Tomisaburo Hirai
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Tokyo in 1906, he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Tokyo Imperial University in 1931 and entered the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He served as director of the Coal Agency's control bureau in 1947, deputy director-general of the Economic Counsel Agency in 1952 and Vice-Minister of International Trade and Industry in 1953, then moved to Yawata Iron & Steel in 1956 as counselor and head of administration at the Yawata Works. He became a Director that year, a Managing Director and deputy head of the Yawata Works in 1958, and a Senior Managing Director in May 1962. After handling steel policy in government, he rose as an executive running a steelworks.
Selection
He became Representative Director and Executive Vice President of Yawata Iron & Steel in May 1967, and continued in that role at Nippon Steel after the March 1970 merger. In May 1973, when Yoshihiro Inayama became Representative Director and Chairman, he became Representative Director and President. The 1973 officer listings also show Terutaka Tasaka, Representative Director and Executive Vice President at Fuji Iron & Steel since May 1962, as a Representative Director. The change of president in the merger's third year appears to have given the post to the Yawata side first.
Initiatives
In his first year, FY ended March 1974, net sales were ¥1,855.8 billion and ordinary profit ¥131.6 billion, double the prior year's ¥1,418.7 billion and ¥60.1 billion. Growth stalled after the oil crisis: ordinary profit fell to ¥68.0 billion in FY ended March 1975, and in his final year, FY ended March 1976, net income dropped to ¥14.5 billion on net sales of ¥2,101.1 billion. In June 1976 he handed the presidency to Terutaka Tasaka, who came from Fuji Iron & Steel.
Career
Career
Ministry of Commerce and Industry / Ministry of International Trade and Industry
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1931 | Joined Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| 1950 | Director-General, Promotion Bureau, Ministry of International Trade and Industry |
| 1953 | Vice-Minister of International Trade and Industry |
Yawata Iron & Steel
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1956 | Joined as Director |
| 1967 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President |
Nippon Steel
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Mar 1970 | Representative Director, Executive Vice President |
| May 1973 | President |
| Jun 1976 | Stepped down as President |