Major construction contractor Taisei Corp. said Wednesday that President Osamu Hirashima will be replaced by Vice President Kanji Hayama on April 1.
Hirashima, 69, will become chairman with representative rights after Hyozo Yamamoto, 71, the current chairman, becomes the company's adviser. Hayama, 64, entered Taisei in 1960 after graduating from the University of Tokyo and assumed the current post in June 1997.
Taisei has decided to rejuvenate its management when it starts a new three-year management program in April, under which it will strengthen new businesses and reduce interest-bearing debts, it said.
Hirashima will also become chairman of the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors after Matabei Maeda retires from the post in May, federation sources said.
Maeda, also chairman of Maeda Corp., has served in his current post at the federation since December 1993 and suggested he should resign after occupying the chairmanship for more than seven years.