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PACIFIC BASIN ECONOMIC COUNCIL
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[ Inaba ] F O R M E R C H A I R M A N
Kosaku Inaba
Director and Senior Counselor
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries

KOSAKU INABA served for a long time as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (IHI) and now in the position of Director and Senior Counselor of IHI.

Inaba was born in Singapore on the 16th of January, 1924 and graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology with a major in Mechanical Engineering. In 1946, Inaba entered Ishikawajima-Shibaura Turbine Co., Ltd. (later merged with IHI) and for over a quarter century was engaged in the design and development of turbo machinery, fostering IHI as one of the world's leading manufacturers in this field. In 1972, Inaba joined the IHI Board of Directors, and in 1977 was appointed Executive Vice President. He became President and CEO of IHI in 1983 and Chairman and CEO in 1995.
As a part of his remarkable achievements during this period, Inaba directly supervised an epic project for a barge-mounted pulp plant in Brazil, took strong leadership in the success of the world's largest liquid propane gas project in Algeria, an international joint project for the development of "V2500" aircraft jet engines, and other major projects. Inaba has successfully led IHI from a shipbuilder to a comprehensive manufacturer of heavy industrial machinery with advanced, high technologies.
Besides his activities with the company, Inaba is also actively involved as Chairman of the Pacific Basin Economic Council and serves as Chairman of its Japan Member Committee. Inaba is the Honorary Chairman of The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Honorary Chairman of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Japanese Aero Engines Corporation, a member of the Government's Economic Council, and Chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprise Policy Making Council of the Government, and is frequently called upon to perform assignments and other important roles for the government.
Inaba received the Order of the Southern Cross from Brazil in 1990, and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure conferred by the Japanese government in 1996.