Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of Hitachi Ltd., has been tapped as the next leader of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) at a time when the nation's economy and its companies stand at a critical juncture amid a rapidly changing business environment in a variety of sectors. There are hopes that Nakanishi's past success in achieving the giant electronics and machinery group's turnaround from its late 2000s crisis may help the top business lobby play a key part in Japan overcoming its various economic challenges. But for that to happen, Keidanren under his leadership should be leading the discussion for reforms, instead of just going along with the government's policies in order to maintain close ties with the administration in power.

Keidanren comprises about 1,300 big companies and industry organizations as its members. Its predecessor was established in 1946 with the aim of leveraging the business community's influence over the government's economic policies by making policy proposals. At its apex Keidanren is believed to have wielded such strong influence that the position of its chairman — served by a succession of top executives from Japan's top-notch firms — was often likened to "prime minister" of the big business circles. Much time has passed, however, since the presence and influence of the organization, along with the prestige associated with being its chief, was deemed to have declined as the nation's economic landscape changed.

Nakanishi, who will become Keidanren chief in May, is credited for Hitachi's comeback from its crisis during the global recession following the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers. First as vice president and then as president, Nakanishi oversaw Hitachi's rebound from the ¥787 billion loss the group incurred in the business year to March 2009 — the largest for a Japanese manufacturing firm at that time — by restructuring the group's business, pulling out of loss-making sectors and shifting resources to areas in which it was competent.