Savills Hires Mitsui Fudosan Veteran Eiichiro Onozawa to Lead Japan Business

Savills on Thursday announced the hiring of longtime Mitsui Fudosan executive Eiichiro Onozawa as the property consultancy’s head of Japan.

Onozawa has spent his entire 36-year career at Japan’s largest developer, with postings in Tokyo, London and New York. He also served as president and CEO of Mitsui-sponsored Nippon Building Fund Management, Japan’s largest listed REIT, from 2022 to 2024.

Onozawa’s appointment takes effect on the first of April. He succeeds Christian Mancini, who established London-based Savills in Japan in 2004.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Onozawa-san to our Japan team,” Savills Asia Pacific CEO Martin Fidden said in a release. “He will focus on the growth of our Tokyo platform as we further evolve in this key market within the Savills Asia business, and utilise his international experience to create strong cross border links and opportunities within our global network.”

Project Track Record

Fluent in Japanese and English, Onozawa has led projects ranging in scale from JPY 10 billion to more than JPY 300 billion ($2 billion), according to his LinkedIn profile.

In London, Onozawa oversaw Mitsui Fudosan’s redevelopment of the Television Centre, helping transform the former BBC studios and offices into a mixed-use complex comprising offices, residential housing and a hotel. He also launched the development of a 100,000 square foot (9,290 square metre) extension and new commercial space at the British Library in cooperation with London-based developer Stanhope.

A law graduate of Tokyo’s Keio University, Onozawa holds an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

“Savills has a firm foundation in Japan and has acted on some highly significant deals in the market over the years,” Onozawa said. “The company is ambitious, and I am really excited to be leading the growth of the teams as we further build on the business to ensure we can provide a full service offering to our clients.”

Shifting Regional Leadership

Onozawa’s career move follows closely on several recent appointments that put a spotlight on the shifting centre of gravity in Asia’s real estate investment world.

In February, LaSalle Investment Management appointed Steve Hyung Kim, LaSalle’s head of Korea, as co-chief investment officer for Asia Pacific, succeeding Hong Kong-based Claire Tang, who is joining Hillhouse Investment’s Rava Partners real estate unit.

From 1 July, Kim and LaSalle’s Japan CEO and APAC co-CIO, Kunihiko (Nick) Okumura, will jointly take over as heads of Asia Pacific for the company, as current chief executive Keith Fujii moves up to a chairman role in a move positioned as part of the firm’s ongoing development.

LaSalle refocused its regional leadership just a month after Hines turned over direction for its Asia Pacific operations to Tokyo-based Jon Tanaka. Formerly head of Japan for the US fund manager and developer, Tanaka had been picked to take over as APAC CEO in mid-2024 as Hong Kong-based Ray Lawler moved into a head of Americas role with Hines.