Tsutsui Yoshinobu Nominated as Chairman of Keidanren
Japan’s Largest Life Insurer… Institutional Investor Managing ¥1,119 Trillion
Breaking the Tradition of Selecting Leaders from Manufacturing… “Reflecting Changes in Industrial Structure”, “For the first time, a financial executive has been nominated as the next chairman of Keidanren, often referred to as Japan’s ‘Prime Minister of Business’. Traditionally, the chairmanship of Keidanren has been held by leaders from the manufacturing sector, making this appointment highly unusual. Japanese media have analyzed that it reflects the rapidly changing industrial environment surrounding the nation.”,
On the 17th, NHK and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that Tsutsui Yoshinobu, chairman of Nippon Life Insurance, has been nominated to succeed Tokura Masakazu, the current chairman of Keidanren, who will retire next May. The personnel proposal is expected to be formally submitted in the January meeting next year.
Tsutsui, originally from Kobe, graduated from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Economics in 1997 and joined Nippon Life Insurance. Within the company, he primarily handled negotiations with the Ministry of Finance (now the Ministry of Finance) and industry associations, and he became president in 2011. In 2015, he led the company’s acquisition of Mitsui Life Insurance (now Daijyu Life Insurance), marking a significant restructuring of the domestic life insurance industry in Japan for the first time in 11 years. In 2018, he expanded the company’s reach further by acquiring MassMutual Life Insurance (now Nissei·Wells Life Insurance). He subsequently became chairman of Nippon Life Insurance in 2018 and has served as an outside director for Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group and JR West.
The appointment of Tsutsui, a figure from the financial world, has drawn comments from Japanese media highlighting its unusual nature, given that the Keidanren chairman is typically chosen from manufacturing sector executives. The current chairman, Tokura, is from Sumitomo Chemical, while all previous chairmen have been from manufacturing companies like Hitachi, Toray, Canon, and Toyota. Only two non-manufacturing sector leaders, from Keidanren’s secretariat and Tokyo Electric Power Company, have ever headed the organization. Tsutsui was among several candidates considered, including leaders from Hitachi, Nippon Steel, Sony, and NTT. Historically, successive chairmen have advocated for various policies favoring the manufacturing sector, like addressing the yen’s appreciation, promoting free trade agreements (FTAs), and calling for corporate tax reductions.
Thus, this groundbreaking appointment is seen as a reflection of the shift in Japan’s economic structure away from a manufacturing-centric focus. As diverse employment patterns emerge, there are calls to increase talent fluidity and diversity in response to labor shortages, and long-term employment within manufacturing is no longer seen as fitting the times. Nikkei commented that the economic sector, which relies heavily on the manufacturing model that supported Japan’s rapid economic growth, may not address globalization and digitalization. The choice of a chairman with fresh perspectives beyond manufacturing has been described as inevitable.
Additionally, the incoming tasks for Keidanren include reforms in social security and energy sectors, suggesting the importance of appointing someone from the insurance industry. Keidanren’s recent policy recommendation report, “Future Design 2040”, emphasized that stimulating consumption is challenging solely through wage increases, and suggested increasing taxes on the wealthy to alleviate the social insurance premium burden on the working generation. It also mentioned the need for nuclear power plant restarts and construction of next-generation reactors for affordable and stable power supply.
Nippon Life Insurance, Japan’s largest life insurance company with ¥120 trillion in assets (approximately $1119 trillion), is also a major institutional investor. It is acclaimed for its insight into domestic and international economic trends through asset management. The group includes the NLI Research Institute, a think tank, enhancing Tsutsui’s suitability for advocating tax and social security reforms to the government. Earlier this year, Tsutsui was appointed the inaugural chair of the GX Promotion Organization to support decarbonization investments, a role that likely influenced his nomination.
Previously, Keidanren’s Chairman Tokura noted, “Japan is no longer in an era bound by manufacturing,” suggesting an unconventional appointment. The search for a successor had focused on Keidanren’s vice chairmen, emphasizing the selection of a leader capable of addressing and implementing current societal needs alongside industrial policies. Nikkei highlighted that Chairman Tokura had stressed the importance of social security reform and green transition (GX) as key challenges for the next chairman, recognizing Tsutsui’s competencies in policy proposal and realization.