The is an economic organization founded in May 2002 by amalgamation of Keidanren (, Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, established 1946; name sometimes used alone as abbreviation for whole organization) and Nikkeiren (, Japan Federation of Employers' Associations, established 1948), with Nikkeiren being absorbed into Keidanren.Japan Times Keidanren-Nikkeiren tieup scheduled for May 2002 start December 21 2000 Retrieved on July 22, 2012
The federation is commonly referred to as "Keidanren". Its 1,601 members consist of 1,281 companies, 129 industrial associations, and 47 regional economic organizations (as of June 15, 2010).
For most of the post-war period, Keidanren has been the voice of big business in Japan and is generally considered the most conservative of the country's three major private sector business associations. The other two organizations are the (日本商工会議所) and the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (経済同友会).
According to the organization's official website, the mission of the Keidanren is to accelerate growth of Japan's and the world's economy, and to strengthen the corporations to create additional value to transform the Japanese economy into one that is sustainable and driven by the private sector by encouraging the ideas of individuals and local communities.
The current chairman is Yoshinobu Tsutsui of Nippon Life. He has been chairman since May 2025.
Views
View on consumption tax Keidanren supported the Noda government's efforts to raise Japan's consumption tax from 5% to 10%. It had previously called for the consumption tax to be raised even higher, to 15%.Keidanren urges gov't to raise consumption tax to 10% or higher+ Retrieved on July 20, 2012
Views on nuclear power After the March 11 nuclear disaster and subsequent shutdown of all the nuclear plants in Japan, Keidanren called for their restart. This view was not shared by all business leaders, with Rakuten president Hiroshi Mikitani leaving the federation partly over this issue. Masayoshi Son of Softbank publicly objected to the focus on restarting the nuclear plants, but didn't leave the federation over it.
Political donations for the LDP The Keidanren regularly conducts political donations to the dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) pledged to ban corporate and organizational political donations during the 2009 general election to address public concerns over legislative influence. Following their victory, Keidanren initially suspended its donation programs.Asahi Shimbun EDITORIAL: Political donations 2010/03/01 Retrieved on July 20, 2012Nikkei Weekly Business lobbies in state of flux June 16, 2012, page 28 However, the DPJ failed to codify a total ban due to internal funding scandals and the continued use of legal loopholes. While direct giving to individuals was prohibited, organizations utilized political party branches to route funds to lawmakers.
The failure to enact these reforms, coupled with the government's response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, caused a significant decline in public support. In the 2012 general election, the DPJ suffered a massive defeat, losing over three-quarters of its seats. The LDP subsequently returned to power and maintained the existing donation system. Despite 2024 legislative updates that lowered disclosure thresholds for fundraising events, corporate contributions remain legal in Japanese politics.
Changes to board composition In 2002, when Keidanren took on its current form, two-thirds of its 18 vice-chairmen were from manufacturing companies. As of July 2012, only 8 of the 18 are filled by executives of manufacturers.
Current board
Chairman and vice-chairmen as of 2 July 2025.Nippon Keidanren website TitleNameAffiliationChairmanYoshinobu TsutsuiExecutive Advisor, Nippon Life Insurance CompanyVice-ChairAkiyoshi Koji Honorary Chairman, Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.Tsuyoshi Nagano Senior Executive Advisor, Tokio MarineNobuhiro Endo Executive Advisor, NEC CorporationHideki Kobori Chairman & Director, Asahi KaseiKoji NagaiChairman of the Board, Nomura HoldingsJun SawadaExecutive Chairman, NTT, Inc.Takehiko KakiuchiChairman of the Board, Mitsubishi CorporationSeiji IzumisawaChairman of the Board, Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesYumiko NodaChairman & Representative Director, Veolia JapanHironori KamezawaPresident & Group CEO, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial GroupHitoshi NagasawaChairman, Director, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki KaishaMakoto TakashimaChairman of the Board, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial GroupMasayuki HyodoChairman of the Board, Sumitomo CorporationKenichiro YoshidaDirector & Executive Chairman, Sony Group CorporationHiroyuki OgawaChairman of the Board, Komatsu LimitedTakahito TokitaRepresentative Director, CEO, FujitsuMasahiro KiharaPresident & CEO, Mizuho Financial GroupKoji SatoPresident & CEO, Toyota Motor CorporationMasakazu KubotaPresident & Director General, Keidanren
Past officeholders +Japan Business FederationOrderPast presidentAffiliationTenure1Hiroshi OkudaToyotaMay 2002 – May 20062Mitarai FujioCanonMay 2006 – May 20103Hiromasa YonekuraSumitomo ChemicalMay 2010 – May 20144Sadayuki SakakibaraToray IndustriesJune 2014 – May 20185Hiroaki NakanishiHitachiMay 2018 – June 20216Masakazu TokuraSumitomo ChemicalJune 2021 – May 20257Yoshinobu TsutsuiNippon LifeMay 2025–present
+Old Business FederationOrderPast chairmanAffiliationTenure1Ichiro IshikawaNissan Chemical IndustriesMarch 1948 – February 19562Taizo IshizakaTokyo Shibaura ElectricFebruary 1956 – May 19683Kōgorō UemuraKeidanren SecretariatMay 1968 – May 19744Toshiwo DokoTokyo Shibaura ElectricMay 1974 – May 19805Yoshihiro InayamaNippon SteelMay 1980 – May 19866Eishiro SaitoNippon SteelMay 1986 – December 19907Gaishi HiraiwaTokyo Electric PowerDecember 1990 – May 19948Shoichiro ToyodaToyotaMay 1994 – May 19989Takashi ImaiNippon SteelMay 1998 – May 2002+Former Japan Federation of Employers' AssociationsOrderPast president(permanent typical secretary)AffiliationTenure1Kanichi MoroiTaiheiyo CementMarch 1948 – April 19682Takashi Miki Yawata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.April 1949 – April 19523Masato KatoDaiwabo Co., Ltd.April 1949 – August 19634Takeshi SakuradaNisshinbo IndustriesApril 1960 – May 19795Bunpei OtsukiMitsubishi Mining & Cement Co., Ltd.May 1979 – May 19876Eiji SuzukiMitsubishi Chemical CorporationMay 1987 – May 19917Ken NaganoMitsubishi MaterialsMay 1991 – May 19958Jiro NemotoNYKMay 1995 – May 19999Hiroshi OkudaToyotaMay 1999 – May 2002
See also Chamber of commerce List of employer associations Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), a similar European business association
References
External links
https://www.keidanren.or.jp/en/ http://www.keidanren-usa.org/