Masao Nishimura

Masao Nishimura (born November 18, 1932 – August 1, 2006) was a Japanese banker. He was from Kanagawa Prefecture. He served as the President of the Industrial Bank of Japan (now Mizuho Financial Group) and as the Chairman of Mizuho Holdings.

Overview

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was Nishimura's half-older brother. Shinzo Abe’s second son and his third son, Nobuo Kishi, are Nishimura’s nephews.

Career and Personal Life

In 1999, when approximately 7.45 trillion yen of public funds were injected into major banks, Nishimura, as a representative of To-ichi Bank, was among the first to express this application, despite hesitation from other banks, thereby promoting the flow of financial support. That same year, he began efforts toward the establishment of Mizuho Financial Group, advocating for increased non-interest income and the promotion of investment banking. These activities contributed to leading the wave of the financial Big Bang around 2000.

As part of the structural reorganization of Mizuho Financial Group, Nishimura devised a plan to split into Mizuho Corporate Bank and Mizuho Bank. Regarding this plan, executives from Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank criticized, “The corporate banking was part of the bailout measure for the Industrial Bank of Japan.”

Biographical Summary

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Shonan High School in Kanagawa Prefecture, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo in 1955 and entered Kinyō Bank (Industrial Bank of Japan).

Major Career Events

- June 1996: Appointed President of Kinyō Bank.

- September 2000: Appointed Auditor of Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (resigned in June 2003).

- June 2000: Became Chairman and Co-CEO of Mizuho Holdings, concurrently holding roles alongside Toshiya Sugita, Chairman and President of Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank, and Keiichiro Yamamoto, President of Fuji Bank.

- April 2002: Completed the reorganization into Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Corporate Bank. Resigned as Chairman of Mizuho Holdings and became a special adviser. However, due to a large-scale system failure shortly afterward, he was forced to resign.

- June 2002: Appointed Honorary Advisor of Mizuho Financial Group.

- October 2002: Appointed Auditor of Japan Airlines.

- October 2004: Appointed Auditor of Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd.

- June 2006: Appointed Auditor of Japan Airlines International.

Death

On August 1, 2006, at 8:15 PM, he died of heart failure at the age of 74. The head of the family was his eldest son, Hiroshi.

The above content is an objective record of Masao Nishimura’s life and major career positions, excluding personal evaluations or emotions.