President Mimura of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry held his final press conference on the 20th before ending his term of office, which he had served for three nine years since 2013, at the end of this month.
In it, President Mimura looked back on the changes in the Japanese economy over the past nine years and said, ``Abenomics will implement monetary easing equivalent to that of other countries to normalize the level of the yen, raise Japan's competitiveness, and attract domestic investment. I think the economy has recovered somewhat," he said.
He added, "In the past 20 years, wages have not risen, productivity has not risen, and prices have not risen, and it was a time when there was not much pressure on companies to seek self-reform. Now the environment is big. As people's values and work styles change, we are entering a difficult situation in which companies cannot survive unless they transform themselves," he said, adding that the business environment surrounding companies is more severe than ever. He acknowledged that he is getting stronger.
Mr. Ken Kobayashi, who has served as president of Mitsubishi Corporation and is currently serving as an advisor, will succeed Mimura next month.