Masahiro Sakane, 72, the chairman of Komatsu Ltd. who helped turn the company into a leader in the global market for construction machinery, is expected to resign in June. According to an announcement by the company Jan. 29, Senior Executive Officer Tetsuji Ohashi, 58, will replace Kunio Noji, 66, as president in April.

Noji will succeed Sakane as chairman. Sakane, meanwhile, will stay on board as an adviser. Sakane started working as president in fiscal 2001, when the company recorded an operating loss for the first time, putting it into position to compete with Caterpillar Inc. of the U.S. He was once considered a possible candidate for the chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the nation's most powerful business lobby.