Keidanren retired in June, which is in the middle of the term of office for two terms and four years, because it became difficult for Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi to continue his post as chairman, and the successor chairman was Sumitomo Chemical, a major chemical manufacturer. It has been officially announced that the appointment of Chairman Masakazu Tokura has been announced.
Mr. Tokura is 70 years old.
He has been the chairman of Sumitomo Chemical since then, and has been the vice chairman of Keidanren, and is currently the vice chairman of the deliberation committee.
If Mr. Tokura officially takes office, he will be the second chairman from Sumitomo Chemical since Mr. Hiromasa Yonekura, who served as chairman of Keidanren for four years from 2010.
New Chairman Tokura "We will do our best to prevent the spread of infection and recover the economy."
Masakazu Tokura, who will take over as chairman of the company, said at a press conference, "It is frank that I am very surprised at the sudden thing, but it is a great honor. It was the culmination of the Nakanishi Keidanren, and I am deeply moved when I think of the regret of Chairman Nakanishi, who was forced to retire during his term. "
On top of that, "For the time being, it is important for the government, government, and private sectors to work together to prevent the spread of infection and achieve economic recovery in order to revive from Corona. I want to do my best. "
"Active participation in DX, etc."
Mr. Tokura commented on the issues that Keidanren should tackle, saying, "Digital transformation and carbon neutral are Japan's future economic growth strategies, and Keidanren wants to actively participate in this. In carbon neutral, Japan is certainly behind. It may have been, but now, each company is proceeding with a tremendous momentum, and I think that it will turn into innovation. I want to bring it together to pull the Japanese economy and proactively implement the necessary policies. I want to send it to the government. "
“Chairman Nakanishi wants to ask Mr. Tokura”
At a press conference on the 10th, Mr. Tokura said that he was asked to take office by Masakazu Kubota, Secretary-General of the Keidanren on the 15th of last month, and after careful consideration, he responded with acceptance the following week.
In addition, Secretary-General Kubota, who attended the press conference, announced on the 13th of last month that Chairman Nakanishi had informed him of his intention to retire and that he had been selecting a successor.
Secretary-General Kubota said last month that Mr. Nakanishi wanted to ask Mr. Tokura to replace him while selecting people based on the principle of being the vice chairman of Keidanren and serving as the president and chairman of the company. He visited Mr. Tokura on the 15th and asked him to take office.
Chairman Nakanishi Possibility of recurrent lymphoma
Keidanren's chairman Nakanishi, who announced his retirement in the middle of his term, continued treatment at the hospital because of the recurrence of lymphoma in July last year. It was revealed that it may have been done.
At a press conference, Keidanren's Secretary-General Masakazu Kubota said, "He attended the Keidanren's general meeting next month and was eager to return to work in earnest, but he devoted himself to treatment. There was an offer to do it. "
"I don't know the details of the symptoms, but I can email them, but it's difficult to appear online," he said in response to a reporter's question as to whether his condition was serious.
After that, he said that he had retired in the middle of his term, "I talked to Chairman Nakanishi on the phone, but I can't help but think about it."
What is Masakazu Tokura?
Masakazu Tokura is 70 years old from Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Joined Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. at that time in 1974, and became president of Sumitomo Chemical in 2011.
I have been the chairman since I was a kid.
While business performance deteriorated due to the effects of the Lehman shock, we promoted rationalization in our main petrochemical business, such as deciding to withdraw from domestic production of "ethylene," which is a raw material for plastics, and worked hard to rebuild our management.
As a business activity, he has been the vice chairman of Keidanren for four years from 2015, and is currently the vice chairman of the deliberation committee.
Mr. Nakanishi will serve as chairman from May 2018
Hiroaki Nakanishi is 75 years old. After joining Hitachi, Ltd. in 1970 and serving as a representative of North America and Europe, he became president in 2010 and has been chairman since 2014.
In 2008, the Japanese manufacturing industry demonstrated its ability to rebuild Hitachi, which had fallen into a huge deficit of over 780 billion yen, which was the largest ever at that time, and promoted "selection and concentration" to achieve a V-shaped recovery in business performance. It was.
The chairman of Keidanren was appointed in May 2018, calling for the abolition of the rules of job hunting that Keidanren had established so far, and the review of the "Japanese-style employment system" such as new graduate recruitment and lifetime employment. It was.
He also serves as a member of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy of the government and the Council of Experts for Promoting Climate Change Countermeasures, and actively disseminates proposals for the realization of energy policy and a digital society.
Mr. Nakanishi was quiet and was hospitalized with illness, and as a result of examination, it was revealed that he had lymphoma.
After that, he was discharged from the hospital and returned to work because his condition had settled down and became stable, but he was hospitalized again in July last year and announced the recurrence of lymphoma.
Mr. Nakanishi will work online while continuing treatment, with the numerical target of increasing the number of female executives of companies to 30% or more by 2030, and Keidanren aiming for new growth through concentrated investment in the digital field. We have formulated a long-term vision for.
In addition, we have made every effort to create an environment for promoting the promotion of women in the business world, such as by appointing Tomoko Namba, the first female IT giant DeNA Co., Ltd., as the new vice chairman scheduled to take office next month. It was.