Japan’s biggest business lobby plans to appoint Nippon Life Insurance Chairperson Yoshinobu Tsutsui as its next head, people familiar with the matter said Monday.
Tsutsui will be the first chairperson of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, from the financial industry, as the group usually picks its leader from the manufacturing sector.
The 70-year-old Keidanren vice chair will assume the top post at a general meeting on May 29 next year, succeeding Masakazu Tokura, 74, whose term expires in late May.
After becoming president of Nippon Life in 2011, Tsutsui led efforts to expand the insurer, including through the acquisition of Mitsui Life Insurance. He was appointed Nippon Life chairperson in 2018.
He also heads the GX Acceleration Agency, which was established in July this year to promote green investments by companies. In Japan, “GX” stands for “green transformation.”
Tsutsui was named Keidanren vice chair in May last year.
Tokura, chairperson of Sumitomo Chemical, became the 15th chief of the business lobby in 2021, replacing the late former Hitachi Chairperson Hiroaki Nakanishi, who stepped down as Keidanren head due to health problems.
Thirteen of the 15 people who have so far led Keidanren have been from the manufacturing sector. The other two included Gaishi Hiraiwa, former chairman of a predecessor of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.