Hiroyuki Goto ventured into what appeared to be a high-risk business nearly two decades ago when, at the age of 28, he started providing rent guarantees for foreign nationals living in Japan.

¡°Everyone around me strongly advised me not to do it and tried to stop me. They thought I was a bit crazy,¡± said Goto, who founded Global Trust Networks (GTN) in 2006.

Goto was somewhat optimistic because of personal experience.