1st LD Writethru: Hitachi Chairman Nakanishi tapped to be Japan Business Federation's next chief

TOKYO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) on Tuesday selected Hiroaki Nakanishi, Hitachi Ltd.'s chairman, as its next leader.

The board of councilors of the powerful business lobby approved Nakanishi's appointment earlier in the day and the 71-year-old Hitachi executive is set to replace Sadayuki Sakakibara, 74, as the federation's head.

The formal appointment will be made at Keidanren's general meeting on May 31, the federation said.

Sakakibara had previously said that his successor would be selected from current or former vice chairs of the lobby who belong to manufacturing firms that have a solid track record.

Nakanishi currently serves as vice chair of the federation and his appointment to the top post will mark the first time that a Hitachi executive has assumed the position.

Hitachi, Ltd., a Japanese multinational conglomerate, is headquartered in Tokyo, and renown for its production of industrial machinery.

Nakanishi, as a Hitachi executive, got the nod from Sakakibara in part for his knowledge of next-generation technology, including robotics and artificial intelligence.

Nakanishi's political ties also factored into him being seen as a front runner for the lobby's top post, local media reported.

Other moves within the federation may include Nobuyuki Koga from Nomura Holdings Inc. assuming the second-highest post of board of councilors chairman. Koga, 67, also currently serves as a vice chair of the federation.

Keidanren, according to its official statement, is a "comprehensive economic organization with a membership comprised of 1,350 representative companies of Japan, 109 nationwide industrial associations and 47 regional economic organizations."

The lobby's mission is to "draw upon the vitality of corporations, individuals and local communities to support corporate activities which contribute to the self-sustaining development of the Japanese economy and improvement in the quality of life for the Japanese people," the federation said.

The federation seeks to establish "consensus in the business community on a variety of important domestic and international issues for their steady and prompt resolution," while communicating with a "wide range of stakeholders including political leaders, administrators, labor unions and citizens".

The lobby is also focused on resolving international issues and forging closer economic ties with numerous countries "through policy dialogue with the governments, economic associations of each country as well as international organizations", according to the lobby.

The federation in recent dialogue with China at both business and political forums has underscored the importance of Japan and China's complimentary economic ties.

The federation has also expressed its desire to take part in cooperative endeavors under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and make joint efforts with China to expand trade, investment and industry cooperation so as to promote the stable and healthy development of bilateral economic ties. Enditem