Anytime Fitness exceeds 1.2 million members in Japan as Nishi-Koyama becomes its 6,000th gym worldwide

Fast Fitness Japan, which operates the 24-hour, year-round gym brand Anytime Fitness in Japan, announced on 23 September 2026 that its Japanese membership had exceeded 1.2 million at the end of July that year. Its domestic network stood at 1,282 gyms at the same date. The Nishi-Koyama gym in Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward, which opened on 7 July, became the brand’s 6,000th location worldwide. The announcement marks milestones for both its Japanese franchise network and its global expansion.

Membership in Japan exceeds 1.2 million across 1,282 gyms

The announcement provides two key figures for the Japanese business: more than 1.2 million members and 1,282 gyms. Both relate to the end of July 2026, rather than the September announcement date. Membership was described as having exceeded 1.2 million, not as standing at exactly that figure.

Anytime Fitness is a gym franchise founded in the United States. Its first Japanese gym opened in Chofu, Tokyo, in 2010. By the end of July 2026, it had grown to 1,282 locations nationwide, building its gym network and membership base around a 24-hour, year-round operating model.

The announcement explains that the brand has expanded in Japan by offering gyms suited to a wide range of lifestyles. However, these headline figures alone do not establish the recent pace of membership growth or usage trends at existing gyms. They should be considered separately from measures such as membership in the corresponding period a year earlier and the breakdown of new sign-ups and cancellations.

For the franchise community, a nationwide membership base provides useful context on a brand’s reach. However, chain-wide membership does not directly indicate the revenue of individual gyms or the profitability of franchisees. This announcement is best understood primarily as a statement of the scale the Japanese network has reached.

Nishi-Koyama opening marks the 6,000th gym worldwide

The global milestone came with the opening of Anytime Fitness Nishi-Koyama in Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward on 7 July 2026. This became the brand’s 6,000th gym worldwide, placing a new Japanese opening at the centre of a global network milestone.

It is important to distinguish the scope of the domestic and global figures. The 1,282 gyms represent the Japanese network at the end of July, while Nishi-Koyama’s status as the “6,000th gym” refers to the cumulative worldwide total. Likewise, the membership figure of more than 1.2 million relates to Japan, not the global membership base.

The announcement states that Anytime Fitness has more than 6,000 gyms worldwide. What distinguishes this opening is that a franchise brand founded in the United States has expanded its Japanese network to the point where a gym in Japan marked a global milestone.

However, Nishi-Koyama’s position as the 6,000th gym worldwide says nothing about its specific business economics. The supplied materials do not disclose its investment cost, membership, revenue or financial results. A symbolic opening milestone cannot be treated as evidence of an individual gym’s profitability.

The master franchisee behind the Japanese network

The Japanese business is led by Fast Fitness Japan, headquartered in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward and headed by President and Representative Director Kohei Inoue. Established on 21 May 2010, the company has Anytime Fitness as its core business.

As the master franchisee for Japan, the company both operates company-run gyms and develops the franchise network. The reported domestic total should therefore be understood as the size of the overall brand network, encompassing both operating models. The figure of 1,282 gyms cannot be interpreted as the number of franchised locations alone.

The supplied materials do not provide a breakdown between company-run and franchised gyms. Nor does this announcement establish the franchise terms, start-up capital requirements or ongoing fees that would matter to businesses considering opening a gym.

Nevertheless, identifying the company responsible for the Japanese business and its operating model is important context for prospective franchisees. The global brand network, the Japanese business and individual franchise operations each represent a different level of information. Anyone considering joining the network should look beyond brand scale and separately verify the terms under which the Japanese franchisor operates.

Assess network scale separately from individual gym economics

The announcement confirms that Anytime Fitness had more than 1.2 million members and 1,282 gyms in Japan, and that the Nishi-Koyama opening brought its cumulative worldwide total to 6,000 locations. While these figures illustrate its domestic and international reach, they do not establish the size of Japan’s overall fitness market or the brand’s market share.

For prospective franchisees, these milestones can provide a starting point for researching the brand. However, the size of the chain alone should not be taken as evidence that a proposed location will attract members on a similar basis. An individual investment decision requires separate information on comparable gyms and their financial performance, including operating costs.

When approaching the Japanese franchisor, useful questions include the split between company-run and franchised gyms, the location characteristics of comparable sites, and how membership has developed since those gyms opened. Checking the initial investment, ongoing costs and division of operational responsibilities will also help distinguish the brand-wide figures from the conditions of the business a franchisee would actually run. These are matters for further due diligence, not terms disclosed in this announcement.

Practical takeaway: More than 1.2 million members and 1,282 gyms in Japan are useful indicators of brand scale. A decision to invest in a franchise should nevertheless rest on a separate assessment of the proposed location and the financial performance expected at gym level.