Okuda, 4 others named outside directors of postal privatization firm
The government on Monday appointed Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, and four other business leaders as outside board members of a company to be founded next Monday to prepare for privatizing Japan’s postal services.
The other four leaders are Uichiro Niwa, chairman of Itochu Corp., Haruo Ushio, chairman of Ushio Inc., Takashi Nishioka, chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Reiko Okutani, president of The R Co.
The appointment of the five outside directors will be formalized at the preparatory company’s inaugural meeting slated for Friday.
Under legislation that cleared the Diet last October, Japan Post, the public corporation currently providing postal services, will be split into four stock firms that will be placed under one holding company. Once privatization is launched on Oct. 1, 2007, the preparatory company will become the holding firm.
Yoshifumi Nishikawa, former president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., will take the helm of the holding company as its first president.
