Sony Corp.'s charismatic chairman and chief executive officer, Nobuyuki Idei, has been tapped as the point man for galvanizing exchanges with China next year to mark 30 years of diplomatic ties between Japan and China.
According to sources, the government has informally asked Idei to head up a Japanese committee that will be established as early as autumn to implement various events. The sources said Idei has given the nod to the government request, although the appointment will not be announced until shortly before the committee is officially launched. The blue-ribbon committee will include many private-sector Japanese leaders, including top executives of other high-technology companies.
However, it is still unclear when the government would launch the committee, due to heightened tensions in Sino-Japanese relations over political and economic issues.