Almost half a century after founding his pioneering motor-maker on the family farm, Japanese billionaire Shigenobu Nagamori is handing over leadership of Nidec Corp. to a former Nissan Motor Co. executive to lead an ambitious pivot into the electric-vehicle space. Jun Seki will take over from Nagamori as chief executive officer, the Kyoto-based company said last week as it announced better-than-projected annual results. The leadership change, which comes a little over a year after Seki's move from Nissan, will be finalized when Nidec's board meets June 22. Nagamori, who founded Nidec in a shack in 1973, will remain chairman. Seki, 59, was appointed president of Nidec after leaving Nissan, where he was vice chief operating officer and an unsuccessful contender for CEO after Hiroto Saikawa resigned amid a compensation scandal, following the shock arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Almost half a century after founding his pioneering motor maker on the family farm, Japanese billionaire Shigenobu Nagamori is handing over leadership of Nidec Corp. to a former Nissan Motor Co. executive to lead an ambitious pivot into the electric-vehicle space. Jun Seki will take over from Nagamori as chief executive officer, the Kyoto-based company said last week as it announced better-than-projected annual results. The leadership change, which comes a little over a year after Seki's move from Nissan, will be finalized when Nidec's board meets June 22. Nagamori, who founded Nidec in a shack in 1973, will remain chairman. Seki, 59, was appointed president of Nidec after leaving Nissan, where he was vice chief operating officer and an unsuccessful contender for CEO after Hiroto Saikawa resigned amid a compensation scandal, following the shock arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

OSAKA - Electric motor-maker Nidec Corp. said Tuesday it will acquire component-maker Omron Corp.'s automotive electronics subsidiary for ¥100 billion ($893 million), as it seeks to speed up the development of technology for autonomous and other advanced vehicles. Kyoto-headquartered Nidec will take an entire stake in Omron Automotive Electronics Co. by the end of October, as it aims to combine its strengths in motors, radar and camera-related technologies with Omron Automotive's edge in auto components for self-driving vehicles. "We want to widen our product lineup through the acquisition and enhance our competitiveness in the automobile-oriented business," as the auto industry has been shifting its focus to more electrified and self-driving vehicles, Nidec Chairman and CEO Shigenobu Nagamori told a news conference in Tokyo. Omron said it will focus more on its industrial automation and health care businesses as it found it difficult to continue hefty investments in developing auto technology on its own amid the intensifying race to make next-generation vehicles. Nidec, founded in 1973, has grown in part due to its ambitious mergers and acquisitions strategy.

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Nidec's Conference Call hosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to pass this conference to Mr. Abe at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities for opening remarks. Mr. Abe, please go ahead, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for joining this conference call. This is Abe, General Manager, Institutional Sales Department of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities. Before the meeting starts, please make sure all materials have been distributed. If not, please download the files on Nidec's Homepage right now. Now, may I introduce Mr. Akira Sato, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, who will be speaking to you shortly. First, Mr. Sato will make a presentation. After his presentation, we will move to a Q&A session. Mr. Sato will now discuss Nidec's fourth quarter fiscal year 2016 results, future outlook and management strategy. Mr. Sato, please go ahead. Thank you very much, Mr. Abe. My name is Akira Sato, Chief Financial Officer of Nidec, and I will be your main speaker for today.

OSAKA – Japanese motor maker Nidec Corp. said Thursday it plans to invest ¥100 billion ($878 million) on robots and supercomputers to eliminate overtime work for its 10,000 group employees in Japan by 2020. The company, which commands a high global market share for small precision motors, is known for its culture of hard work, with founder and Chairman Shigenobu Nagamori setting an example by working from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. But with its workforce diversifying through aggressive midcareer recruitment and acquisitions of overseas companies, Kyoto-based Nidec is taking steps to enhance the work-life balance of its employees. To implement the change, Nidec plans to allocate about ¥50 billion each for its manufacturing division and its noncore division, including development and personnel units. At its factories, the company plans to introduce cutting-edge facilities using robots to reduce operational hours.