Japan should aggressively create new businesses to regain its global competitiveness, according to Kakutaro Kitashiro, new chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).
"I think major companies should downsize businesses that will soon be defeated by China and other Asian companies and instead start up new businesses in areas that Japan can really perform in," said Kitashiro, who also serves as the chairman of IBM Japan Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S.-based IBM Corp.
Kitashiro, 59, was appointed as the new chairman at Keizai Doyukai's general meeting in Tokyo on Friday. The major business group, founded in 1946, provides 1,380 member corporate executives with opportunities to exchange ideas freely.