East Japan Railway Co. said Wednesday it will promote Executive Vice President Satoshi Seino, 58, to president to succeed Mutsutake Otsuka, 63, who will become chairman.
The decision was approved at a board meeting earlier in the day, it said.
JR East's current chairman, Masatake Matsuda, 70, will become director adviser, the carrier said.
According to JR East, the move is not related to the Dec. 25 derailment of an express train in Yamagata Prefecture. The accident killed five people and injured 32.
Otsuka contributed to promoting the Suica integrated circuit card during his six years in office. The versatile card works as a cash card, credit card and train fare card all in one. JR East posted a record consolidated net profit in the April-September period of fiscal 2005.
Seino is expected to adopt Otsuka's policies and strengthen JR East's profit base.
A native of Sendai, Seino joined JR's predecessor, the Japanese National Railways, in 1970 after graduating from Tohoku University.
He became the executive vice president in June 2002 after serving as the head of the human resources division and as a managing director.