Isao Nakauchi served in the Philippines as an infantryman during World War II. His business empire started in Osaka 1957 and it led to the creation of "American-style" supermarkets in Japan. In 1972 he led the biggest retailer in Japan, one that owned a store in Hawaii and a baseball team.^[1] The 1980s proved more difficult for the business as its competition and debts increased. He stepped down in 2002^[2] and in 2004 he sold his stocks in the company.^[3] In 2005, he died of a stroke according to The University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences in Kobe, which he had founded.^[4]