Sohei Nakayama, 99; Banker Aided Postwar Reconstruction of Japan
Sohei Nakayama, 99, former president of the Industrial Bank of Japan, died Saturday at a Tokyo hospital, Mizuho Corporate Bank announced today.
Nakayama was influential in Japan’s post-World War II industrial reconstruction, notably in consolidation of the country’s steel, automobile and textiles industries.
He negotiated with United States occupation officials, who wanted to break up his bank after the war, and he became its president in 1961 and chairman in 1968.
Nakayama also helped found the International University of Japan and served as senior advisor to its board of trustees.
The bank he headed merged in 2002 with Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Fuji Bank to become part of the Mizuho Financial Group.
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