is a Japanese investor who has been the President and CEO of

Mizuho Financial Group The , known from 2000 to 2003 as Mizuho Holdings and abbreviated as MHFG or simply Mizuho, is a Japanese banking holding company headquartered in the Ōtemachi district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The group was formed in 2000-2002 by merger of Dai- ...

(2002–2009), Chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association (2005–2006) and the president of

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

(2020–2023).

Early life

Maeda was born in

Kumamoto is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a populat ...

, raised in

Nakatsu, Ōita is a Cities of Japan, city on the northern border of Ōita Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 82,301 in 41222 households, and a population density of 96 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geogr ...

and graduated from the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

with a degree in law.

Business career

Maeda joined Fuji Bank in 1968. He became vice-president of Fuji Bank, the predecessor of the present Mizuho Financial Group, in 1999. The bank recorded a loss of 2.38 trillion JPY that

fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

as it wrote off

non-performing loan A non-performing loan (NPL) is a bank loan that is subject to late repayment or is unlikely to be repaid by the borrower in full. Non-performing loans represent a major challenge for the banking sector, as they reduce profitability. They are ofte ...

s accrued during three recessions in a decade. Maeda returned it to profitability the next year after reducing bad assets and through gains on investments in Japanese stocks. Maeda was named "Top chief executive officer" in Japanese banking sector in 2007, according to ''

Institutional Investor An institutional investor is an entity that pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linked ...

'' magazine.

Personal life

Maeda is an amateur

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

who does not use air conditioners at his home during Tokyo's humid summers to make an environmental point.

References

External links

Mizuho Financial Group : Top Message
1945 births Living people Japanese bankers Japanese chief executives People from Nakatsu, Ōita University of Tokyo alumni Fuji Bank {{Japan-business-bio-stub