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Shunsuke Fujinuma

Shunsuke Fujinuma

Representative Partner, Walnut LLC.

"Building markets for things that matter." — the single weapon I bring to this mission is what I call editorial capacity, refined across nine years in public service, independent media, regional DMO leadership, and now overseas distribution.

By editorial capacity, I don't mean polishing prose. I mean: relentlessly imagining what the counterpart truly needs; re-organizing the raw material on hand; finding the form in which the message will actually land; and following through to a real result — revenue, agreement, or a structural change in the market.

Public administration, private finance, digital media, regional DMOs, and overseas products — the domains differ, but the work is the same. Cross the walls, edit dormant value into a sellable structure, and implement it on the ground. I will keep building, with discipline, the structures through which valuable things are recognized for what they are.

Career Overview

Phase 1

Tochigi Prefectural Government

Coordinated opinions across all 47 prefectures and led budget negotiations. Cultivated the ability to identify the essence of an issue and drive it to consensus.

Phase 2

Web Media × Consulting

Built a public-service blog from zero to ~6M PV/year and #1 nationally in its category. Established reader-centered content design.

Phase 3

Mashiko DMO

As COO, drove two engines — building a social-media audience (68,000 followers) and grant-funded upgrades to tourism facilities — creating regional earning power through tourism.

Phase 4

Walnut LLC. (Current)

Entered overseas-product import distribution as a new venture. With regional-producer support and public-private partnerships, building businesses grounded in the editorial capacity developed across Phases 1–3.

Detailed Career Timeline

2008 — 2016

Tochigi Prefectural Government — Public administration & coordination

Coordinated opinions from all 47 prefectures at the National Governors' Association, and managed inter-departmental budget consolidation in the Health & Welfare Bureau. The discipline of identifying the essential issue and driving it to landing formed the foundation of every later phase.

2014 — 2015

Ashikaga Bank — Two-year secondment (private-sector exchange)

Seconded for two years to Ashikaga Bank as part of a public-private exchange program. After a decade in a culture that emphasized process and fairness, the abrupt shift to a commercial culture that worked backward from results and pursued profit was formative — yielding fluency in both the administrative and commercial languages and the ability to integrate them.

2017 — 2021

Independent Web Media & Consulting

After leaving the public sector, built a public-service-focused blog from scratch. Within about a year, achieved #1 nationally in its category and roughly 6 million PV/year. Won the KK Bestsellers Book-Review Prize. Established reader-centered content design — finding what readers truly want and arranging material to land for results.

2021 — 2023

Mashiko-Lab (Mashiko Town DMO) — COO

Integrating public-sector and digital-media experience, joined Mashiko-Lab, Tochigi's registered regional DMO, as COO. Drove two engines — social-media-led audience growth (Instagram to 68,000 followers, #4 nationally among Japanese municipalities; an estimated ¥920M in economic impact) and grant-funded facility upgrades and visitor creation (a ¥157M Japan Tourism Agency grant renovating accommodations and tourism facilities across 13 businesses, plus overtourism measures for the Mashiko Pottery Fair) — creating regional earning power through tourism.

October 2023

Founded Walnut LLC.

Founded Walnut LLC to extend editorial capacity beyond individual cases into a service business — implementing value into the structures through which it sells.

2024 — Present

Overseas Distribution / Regional Sales Growth Support / Public-Private Partnerships

Secured Japan distribution rights from multiple overseas manufacturers and entered the import-distribution business (with Makuake crowdfunding launches exceeding ¥10M and ¥6.88M). Alongside regional-producer sales-growth support (branding, e-commerce, advertising, sales) and public-private partnerships, building businesses grounded in the editorial capacity developed to date.

Personal

Born 1985 in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture. Tochigi High School → Waseda University. Lives in Utsunomiya with my wife and two daughters. Spends spare time running and reading.

I draw heavily from classical principles for business judgment — the works I return to most include:

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