Our Story

Almost every confident speaker in our room started exactly where you are.

How It Began

In 2010, Ted Agatsuma was leading training at ExxonMobil Japan when his CEO asked him a hard question: how could talented colleagues gain the communication skills to lead across Asia? Ted, a Toastmaster since 1986, answered with one idea: start a club.

It began as a plan for a company club, but it soon opened to everyone, because a mix of people makes a better room to learn in. Shinagawa Toastmasters Club was chartered on March 18, 2011, one week after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Our members kept meeting anyway.

Milestones

• 2010: First demonstration meeting, held on December 8.
• 2011: Chartered as Shinagawa TMC with about 25 members, meeting on the 18th floor of ExxonMobil Japan’s Shinagawa office.
• 2014: Our host office moved to Otemachi and our founder retired in the same year. Members took over, moved the club and renamed it Otemachi Toastmasters Club.
• 2020: Moved online during the pandemic and kept meeting.
• 2023: Moved to St. Luke’s Tower in Tsukiji with support from NI+C, keeping the Otemachi name.
• 2026: A member won the District 76 International Speech Contest and became the first contestant from Japan to reach the World Championship of Public Speaking Finals.
• 2026: Recognized as a Smedley Distinguished Club, the highest level of Toastmasters’ club recognition, held by only 6 of more than 200 clubs in Japan.

What a Meeting Looks Like

We meet in English on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Each meeting has prepared speeches, Table Topics (short impromptu answers to a surprise question) and evaluations, where every speaker gets warm, specific feedback.

Guests are never pressured to speak. If you’re feeling brave, you’re welcome to try a Table Topic.

Who We Are Today

Our 27 members range from first-time speakers to Toastmasters with decades of experience. They include students, educators, engineers, business professionals, and our members’ English fluency varies from basic to native. Some joined to work with overseas colleagues, some to practice leadership, and some simply to make friends.

In Our Members’ Words

You can make mistakes and you get friendly and constructive comments from other members.

Nobu

OTMC is the best place to get communication skills in English.

Max, engineer

Our club is the perfect place… to meet friendly peers, and just ENJOY your Wednesday nights!

Marie, member since 2015

Part of Something Bigger

OTMC belongs to Toastmasters International, a nonprofit founded in 1924 with more than 16,600 clubs in 143 countries, and to District 76, which covers Japan. Members progress through Pathways, a self-paced program where you choose a path that fits your goals, from presentation skills to leadership.