About us
Founded in Hiroshima.
Working worldwide.
Kokoro means heart and mind. Both qualities matter in the advice we give.
Our story
Built for depth, not scale.
Kokoro Co., Ltd. was established in Hiroshima in 2005 by a group of advisors who had spent the previous decade inside large multinational consulting firms. The shared conviction was simple: the most consequential advice is rarely produced by large teams working to tight templates.
We built a firm that stays small on purpose. Every engagement is led by a senior advisor who has operated in the relevant industry and geography. We do not staff projects with junior consultants supervised from a distance.
Today we operate from offices in Hiroshima and Tokyo, serving clients across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. The industries we work in have deepened over two decades. The clients we work with tend to return.
Start a conversationWhat we stand for
Principles that shape every engagement.
Not aspirations. Working constraints that we apply to every piece of work we take on.
Independence above approval
We protect our right to disagree. When our read conflicts with what a client wants to hear, we say so — clearly and early. Advisory that only confirms existing views has limited value.
Specificity over generality
We are deeply sceptical of generic frameworks applied unchanged across clients. The work of consulting is understanding particulars. We start from your situation, not from a template.
Long-term over transactional
The relationships that produce the best work are ones built over years. We invest in understanding clients at a level that takes time. That investment pays for both sides.
Craft in every output
The quality of thinking shows in the quality of writing. Every report, presentation, and communication we produce is held to a standard that we believe reflects the quality of the underlying analysis.
Cultural intelligence as a capability
Operating across cultures is a practice, not a personality trait. We invest systematically in understanding how business is actually conducted in each market we serve.
Measured by outcome, not activity
We define success in terms of what changes in the client's organisation, not in terms of documents delivered or meetings held. This shapes how we plan and price every engagement.
Our presence
Two offices. One standard of work.
Hiroshima — Headquarters
Where practice began.
Hiroshima is Japan's manufacturing heartland — automotive, industrial, and precision engineering. Our proximity to these industries for two decades informs how we think about operational complexity. The Hiroshima office is our centre of gravity for operations, supply chain, and manufacturing advisory.
Tokyo — Second Office
Where Japan connects globally.
Nihonbashi is Tokyo's financial and corporate centre — one of the oldest commercial districts in Japan. Our Tokyo office serves clients in financial services, technology, and consumer sectors, and is the primary point of contact for international firms entering Japan.
Timeline
Two decades of deliberate practice.
Founded in Hiroshima
Kokoro Co., Ltd. established by four senior advisors with backgrounds in manufacturing, organisational strategy, and cross-border M&A.
First international mandate
Engaged by a European automotive components supplier on Japan market entry. The engagement became a three-year relationship and defined our cross-cultural advisory practice.
Tokyo office opened
Growing demand from financial services and technology clients with Tokyo headquarters prompted the establishment of our second office in Nihonbashi.
200th engagement completed
Milestone project — a multi-market operational transformation for a healthcare group spanning Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Completed within 14 months.
34 countries. One standard.
A focused team of senior advisors. The same insistence on independent thinking, specific advice, and measurable outcomes that defined the firm in 2005.