PRESS CONFERENCE
Hiroaki Nakanishi, Representative Executive Officer and President, Hitachi Ltd.

The speech and Q & A will be in English.

*Revised: Please note that this press conference will now take place in English.

This event is a chance for members to hear Hiroaki Nakanishi, the outspoken and energetic new president of Hitachi, explain his plans for revitalizing a Japanese industrial powerhouse that critics say has lost its way in recent decades.

Appointed in April, Nakanishi has not been shy about highlighting past management errors behind chronic losses at Hitachi, which is one of Japan's biggest companies with 10,000 billion yen in sales and 360,000 staff.

The new president has called for the appointment of more managers from outside Hitachi to help steer the sprawling group, which makes everything from nuclear power stations and high speed trains to computer chips and consumer electronics.

As part of Hitachi's new "2012 Mid-term Management Plan", Nakanishi has set such ambitious goals as a five percent operating margin and a regular 200 billion yen in net profit for the company, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Success would make Hitachi a symbol of Japanese corporate revival, and Hitachi should be able to rely on the support of the Democratic Party-led government, which has pledged to give stronger diplomatic and financial backing to national champions competing for overseas infrastructure deals.

But Nakanishi, a former computer engineer, faces a wide range of challenges including the rise of South Korean and Chinese competitors and fast-changing conditions in the power plant business. There is also the ongoing impact of the global slowdown, which has already thrown into doubt important projects such as Hitachi's potentially historic sale of high-speed trains to Britain.

Come and hear how Hitachi's new boss plans to overcome such obstacles.

Hiroaki Nakanishi, Representative Executive Officer and President, Hitachi Ltd.