Uichiro Niwa, chairman of Itochu Corp., a major trading house, has been awarded the 2008 Zaikai Award by the publisher of the business magazine Zaikai.
Niwa was honored earlier this week for his staunch advocacy of devolving administrative authority and financial resources from the central government to local administrations to help reinvigorate regional economies.
The publisher also announced five Management Award winners for the year: Fumio Otsubo, president of leading electronics manufacturer Panasonic Corp., which recently changed its corporate name from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.; Shinzo Maeda, president of cosmetics giant Shiseido Co.; Akio Nitori, president of Nitori Co., a fast-growing furniture retailer; Takeo Higuchi, chairman and CEO of Daiwa House Industry Co., a top housing manufacturer; and Isao Tsukamoto, chairman of Kaga Electronics Co., a trading house specializing in semiconductor and other electronics parts.