Tomio Moriguchi (森口 富雄, Moriguchi Tomio, born 1936) is an American businessman and civil rights activist who served as CEO of the
Uwajimaya supermarket chain in Seattle, Washington, from 1965 to 2007.[2]
After graduating from the
University of Washington with a degree in mechanical engineering, Moriguchi worked at
Boeing as an engineer, but left after his father's death to run Uwajimaya. He served as CEO and president of Uwajimaya beginning in 1965. During his tenure, he moved Uwajimaya's base of operations several times, expanding the size of his business in various locations until moving to Uwajimaya Village in 2000.[4][5] He served as the president of the Seattle chapter of the
Japanese American Citizens League in 1972.[6] He was also a member of the National Council for Japanese American Redress (NCJAR).[7] Moriguchi, along with
Kristi Yamaguchi, was honored by the JACL as a "Japanese American of the Biennium" in 1992.[8] In 1994, the
Washington State Legislature adopted a bill which honored Moriguchi.[9]
After stepping down as CEO of Uwajimaya in 2007, Moriguchi continued his service as chairman. On June 18, 2015, he visited
Ehime University to discuss internship programs for students in the United States.[10] He was named by
Puget Sound Business Journal as one of the 35 most influential business leaders of Seattle for the past 35 years.[11] Moriguchi retired from the management of the company in 2017.[12] He continues to be involved in the company's real estate branch.[13][14] His family received the 2017 Tomodachi Award for their contributions to the relations between Japan and Seattle.[15]
Although he did not own Nagomi Tea House, Moriguchi founded it on Uwajimaya's former business site.[16] He accepted his position as president of Keiro Northwest, of which he was a co-founder, in 2018.[17] He and his family were named as recipients of the 2020 Seattle-King County First Citizen Award.[18]
Moriguchi is also the board president and treasurer of the Hokubei Hochi Foundation[19] and is president of the
North American Post Publishing Company (and former publisher).[20] His daughter
Denise is the current president and CEO of Uwajimaya.[21]