Minoru Makihara

Minoru Makihara ( Makihara Minoru; January 12, 1930 – December 13, 2020) was a Japanese business executive who was the chief executive (1992–1998) and chairman (1998–2004) of Mitsubishi Corporation. He was noted for steering the group through the turbulent economic times of the 1990s and for advocating strong US–Japan business relations, serving on many trade and cultural relations advocacy groups.

Early life and education

Makihara was born in London on January 12, 1930, to Haruko and Satoru Makihara. His father was a Mitsubishi executive there, and his mother was a kindergarten teacher, librarian, and writer.[1] The family moved back to Japan just before the Second World War, when tensions between Japan and the western countries were rising, and he attended Seikei Elementary School in Tokyo. His father died in 1942, when the ship that he had taken to the then-Japanese-occupied Philippines, as part of a business delegation, was attacked by an American submarine.[1]

In 1949, he went to the United States to study at a private boarding school, St Paul's School in New Hampshire, and then attended Harvard University

Career

Early years

After completing his studies in the United States, Makihara returned to Japan in 1956, and joined Mitsubishi.[1] He split his time between Japan and the United States, and returned to open the group's office in Washington, D.C., in 1971.[1] During this time, he became acquainted with a number of notable figures, including Katharine Graham, owner of The Washington Post.[1] He returned to Japan in the late 1970s, to lead the marine products group that his father had once headed, focusing on exports of salmon and crab.[1] In 1987, he became the group's head of international operations; in this role, he spent time in London, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and was noted for his cosmopolitan and international outlook. Outside Japan, during this period, he was known as Ben Makihara.[3] He was made the president and chief executive of the group in 1992.[1][4]

Reforms at Mitsubishi

When Makihara took over as the chief executive, the Mitsubishi group was already Japan's largest trading company. However, the Japanese economy had just entered an economic recession, and the company had an unfavorable financial status, with high debts, low profits and an inward-facing management culture;[4] US–Japan relations were then at an all-time low.[4] Makihara was tasked with turning the organization around.[4]

He spoke against the closed nature of the Keiretsu, a Japanese corporate structure representing companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings, and emphasizing the need for more transparency.[3][4] During this period, the group had interests ranging from fine art to aircraft jet engines.[1]

Trade advocacy

He was an advocate for strong US–Japan business relations, through a period in which many Americans viewed Japanese resurgence as a threat to their own economic and global trade domination.[1] He chaired the US–Japan Business Council (1997–2002) and the US–Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (2008–2014).[1] He served on the board of the American multinational technology company IBM. He was the vice chairman of Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, and was a member of the Trilateral Commission, a non-governmental policy coordination group established to foster cooperation between Japan, Europe, and North America.[6]

birth date	January 12, 1930
birth place	London, United Kingdom
death date	December 13, 2020
death place	Tokyo, Japan
occupation	Business executive
known for	Leading Mitsubishi group's turnaround in the 1990s; leading US–Japan business relations.
spouse	Kikuko Iwasaki (m. 1957)
children	2