#Japan #Tokyo #hospitality #Next Level #Executive Partner Assistant

Transforming Hospitality into a Career: Executive Partner Assistant (EPA) Service

On April 2026, Next Level Holdings Co., Ltd., headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, will introduce a groundbreaking service designed to support executives in their decision-making processes: the Executive Partner Assistant (EPA) service. Traditionally, the role of a secretary has been limited to managing schedules and performing administrative tasks. However, with the increasing complexity of management, the demand for a more supportive role that aids in decision-making has grown significantly. This is where the EPA comes into play, evolving the conventional secretary into a next-generation assistant responsible for observation, judgment, and forecasting, seamlessly integrating into the management process.

Business Philosophy: Transforming Hospitality into a Career

The core of this initiative is to elevate the supportive tasks associated with executive roles into specialized skills that enhance corporate value. The goal is to establish hospitality as a reproducible career skill based on trust, respect, and integrity, evolving individuals into valuable resources directly contributing to corporate growth.

Background of the Project Leader

This innovative service is driven by a project leader with a diverse and rich career history:

• - Transitioned from a front desk position at a tutoring school to managing the entire facility, gaining over ten years of experience in education and training.
• - Served as a secretary to a member of the House of Representatives (who has experience as a minister and deputy minister), gaining hands-on experience in policy-making, protocol, and state affairs.
• - Acted as the chairman's secretary at Next Level Holdings, engaging in internal coordination, external negotiations, client management, and program operations.

Through these experiences, the intrinsic value of a secretary in a “trust-based environment” has been systematized.

Distinction from Traditional Secretaries

Traditionally, secretarial tasks have faced several challenges:

• - Tendency toward individualization in suitability and training.
• - The presence of unseen inefficiencies that reduce executive productivity.
• - Inadequate organization of information and presentation of decision-making data.
• - A heavy bias towards routine administrative work.

Consequently, this leads to situations where executives cannot focus on the core duties requiring their attention.

Challenges Faced by Modern Enterprises

Modern organizations grapple with multiple structural issues, including delayed decision-making processes, ambiguity in post-meeting decisions, inconsistent employee actions, fragmented information management, and lack of uniformity in external impressions and communications. EPA is aimed at structurally addressing these challenges by redefining roles traditionally associated with secretarial work.

The Value Proposition of EPA

EPA goes beyond the traditional secretary role by providing the following functions:

• - Designing environments where executives can focus on their core tasks.
• - Implementing strategies to minimize confusion across departments.
• - Visualizing and converting trust, dignity, and respect into brand value.
• - Transitioning from mere administrative assistance to support that includes observation, judgment, and forecasting.
• - Establishing reproducible training programs for secretaries and managers.

Instead of viewing secretaries as a cost, EPA assists in reevaluating their role as a vital asset enhancing corporate value.

Offered Services

EPA provides a range of services tailored to meet the needs of different corporate phases and challenges:

• - External consulting for EPA secretaries.
• - Corporate training programs.
• - Performance-based talent introduction.
• - Ongoing advisory support.

Flexibility in service adoption allows businesses to implement solutions that suit their specific needs.

Future Prospects

Our vision is to redefine secretarial roles from a mere cost to a crucial investment that propels management forward. Through the EPA initiative, we aim not only to provide personnel but also to redefine the role of “secretary” as an integral part of management support functions. We plan to formalize the training programs for EPA personnel, ensuring that a consistent level of skills, thinking, and behavior is maintained. This will enable us to continuously produce valuable personnel capable of addressing the unique challenges and growth phases of individual companies. Additionally, we will standardize training and evaluation criteria in the secretary and assistant domains to transition from often individualized training to a reproducible system enhancing corporate productivity and strengthening organizational foundations.

Ultimately, we aspire to build a market centered around professional roles supporting management, creating a sustainable platform that delivers ongoing value for both companies and talent.