Mizuho CEO Yasuhiro Sato to be succeeded by securities chief Tatsufumi Sakai

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Monday that President and CEO Yasuhiro Sato will be succeeded by Tatsufumi Sakai, head of the group's securities unit, effective April 1. Sato, 65, has headed Japan's third-largest banking group by assets since 2011. He will assume the vacant position of chairman. Sakai, who is Sato's junior by seven years, will be tasked with overhauling the group, including a reduction of 19,000 workers over the next nine years and ramping up the use of artificial intelligence and other innovative technologies. He sees "opportunity" in the changing financial landscape and will put his "heart and soul" into ensuring the group continues to thrive, he told a news conference in Tokyo.