Tsutsui Yoshinobu Appointed Chairman of Japan Life Insurance
Japan's Largest Life Insurer... Institutional Investor Managing 1,119 Trillion Yen
Breaking Manufacturing Appointment Tradition... "Reflecting Industrial Structure Changes"
For the first time, a financial professional has been appointed as the next chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), often referred to as Japan's "Prime Minister of Business." Since it has been customary for the Keidanren chairman to be someone from the manufacturing sector, this appointment is considered highly unusual. Japanese media have analyzed this as a reflection of the rapidly changing industrial environment surrounding the country.
On the 17th, NHK and Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of Nippon Life Insurance, has been appointed as the successor to Masakazu Tokura, the current Keidanren chairman who will retire in May next year. The personnel proposal is scheduled to be formally submitted at the meeting in January next year.
Tsunoi Yoshinobu, Chairman of Nippon Life Insurance, appointed as the president of the Keidanren (Japan Business Federation). NHK.
Chairman Tsutsui, a native of Kobe, graduated from Kyoto University's Faculty of Economics in 1997 and then joined Nippon Life Insurance. After joining, he mainly handled negotiations with the Ministry of Finance (formerly the Ministry of Finance) and industry organizations, and was appointed president in 2011. In 2015, he led the acquisition of Mitsui Life Insurance (now Daiju Life Insurance), which was regarded as the first major restructuring of the domestic life insurance industry in Japan in 11 years. In 2018, he also led the acquisition of MassMutual Life Insurance (now Nissay Wealth Life Insurance), expanding the base of Japan's life insurance industry. In 2018, he became chairman of Nippon Life Insurance and concurrently served as an outside director of Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group and JR West Japan.
Japanese media reacted to the appointment of Tsutsui, a "finance man," as unusual. Until now, it had been customary to select the Keidanren chairman from among presidents or chairpersons of manufacturing companies. The current Keidanren chairman, Tokura, is also chairman of Sumitomo Chemical, and previous chairmen were all from manufacturing companies such as Hitachi, Toray Canon, and Toyota. Only two chairmen from other fields, from the Keidanren secretariat and Tokyo Electric Power Company, have served, and there has never been a chairman from the financial sector. It is known that candidates for this chairman position included Tsutsui as well as chairmen from Hitachi, Nippon Steel, Sony, and NTT. Because of this atmosphere, past Keidanren chairmen have repeatedly requested the government to correct the strong yen, which is disadvantageous to manufacturing exports, and have voiced support for free trade agreements (FTAs) and corporate tax cuts.
Therefore, this unprecedented appointment is analyzed as reflecting changes in Japan's economic structure, moving away from a manufacturing-centered model. In Japan, various employment forms have emerged, and lifetime employment in manufacturing no longer reflects the times. Above all, facing labor shortages, there is a growing demand to increase workforce mobility and introduce diversity. Nikkei stated, "The business community that insists only on the manufacturing model that supported high economic growth cannot respond to globalization or digitalization," and added, "There has long been a saying that the Keidanren chairman is chosen by the times. It is inevitable that the new chairman will be required to have ideas that transcend the boundaries of manufacturing."
Masakazu Dokura, Chairman of Keidanren, is speaking at the '31st Korea-Japan Business Meeting' held last October. Photo by Yonhap News.
Additionally, since the next challenges for Keidanren include reforms in social security and energy sectors, it was evaluated that a person from the insurance industry was needed. This was reflected in the economic and social policy proposal "Future Design 2040" announced by Keidanren on the 9th. The report mainly states that stimulating consumption is difficult with wage increases alone, and that strengthening taxation on the wealthy is necessary to reduce the increasing social insurance burden on the working generation. It also mentions the need to restart nuclear power plants and construct next-generation innovative reactors to provide affordable and stable electricity supply.
Nippon Life Insurance is Japan's largest life insurer and also the largest institutional investor with custodial assets of 120 trillion yen (1,119 trillion won). It is highly regarded for its understanding of domestic and international economic trends through asset management. The group also includes the think tank Nissay Research Institute, making it likely that Tsutsui was considered well-suited to urge the government on tax and social security reforms. Tsutsui was also appointed this year as the inaugural chairman of the GX Promotion Organization, which supports decarbonization-related investments, suggesting this also influenced the decision.
Previously, Keidanren chairman Tokura had hinted at a groundbreaking appointment regarding his successor, stating, "Japan is no longer in an era bound by manufacturing." Having searched for a successor mainly among former Keidanren vice chairmen, he also said, "We will select someone who can solve and implement challenges according to current social trends, not just industrial policy." Nikkei analyzed, "Chairman Tokura has emphasized that social security reform and promoting the green transformation (GX) are important tasks for the next chairman," and "It can be seen that Tsutsui's abilities were evaluated for policy proposals and realization."
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