The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has decided to assign Ken Kobayashi, chairman of a major trading company, Mitsubishi Corporation, to succeed Akio Mimura.
The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been selecting a successor since Chairman Mimura, who has been the chairman since 2013, will finish his term of office for three terms and nine years at the end of October.
According to the announcement, it has been decided that the new chairman will be Mr. Ken Kobayashi, the chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation.
Mr. Kobayashi is 73 years old.
He became president of Mitsubishi Corporation in 2010 and has been chairman since 2016.
In his business activities, he has served as the vice chairman of Keidanren and the vice chairman of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and from the beginning he is the chairman of the Japan Foreign Trade Council, which is made by major trading companies.
The chairman of Nissho has been appointed as a manager of a major manufacturer, and this is the first time that he has been appointed by a trading company.
In response to the informal appointment of a successor, Chairman Mimura told reporters, "Recent trading companies have invested to create new businesses and are making model changes to increase profits. The Chamber of Commerce is fully strengthening the power of trading companies. I want you to make use of it, and I want the new chairman to propose policies while taking into consideration the whole of Japan while staying close to small and medium-sized enterprises. "
Mr. Kobayashi is scheduled to officially take office as Chairman of Nissho in November.