Language at Sophia University, Tokyo. To remain competitive in the global travel and tourism industry, Hira opted for Japanese citizenship in 1976 with the permission of the Indian government. At that time he adopted the new name Ryuko Hira. According to Hira, he "chose a name that can be written in kanji, the Japanese writing system using ideograms (or characters) adapted from Chinese characters. "Hira" stands for the Hira Mountains in Shiga Prefecture, the place where a Japanese priest gave him his kanji name. Ryu (dragon) and ko (tiger) also stand for Japan and India."[3]

Devotion to Sathya Sai Baba

Ryuko Hira is a passionate devotee of Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian guru from Puttaparthi in present-day Anantapur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Hira has published a book on Sathya Sai Baba.[4]

Positions held

He is holding/has held several positions including the following:[3]

  • President of Hotel Management International Group (HMI Group)
  • Executive chairman of the Ora Group of Companies in Japan
  • Chairman of The Indian Commerce and Industry Association Japan (ICIJ) based in Yokohama established in 1921
  • Board Member, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust
  • Representative Director, Sai Hira India Foundation[5]
  • Director, India Japan Association
  • Honorary president of Institute of Sathya Sai Education, Japan (ISSE) and the Indian Merchants Association of Yokohama (IMAY)[6]

Recognition: Padma Shri
  • In the year 2022, Govt of India conferred the Padma Shri award, the third highest award in the Padma series of awards, on Ryuko Hira for his distinguished service in the field of trade and industry.[7] The award is in recognition of his service as a "Senior business leader in Japan instrumental in promoting India-Japan friendship".[8]

See also

References
  1. Shikhar. "The Top 10 Richest NRI's Of The Year". Medium. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. "The richest Indians in other countries". Rediff on the Net. Rediff. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  3. Yung-hsiang Kao. "As HMI expands, sights set on drawing Indian visitors". The Japan Times. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  4. Ryko Hira (1 January 1997). The Study of Sathya Sai. Puttaparthi: ‎ Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  5. "SAI HIRA INDIA FOUNDATION, General Incorporated Foundation". SAI HIRA INDIA FOUNDATION. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  6. CHIHO IUCHI. "'Secrets of India' seen in manga". The Japan Times. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  7. "Padma Awards 2022" (PDF). Padma Awards. Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  8. "Padma Awards 2022". Padma Awards. Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 11 February 2022.

Additional reading
  • Extracts from Mr Ryuko Hira's Tryst with Divinity interview with Radio Sai's Karuna Munshi which was first aired on 6 Aug 2013: Karuna Munshi. "Sai Samurai – Ryuko Hira of Japan". Sri Sathya Sai Media Centre. Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  • Article by Ryuko Hira in a Special Issue of Sanathana Sarathi, a publication of Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust, Publications Division: "Sathya sai-Values Based Education in Japan" (PDF). Sanathana Sarathi. Special Issue: 25–29. November 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
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