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Customer Success Awards 2026 Report

On July 15, 2026, the Customer Success Awards 2026 took place, organized by Customer Success Inc. and supported by the Japan Customer Success Association. The event gathered over 200 participants at the headquarters of WingArc 1st in Minato, Tokyo, marking a full house for what has become one of Japan's largest customer success recognition events.

Highlight of the Event: The Blue Flag of the Year 2026

The pinnacle of the awards, The Blue Flag of the Year 2026, was awarded to NEC Corporation. This award recognizes organizations that not only drive customer value but also foster business growth and organizational transformation. Competing against three finalists — NTT Docomo Business, NEC, and Benesse Corporation — NEC was praised for successfully integrating customer success strategies across various departments of a large enterprise with tens of thousands of employees. Their efforts extended beyond software, entering the system integration domain, which significantly contributed to their business success.

Judges' Feedback

Judges shared their thoughts on NEC's achievement:

• - Shigemitsu Komori (Japan Customer Success Association Director): "The unanimous appreciation for NEC's ability to engage internal stakeholders and implement customer success initiatives across the organization was outstanding."
• - Osamu Taniguchi (E-Partners CEO): "NEC created a structure capable of contributing to business success by expanding customer success efforts into the SI domain. This is indeed a textbook example of customer success."
• - Yoshitaka Miyata (Zen and Company CEO): "Their standardization program through the Center of Excellence was a highly replicable and effective framework."
• - Hisano Yamada (Japan Customer Success Association President): "It is extremely challenging to execute a 'whole organization approach' in a vast enterprise, and NEC's drive for systematic implementation was crucial to their win."

Event Program Summary

Following the award ceremony, a talk session featured Yoshimasa Hattori from NEC and Hisano Yamada, who discussed the organizational transformations that allowed NEC to fully integrate customer success practices and the unique challenges faced by large corporations.

One of the most thrilling segments of the event was the Customer Success Pitch Battle, held for the fifth consecutive year. Four finalists presented their practical examples of customer success and utilized real-time audience voting to determine the winner.

Winner of the Pitch Battle

The competition featured four participants:

• - Ayaka Shimonishi (Schoo)
• - Ryoji Yamada (Stamen)
• - Takuya Kanda (STORES)
• - Shohei Aoyama (freee)

Each participant presented for 12 minutes on topics related to maximizing customer outcomes for scalable business growth. The competition was judged based on three criteria: innovation, outreach, and presentation skills. The audience ultimately voted Shohei Aoyama of freee as the winner, awarding him a grand prize of 500,000 yen.

Participant Testimonials

Participants expressed their excitement and learning, sharing insights on how customer success can drive business growth and the pivotal role communication with customers plays in that success. One participant stated, "The presentations were filled with visually appealing slides that left a lasting impression and made the messaging simple yet effective."

Customer Success Inc. remains committed to promoting the dissemination of knowledge and best practices in customer success.

About Customer Success Inc.

Founded on October 1, 2025, Customer Success Inc. aims to create a society brimming with authentic businesses. Led by Yuto Iwakuma and Masato Kajiwara, the company focuses on consultancy, training, and recruitment related to customer success.

• - Location: 1-5-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
• - Website: customer-success.co.jp

About the Japan Customer Success Association

Established in November 2024, the Japan Customer Success Association aims to enhance industrial competitiveness through knowledge sharing and implementation support for customer success, advocating for sustainable business growth with customers.
For any inquiries, please contact: [email protected].