(at the
Prime Minister's Official Residence on May 26, 2008) Hiroshi Okuda was born in
Mie Prefecture on 29 December 1932. He graduated from
Hitotsubashi University in 1955 and began working for Toyota. He became president of Toyota in 1995 after having worked at the corporation for 40 years. In 1998, Okuda was selected as a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Strategy Council. Okuda stepped down as president and became chairman of the board in 1998. That same year he became chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations. He also held the position of chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association from 2000 to 2002. He stepped down as chairman in 2006. ==References==