- Appointments of Keidanren Vice Chairs and Board of Councillors Vice Chairs
- Japan—US Summit Meeting
- Trump's Tariffs
- Collapse of Merger Talks between Nissan and Honda
Appointments of Keidanren Vice Chairs and Board of Councillors Vice Chairs
Today's meeting of the Keidanren Chairman and Vice Chairs selected tentative candidates for Keidanren vice chairs and Board of Councillors vice chairs, to be newly appointed at the General Assembly on May 29.
Keidanren Vice Chairs Yoshinobu Tsutsui, who is slated to assume the position of Chairman, Toshiaki Higashihara, Eiji Hashimoto, Kazuhiro Tsuga, and Tomoko Namba will step down with effect from the date of the Generally Assembly. As new candidates to replace them, attendees at the meeting tentatively selected Hiroyuki Ogawa, President of Komatsu; Takahito Tokita, CEO of Fujitsu; Masahiro Kihara, CEO of Mizuho Financial Group; and Koji Sato, CEO of Toyota Motor Corp.
Board of Councillors Vice Chairs Takahito Tokita, who was selected to become a Keidanren vice chair, Shigeru Hayakawa, and Tetsuji Ohashi will step down with effect from the date of the General Assembly. Current Keidanren Vice Chairs Higashihara, Hashimoto, and Namba will continue to serve as vice chairs on the Board of Councillors. As new candidates for vice chair positions on the Board, the meeting informally selected Shunichi Kito, CEO of Idemitsu Kosan; Keiichi Iwata, President of Sumitomo Chemical; Reiko Akiike, Managing Director and Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group; and Yuki Kusumi, President of Panasonic Holdings.
All candidates were selected on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of their personal character, knowledge, management skills, and achievements in their respective industries, as well as in the interest of maintaining a balance across a broad range of industries and business sectors. Additionally, Keidanren President Masakazu Kubota will continue to serve as a vice chair.
(In response to a question about the reasons why the candidates for vice chair positions were selected) Komatsu President Ogawa manages a global portfolio of businesses in construction and mining equipment as well as industrial machinery. His company, Komatsu, Ltd., has been highly active in Keidanren affairs, as demonstrated by the work of Komatsu Chairman Tetsuji Ohashi, who has held important responsibilities as Chair of Keidanren's Committee on Management and Labor Policy over the past six years.
Fujitsu CEO Tokita heads a global ICT corporation with a core foundation in technology. As chair of Keidanren's Committee on Administrative Reforms, he has worked tirelessly to bring about regulatory and other administrative reforms with the aim of strengthening the vitality and competitiveness of Japan's private sector-led economy. Mr. Tokita has also articulated his keen insights and opinions as a chair and vice chair of the Board of Councillors, and we look forward to his active role as a Keidanren vice chair.
Mizuho Financial Group CEO Kihara leads a global financial group with operations in banking, investment trusts, and securities as well as its own asset management business and think tank. Mizuho Financial has been an active member in Keidanren for some time.
Toyota CEO Sato is the top executive for a world-leading company in the mobility sector, a key industrial pillar of the Japanese economy. Past Keidanren chairmen have hailed from Toyota, a company that has contributed to the activities of Keidanren over many years.
(In response to a question regarding the reasons for the appointment of Higashihara, Hashimoto, and Namba as vice chairs on the Board of Councillors and the extension of President Kubota's tenure as vice chair) In view of the tremendous contributions the three outgoing Keidanren vice chairs have made to date, we decided to appoint them to vice chair positions on the Board in the hope they will continue to fulfill leading roles in Keidanren.
In particular, as an entrepreneur who launched her own startup, Vice Chair Namba adds fresh vitality to Keidanren from a different perspective. We want Ms. Namba to continue devoting her energies to Keidanren affairs, given that our "Vision for Startup Breakthrough" (announced in March 2022) was put together under her leadership and is still in the process of being implemented.
Keidanren Vice Chair and President Kubota's term as Director General has not expired. Moreover, as 2025 is a year that Keidanren will appoint a new chairman, we decided to have Kubota continue supporting the chairman as a vice chair.
Japan—US Summit Meeting
(In response to a query seeking the Chairman's views on the recent Japan—US summit meeting) In terms of strengthening the ties between our two nations, the successful conclusion of the first in-person summit meeting between Prime Minister Ishiba and US President Trump is of huge significance, given that the US is Japan's closest ally and a partner with whom we share the same fundamental values regarding freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
In the context of the security alliance, it is also extremely important that the summit brought a mutual affirmation of our long-shared stance of support for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. On the economic front, it is also extremely significant that Japan's corporate community was credited for its contributions to the US economy, including its position as the world's largest source of direct investment in the US economy for five years running and a global ranking of second in the creation of new jobs. I am delighted that the summit also affirmed the essential importance of bilateral economic cooperation. In addition, it also affirmed that the two nations would continue exploring opportunities for cooperation in the development of AI, quantum computing, advanced semiconductors, and other important technologies, as well as in energy security, including exports of liquefied natural gas to Japan. We look forward to further advances in Japan—US ties based on their ironclad bilateral alliance.
Keidanren stands ready to continue working in the interest of stronger economic ties between Japan and the US. As one measure to that end, it plans to send a business mission to Washington, D.C., from the 19th through the 25th of this month. We hope to help boost bilateral economic ties through meetings with US governors attending the National Governors Association meeting, as well as with members of the US Congress.
(In response to a query seeking the Chairman's impressions of the meeting between Prime Minister Ishiba and President Trump) Judging solely from news reports, both appeared to be in extremely good spirits and warmly shook hands. I think that's a good sign, and I credit that outcome to Prime Minister Ishiba and the careful preparations made by the Japanese government officials involved. I am glad that the effort to build rapport with President Trump got off to a good start and want the Japanese side to be prepared for future opportunities.
(In response to a question about the exchange between the two leaders, during their summit meeting, regarding Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel) As I don't have full knowledge of those details, I will refrain from any comments on specifics. However, given that the two leaders affirmed the importance of bilateral economic ties, including investments in the US by Japanese firms, I would welcome and look forward to seeing this proposed acquisition receiving consideration at a higher level. I intend to follow future developments in this matter.
Trump's Tariffs
(In response to a question regarding US President Trump's announcement of his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners with high tariff rates and levy a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminum) Although the potential impact on Japanese agricultural exports is a matter of concern, I am not yet familiar with details on the reciprocal tariffs and would have difficulty gauging their impact on Japan. As I also lack details on the tariffs aimed at steel and aluminum, I will refrain from commenting at this time.
Collapse of Merger Talks between Nissan and Honda
(In response to a question regarding the end of merger talks between Nissan Motor and Honda Motor, and the outlook for a Nissan merger with another company) I will refrain from commenting on the nature of any merger an individual firm may pursue with other firms. Although it is regrettable that its business merger negotiations failed, I hope Nissan will explore alternatives with a sense of urgency in the interest of finding a way out of its current crisis.