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(2)3 released Japanese hostages in Iraq return to hometowns

SAPPORO, Japan - Noriaki Imai (C), one of the three Japanese civilians released Thursday after being held hostage for more than a week in Iraq, returns to his hometown Sapporo on April, accompanied by his parents Takashi (L) and Naoko.

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(1)Road panel adopts tough reform plan as chairman quits

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, chairman of a government advisory panel on privatizing four road-related public corporations, is surrounded by journalists Dec. 6 after he resigned and walked out in protest over what the panel should recommend to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The panel later adopted by a 5-1 vote a final report calling for a strict limit on construction of new highways.

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Tokyo, Hanshin urban highways to be privatized independently

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation and head of a government advisory panel formulating ways to privatize four road-related public corporations, is surrounded by reporters after a panel meeting in Tokyo on Nov. 15. The panel agreed to make urban expressways in the Tokyo metropolitan and the Hanshin regions private independently of other highways.

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(2)Panel urges freezing some pending highway projects

TOKYO, Aug. 30 Kyodo - Naoki Inose (R), a member of a seven-member government panel on privatization of four road-related public corporations, speaks at a news conference Aug. 30, as panel chairman Takashi Imai, honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation, watches.

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Road panel outlines privatization scheme

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, head of a government advisory body on privatization of road-related public corporations, speaks with the media Aug. 23. The seven-member panel worked out a framework to privatize four public entities, including the creation of a public corporation to inherit their debt after privatization.

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Panel to prioritize profitability in building expressways

TOKYO, Japan - A government advisory panel on ways to privatize four road-related public corporations is in session July 17, with Nobuteru Ishihara (L), minister in charge of administrative and regulatory reform, and Takashi Imai (2nd from L), chairman of the panel, in attendance. Imai told the meeting his committee will prioritize profitability in building new expressways.

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Keidanren chief Imai speaks in Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), speaks to reporters in Jakarta on April 6 at the end of a four-nation Southeast Asian visit by Japan's most powerful business lobby. The 11-day mission visited Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia to discuss further development of economic ties between Japan and the region.

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Keidanren approves merger with Nikkeiren

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai (standing), chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), addresses its extraordinary general meeting in Tokyo on Jan. 28. Keidanren formally approved a plan to merge with the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren) to create the Japan Business Federation in May.

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Business leaders meet the press

TOKYO, Japan - (From L to R) Yotaro Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations, and Nobuo Yamaguchi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, meet the press after a New Year party in Tokyo on Jan. 7.

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Panel on war dead to reach decision in 1 year

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda addresses members of a government advisory panel tasked with finding non-controversial ways to honor Japan's war dead who met for the first time dec. 19. The panel agreed to meet monthly before reaching a conclusion in one year. The panel headed by Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations, was set up after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted war criminals along with the nation's war dead, triggered criticism from Japan's Asian neighbors.

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Japanese, S. Korean business officials call for FTA

SEOUL, South Korea - Takashi Imai (3rd from R), chairman of Japan's Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), leads a group of Japanese business executives at a meeting in Seoul with South Korean counterparts on Nov. 26. Business leaders agreed on the need to urge their governments to conclude a bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA).

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Okuda selected to lead new merged business lobby

TOKYO, Japan - The chairmen of two of Japan's major business groups -- Takashi Imai of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) (L) and Hiroshi Okuda of the Japan Federation of Employers Association (Nikkeiren) -- shake hands at a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 12. They announced the two organizations will merge next May into a new entity, the Japan Business Federation, with Okuda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corp., to serve as its first chairman.

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Imai meets with Jiang

BEIJING, China - Takashi Imai (L), chairman of Japan's Federation of Economic Organizations, meets with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing on Sept. 14.

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Keidanren urges gov't to reform itself

TOKYO, Japan - Nobuteru Ishihara (standing), state minister in charge of administrative reform, speaks at a meeting of a Federation of Economic Organization (Keidanren) committee on reform in Tokyo on July 10. Keidanren Chairman Takashi Imai requested the government to promote administrative reform so that the private sector can help revitalize the economy.

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New business body to be launched

TOKYO, Japan - Hiroshi Okuda (L), chairman of the Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren), and Takashi Imai (C), chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), are seated next to each other at a joint meeting of the two organizations in Tokyo on June 20. Keidanren and Nikkeiren agreed to launch a new organization, Japan Business Federation (JBF), through their merger in May 2002.

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Japanese business leaders meet Putin in Moscow

MOSCOW, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin (seated to far left) meets with members of a Japanese government-sponsored mission, led by Takashi Imai (2nd from R), chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) in Moscow on June 8.

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Top business leader vows full support for Koizumi's reforms

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), talks to reporters as he comes out from a meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on May 9. A Keidanren official said the business circle will fully back the premier's plans for administrative and fiscal reforms.

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Business leaders confident about 1.7% growth

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's top four industrial bosses give a joint news conference at a Tokyo hotel Jan. 5. (From L to R) Kosaku Inaba, head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Takashi Imai, head of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), Hiroshi Okuda, chief of the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren), and Yotaro Kobayashi, chief of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).

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Putin asks Keidanren to send economic mission to Russia

TOKYO, Japan - Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shares a toast with Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), on Sept. 5 at a welcome luncheon hosted by the influential business group. Putin asked Keidanren to send an economic mission to Russia after he completed two days of summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori without a breakthrough in a long-standing bilateral territorial row.

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Keidanren chief recommends 2% growth before fiscal reform

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), Japan's most powerful business lobby, is shown during an interview with select media on June 26. He said the new government to be formed after Sunday's general election should wait until the economy starts growing at an annual rate of at least 2% before undertaking fiscal reform.

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Blair greets Keidanren chief

LONDON, England - British Prime Minister Tony Blair (L) greets Takashi Imai, chairman of Japan's Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) at his Downing 10 office Nov. 11.

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Chinese premier rules out yuan's devaluation

BEIJING, China - Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji on Oct. 20 ruled out the possibility of the yuan currency's devaluation when he met a delegation of the Japan-China Association on Economy and Trade. Photo shows Zhu (R) and Takashi Imai, delegation chief and head of Japan's Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), in the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

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Japan business dons pin hope on 2nd-half recovery

The leaders of Japan's top four big-business groups hold a news conference in Tokyo on Jan. 5, voicing hope that the nation's economy will be put on a recovery track in the second half of this year, while expressing shock at a series of negative developments at the new year's onset. From left to right are Jiro Ushio, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), Jiro Nemoto, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren), and Kosaku Inaba, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Imai becomes Keidanren chairman

Takashi Imai (2nd from L), chairman of Nippon Steel Corp., assumes the chairmanship of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) on May 26, replacing Shoichiro Toyoda (far R), chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. The photo shows Imai and Toyoda shaking hands at a general meeting of Japan's largest business body at the Keidanren Kaikan Building in downtown Tokyo.

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Okuda selected to lead new merged business lobby

TOKYO, Japan - The chairmen of two of Japan's major business groups -- Takashi Imai of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) (L) and Hiroshi Okuda of the Japan Federation of Employers Association (Nikkeiren) -- shake hands at a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 12. They announced the two organizations will merge next May into a new entity, the Japan Business Federation, with Okuda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corp., to serve as its first chairman.

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Panel on war dead to reach decision in 1 year

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda addresses members of a government advisory panel tasked with finding non-controversial ways to honor Japan's war dead who met for the first time dec. 19. The panel agreed to meet monthly before reaching a conclusion in one year. The panel headed by Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations, was set up after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted war criminals along with the nation's war dead, triggered criticism from Japan's Asian neighbors.

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Business leaders meet the press

TOKYO, Japan - (From L to R) Yotaro Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations, and Nobuo Yamaguchi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, meet the press after a New Year party in Tokyo on Jan. 7.

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Keidanren approves merger with Nikkeiren

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai (standing), chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), addresses its extraordinary general meeting in Tokyo on Jan. 28. Keidanren formally approved a plan to merge with the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren) to create the Japan Business Federation in May.

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(1)Road panel adopts tough reform plan as chairman quits

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, chairman of a government advisory panel on privatizing four road-related public corporations, is surrounded by journalists Dec. 6 after he resigned and walked out in protest over what the panel should recommend to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The panel later adopted by a 5-1 vote a final report calling for a strict limit on construction of new highways. (Kyodo)

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Keidanren chief Imai speaks in Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), speaks to reporters in Jakarta on April 6 at the end of a four-nation Southeast Asian visit by Japan's most powerful business lobby. The 11-day mission visited Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia to discuss further development of economic ties between Japan and the region.

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(2)3 released Japanese hostages in Iraq return to hometowns

SAPPORO, Japan - Noriaki Imai (C), one of the three Japanese civilians released Thursday after being held hostage for more than a week in Iraq, returns to his hometown Sapporo on April, accompanied by his parents Takashi (L) and Naoko. (Kyodo)

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Conferment ceremony of Japanese decoration

Takashi Imai (R), a former chairman of the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, receives the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers from Japanese Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2018. (Pool photo)(Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mahathir receives Japanese decoration

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (R) shakes hands with Takashi Imai, former chairman of the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, after receiving the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2018. They were attending a photo session for recipients of Japanese decorations. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Gov't panel finalizes proposals on emperor's abdication

Takashi Imai (L), chairman of a government panel on Emperor Akihito's abdication, and Takashi Mikuriya, a University of Tokyo professor emeritus on the panel, attend a press conference in Tokyo on April 21, 2017, after it finalized its proposals including one-off legislation enabling the 83-year-old to become the first living emperor to relinquish the throne in around 200 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Gov't panel finalizes proposals on emperor's abdication

Takashi Imai (L), chairman of a government panel on Emperor Akihito's abdication, and Takashi Mikuriya, a University of Tokyo professor emeritus on the panel, attend a press conference in Tokyo on April 21, 2017, after it finalized its proposals including one-off legislation enabling the 83-year-old to become the first living emperor to relinquish the throne in around 200 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Panel on emperor's abdication convenes

A government panel, chaired by Takashi Imai (2nd from L), honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation, convenes in Tokyo on March 22, 2017, to consider issues regarding Emperor Akihito's abdication. It was discussed what status the emperor should be given after becoming the first living emperor to relinquish the throne in around 200 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Panel report supports one-off legislation on emperor's abdication

Takashi Imai, who chairs a government advisory panel studying the possible abdication of Emperor Akihito, attends a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 23, 2017, following its meeting. The panel released an interim report emphasizing the merits of allowing the move under legislation applying only to him, effectively backing the plan sought by the government. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Panel report supports one-off legislation on emperor's abdication

Takashi Imai (L), who chairs a government advisory panel studying the possible abdication of Emperor Akihito, attends a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 23, 2017, following its meeting. The panel released an interim report emphasizing the merits of allowing the move under legislation applying only to him, effectively backing the plan sought by the government. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Gov't panel to release interim report on emperor abdication Jan. 23

A government panel tasked with examining the potential abdication of Japan's Emperor Akihito holds a meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Jan. 11, 2017. The six-member advisory group said it is planning to release an interim report of its findings on Jan. 23. Second from right is the panel's chief Takashi Imai, honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Panel to summon 16 experts to mull emperor's possible abdication

Members of a government advisory panel on Emperor Akihito's possible abdication, including its chair Takashi Imai (2nd from R), attend a second meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 27, 2016. Imai said after the meeting that the panel will hear opinions from 16 intellectuals -- whose expertise includes history, the imperial household system and constitutional law -- in three sessions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan gov't panel on emperor's abdication begins discussions

Takashi Imai (L), honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation, and Takashi Mikuriya, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, attend a press conference after the inaugural meeting of an advisory panel on the emperor's abdication at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Oct. 17, 2016. Imai serves as chairman of the panel and Mikuriya is its acting chairman. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan gov't panel on emperor's abdication begins discussions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (far L), Takashi Imai (2nd from L), honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation, and others attend the inaugural meeting of an advisory panel on the emperor's abdication at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Oct. 17, 2016. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mimura to head Nippon Steel succeeding Chihaya in April

TOKYO, Japan - Nippon Steel Corp. said on Jan. 30 that Akio Mimura (file photo), one of its six executive vice presidents, will be promoted to president April 1, succeeding Akira Chihaya. Chihaya, 67, will become chairman with representative rights, replacing Takashi Imai. (Kyodo)

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Tokyo, Hanshin urban highways to be privatized independently

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation and head of a government advisory panel formulating ways to privatize four road-related public corporations, is surrounded by reporters after a panel meeting in Tokyo on Nov. 15. The panel agreed to make urban expressways in the Tokyo metropolitan and the Hanshin regions private independently of other highways. (Kyodo)

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(2)Panel urges freezing some pending highway projects

TOKYO, Aug. 30 Kyodo - Naoki Inose (R), a member of a seven-member government panel on privatization of four road-related public corporations, speaks at a news conference Aug. 30, as panel chairman Takashi Imai, honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation, watches. (Kyodo)

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Road panel outlines privatization scheme

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, head of a government advisory body on privatization of road-related public corporations, speaks with the media Aug. 23. The seven-member panel worked out a framework to privatize four public entities, including the creation of a public corporation to inherit their debt after privatization. (Kyodo)

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Panel to prioritize profitability in building expressways

TOKYO, Japan - A government advisory panel on ways to privatize four road-related public corporations is in session July 17, with Nobuteru Ishihara (L), minister in charge of administrative and regulatory reform, and Takashi Imai (2nd from L), chairman of the panel, in attendance. Imai told the meeting his committee will prioritize profitability in building new expressways.

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Top business leader vows full support for Koizumi's reforms

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), talks to reporters as he comes out from a meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on May 9. A Keidanren official said the business circle will fully back the premier's plans for administrative and fiscal reforms.

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Business leaders confident about 1.7% growth

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's top four industrial bosses give a joint news conference at a Tokyo hotel Jan. 5. (From L to R) Kosaku Inaba, head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Takashi Imai, head of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), Hiroshi Okuda, chief of the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren), and Yotaro Kobayashi, chief of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).

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Putin asks Keidanren to send economic mission to Russia

TOKYO, Japan - Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shares a toast with Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), on Sept. 5 at a welcome luncheon hosted by the influential business group. Putin asked Keidanren to send an economic mission to Russia after he completed two days of summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori without a breakthrough in a long-standing bilateral territorial row.