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.
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
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly kn ...
in Japan and is generally considered the most conservative of the country's three major private sector led business associations. The other two organizations are the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (日本商工会議所) and the
Japan Association of Corporate Executives
The is a Japanese professional association of independent leading executives. Founded in 1948, the group engages in advocacy on public policy issues related to the development of the Japanese economy in both a domestic and global context. The ...
(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 Masakazu Tokura of
Sumitomo Chemical
is a major Japanese chemical company. The company is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the on the Nikkei 225 stock index. It's a member of the Sumitomo group and was founded in 1913 as a fertilize ...
. He has been chairman of The Japan Business Federation since June 2021.
Political donations
Keidanren and its predecessor bodies had a long history of providing substantial political donations to the
Liberal Democratic Party. In the lead-up to the 2009 general election the
Democratic Party of Japan
The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist:
*
*
*
*
*
*
* to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016.
The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic Part ...
made a pledge to ban political donations from companies and organizations. After the DPJ victory in that election, Keidanren stopped making political donations.
View on consumption tax
Keidanren supported the
Noda
NoDa (short for "North Davidson") is a popular arts district in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is located in the North Charlotte neighborhood on and around North Davidson Street and 36th Street, approximately one mile northeast of Up ...
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%.
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
() is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. Centered around Rakuten Ichiba, its businesses include financial services utilizing financial technology, as well as digital content and communicati ...
president
Hiroshi Mikitani
(born March 11, 1965) is a Japanese billionaire businessman and writer. He is the founder and CEO of Rakuten, Inc. He is also the president of Crimson Group, chairman of the football club Vissel Kobe, chairman of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, ...
leaving the federation partly over this issue.
Masayoshi Son
Masayoshi Son ( ja, 孫 正義, translit=Son Masayoshi, ko, 손정의, translit=Son Jeong-ui) (born 11 August 1957) is a Korean-Japanese billionaire technology entrepreneur, investor, financier and philanthropist. A 3rd generation "Zainichi Kore ...
of
Softbank
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the ...
publicly objected to the focus on restarting the nuclear plants, but didn't leave the federation over it.
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.
Yahoo! Japan
Yahoo! Japan
is a Japanese internet company originally formed as a joint venture between the American internet company Yahoo! (later divested by Verizon into Altaba) and the Japanese company SoftBank. It is headquartered at Kioi Tower in the Tokyo Garden Terr ...
was a founding member of
Rakuten
() is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. Centered around Rakuten Ichiba, its businesses include financial services utilizing financial technology, as well as digital content and communicati ...
CEO
Hiroshi Mikitani
(born March 11, 1965) is a Japanese billionaire businessman and writer. He is the founder and CEO of Rakuten, Inc. He is also the president of Crimson Group, chairman of the football club Vissel Kobe, chairman of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, ...
's Japan e-business association in February 2010, but after Rakuten withdrew from Keidanren in June 2011 and made moves to become the Japan Association of New Economy as a rival to Keidanren, Yahoo! Japan withdrew from the e-business association in March 2012. It joined Keidanren in July 2012.
Current board
![Masakazu Tokura cropped Masakazu Tokura and Inoue Shinji 20210630](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Masakazu_Tokura_cropped_Masakazu_Tokura_and_Inoue_Shinji_20210630.jpg)
Below are the lists of presidents, Chair, Vice-presidents and Vice-Chairs of Japan Business Federation (as of July 1, 2021).
[Nippon Keidanren website ]
Past officeholders
See also
*
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
*
List of employer associations
This is a list of employer associations and other business organizations.
Albania
* Konfindustria (Konfederata e Industrive te Shqiperise)
Austria
* Federation of Austrian Industry (Vereinigung der Österreichischen Industrie (VÖI))
Australia ...
*
Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe
The Confederation of European Business, shortened BusinessEurope, is a lobby group representing enterprises of all sizes in the European Union (EU) and seven non-EU European countries. Members of the confederation are 40 national industry and emplo ...
(UNICE), a similar European business association
References
External links
*
* https://www.keidanren.or.jp/en/
* http://www.keidanren-usa.org/
{{Authority control
Business organizations based in Japan
Professional associations based in Japan
Employers' organizations in Japan