, is the chairman of the board of

Mitsubishi Corporation is Japan's largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. As of 2022, Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 80,000 people and has ten business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals, an ...

, and its former president and chief executive officer (CEO). Kojima was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the son of Kazuo and Sakae Kojima. He graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School. In 1965, he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. He joined the Mitsusbishi Corporation that same year and continued with them his entire career. Kojima held various positions in the corporation in Tokyo, in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1995 he was appointed to Mitsubishi's

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

as an

inside director An inside director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation who is also a member of the corporation's management, almost always a corporate officer Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what ...

(取締役). In 2001, he went from being managing director of the corporation's

merchant banking A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...

group to vice president; and in 2004 he moved up to president and CEO, when then president

Mikio Sasaki is chairman of the board of Mitsubishi Corporation. In 1960, Sasaki graduated from Waseda University with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and management. In April 1960, he went to work for Mitsubishi Corporation, where he still res ...

replaced the out-going

Minoru Makihara Minoru Makihara ( ''Makihara Minoru''; January 12, 1930 – December 13, 2020) was a Japanese business executive who served as the chief executive (1992–1998) and chairman (1998–2004) of Mitsubishi Corporation. He was noted for steering ...

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. In 2010, Kojima himself left the position of president and CEO to become chairman of the board of directors. He is a member of 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 ...

(''Keizai Doyukai''), and was vice-chairman of that organization in 2003, and a board member from 2003 to 2008.

Notes

Sources

* Marquis Who’s Who (corp.) (2007) "Yorihiko Kojima" ''Who's Who in the World - 2008'' (25th Edition) Marquis Who's Who, New Providence, NJ 1941 births Japanese chief executives Japanese industrial engineers Living people Honorary Companions of the Order of Australia Keio University alumni University of Tokyo alumni {{Japan-business-bio-stub