SC Capital, IHG, AB Capital and Axe to Explore Hotels and Tourism at Mingtiandi Tokyo Forum

Japan’s hospitality sector continues to be among the most attractive sectors for institutional real estate investors in Asia Pacific, with a panel at the Mingtiandi Tokyo Forum next week bringing together top industry players in front of a crowd of more than 220 executives.

With Japan having welcomed more than 21.5 million visitors during the first half of 2025, hotel operators achieved record revenue in the period, according to Savills, with asset investors continuing to find new ways to achieve returns from the hospitality industry in Asia’s second largest economy.

To learn more about how Japan’s hotel industry works from the inside, the panel next week will bring together Suchad Chiaranussati, chairman and founder of SC Capital Partners; Abhijay Sandilya, managing director for Japan and Micronesia at IHG Hotels & Resorts; Bryan Lee, founder and CFO of AB Capital Investment and Gary Kwok, CEO and managing partner of AXE Management Partners.

Joel Rothstein, who chairs the Asia real estate practice of US law firm Greenberg Traurig will moderate the panel, which is titled, “Hospitality and Tourism in Japan,” as the speakers explore the forces shaping investment in hospitality properties in Japan. 

The panel is part of a full-day programme at the Mingtiandi Tokyo Forum, which will take place on Wednesday, 5 November, with tickets to the event still available at the link above.

Major Investors Weigh-In

Khun Suchad is joining the panel after Japan Hotel REIT, which ranks as the largest hospitality trust listed on the Tokyo stock exchange and is managed by a unit of SC Capital, earlier this year closed on the $420 million acquisition of the Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk Hotel.

At IHG, Sandilya oversees growth, performance and operations in Japan, Guam, Saipan and Palau for the company’s 19 brands, including more than 55 properties in Japan. Just this past week IHG announced a deal to manage a resort being developed by Singapore’s Patience Capital on Mount Myoko in Japan.

AB Capital, led by Lee together with Alan Kam, specialise in Japanese hospitality investment and earlier this year teamed with local fund manager Kenedix to acquire its ninth hotel in the country – a hot spring resort near Nagano.

For Axe Management Partners, Kwok sees value-add strategies as providing the most attractive path to achieving returns in Japan’s hospitality sector, with his company also investing in other asset classes in the country.

Hospitality in Vogue

In addition to the Hospitality and Tourism in Japan, opportunities in hotels, serviced apartments and lodging will be the focus for two more of the 10 sessions planned for the forum.

A hospitality investment session comparing value-add and development strategies for the sector is set for 14:25 on the 5th, featuring Perry Tan, managing partner with Pegasus Capital; Seth Sulkin, president and CEO of Pacifica Capital KK; Daniel Wei, head of Singapore for CREAL Asia and Vivian Wong, vice president and head of business development for Japan and Korea at The Ascott Ltd.

A discussion at 11:25 on Japan’s lodging sector will explore the growing convergence between hospitality and residential real estate strategies. Speakers in that session will include Winston Chu, CEO and co-founder of Wayfarer; Kou Sundberg, founder and CEO of Kiraku and Kentaro Sato, country director for Japan with Singapore-based living sector operator Cove.