Makoto Tonami was born in 1948 in Aichi Prefecture and graduated from the prestigious Kyoto University with a degree in agriculture. Upon graduation he went to work for trading house Itochu Corp., a job that would take him on business trips around the globe.
But after working for 25 years in the Fortune 500 company, he called it quits and decided to pursue a different lifestyle.
"I didn't want to remain a salaryman all my life," said Tonami, who is better known by his alias, Mac Akasaka.