Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Monday it has appointed senior executive officer Masahiro Kihara as president, with the beleaguered financial institution looking to restore public trust under new leadership after repeated systems failures severely impacted operations at its key banking unit.

The 56-year-old will replace Tatsufumi Sakai, 62, effective on Feb. 1. Kihara is the older brother of Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara.

==Kyodo

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