Upon assuming the presidency of Japan Bank for International Cooperation on April 1, Hiroshi Okuda told reporters that Japan today is lagging behind the rest of the world in both politics and economy by a wide margin.
"We are probably about two to three laps behind," said Okuda, 79, whose resume includes president of Toyota Motor Corp. as well as chairman of Keidanren.
But in his newest position, the business mogul said he would like to "contribute to the country while I still have it in me," touching on how JBIC can assist Japan's export of infrastructure building or help the country secure energy resources.