Jiro Amagai, a former bureaucrat of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, is likely to become chairman of ailing supermarket chain operator Daiei Inc., sources at the company said Wednesday.
Amagai, 55, who resigned the same day from his post as head of the Equity Bureau of the National Personnel Authority, is likely to be made chairman at the end of January following an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, the sources said.
The post of chairman has been vacant since Oct. 10 when Isao Nakauchi, 78, the founder of Daiei, stepped down to become top adviser.
Amagai and incoming Daiei President Kunio Takagi, 56, a Daiei adviser, will push forward with Daiei's restructuring plans, the sources said.
Before entering the NPA five years ago, Amagai was at MITI, which he joined in 1968. He was involved in the retail industry when he was in charge of implementing the Large-Scale Retail Stores Law.
On Nov. 24, Daiei announced a new three-year restructuring plan featuring closure of 32 loss-making outlets and shedding of 4,000 jobs.
To cover the extraordinary losses the restructuring plan entails, Daiei will issue 120 billion yen worth of stock to its major lenders -- Tokai Bank, Sanwa Bank, Sumitomo Bank and Fuji Bank.