New Itochu president wants China-ready staff

Employees hired at the Japanese trading company Itochu Corp., Tokyo, Japan, will spend their first year on the job in China studying the language, and in the U.S. learning business fundamentals. Masahiro Okafuji, named president of Itochu in February 2010, modeled his training program after a successful program that helped boost the company’s textile business in China. China is one of Itochu’s most important markets, and the company purchased a 28-percent stake in Chinese textile producer Shanshan Group Company last year. Itochu, with more than 58,000 employees, was the first Japanese trading house to do business with China in the post-war era.