Keidanren has tapped Hitachi Ltd. Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi as its next chief, the nation's top business lobby said Tuesday. The appointment was approved earlier in the day at a meeting of the body's board of councilors. Nakanishi, 71, will be formally appointed at Keidanren's general meeting on May 31, the lobby said, replacing 74-year-old Sadayuki Sakakibara, senior adviser at Toray Industries Inc. The move marks the first time an executive from Hitachi, a major industrial machinery manufacturer, will assume Keidanren's top post. Sakakibara had said he would pick his successor from current or former vice chairs, who are from strongly performing manufacturers.