Yahoo Japan Corp. has announced that Nikesh Arora, vice chairman of its biggest shareholder, SoftBank Corp., will replace Masayoshi Son as chairman, subject to shareholder approval at the company’s annual general meeting in June.

Son, who has been chairman since July 1996, will remain a board member of Yahoo Japan, which was established by SoftBank and Yahoo! Inc. of the United States in January that year.

The decision, announced Thursday, reflects the increasing prominence of Arora, a former Google Inc. executive, within the SoftBank group. Son, the chief executive officer of SoftBank, recently named him as a potential successor as CEO.

Arora, who born in India and is now 47, was appointed earlier this month as president of SoftBank, effectively Son’s No. 2, subject to approval at a board meeting after the June annual shareholders’ meeting.

Internet portal operator Yahoo Japan plans to change its management system to a committee governance structure and to cut the number of board members to pursue more transparency and quicker decision-making.

Yahoo Japan also aims to beef up its Internet service business, capitalizing on Arora’s business expertise and personal connections in the information technology industry.