Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) today announced the appointment of a new chairman and 
president, effective April 1, 1999.  The company will also establish a new position of 
vice-chairman after an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation to be proposed at the 
Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders in June 1999.

* Current position in parentheses.
Effective April 1, 1999
     New Chairman and Representative Director 
		Tsutomu Kanai (President and Representative Director)
     New President and Representative Director
		Etsuhiko Shoyama (Executive Vice-President and Representative
                Director)
     New Chairman Emeritus
		Katsushige Mita (Chairman and Representative Director)
Effective June 1999
     New Vice-Chairman and Representative Director
		Hiroshi Kuwahara (Executive Vice-President and Representative 
                Director)

Dr. Tsutomu Kanai, 69, has been President and Representative Director of Hitachi, Ltd. 
since June 1991.  He joined Hitachi in 1958 and served in the Central Research 
Laboratory, developing nuclear reactors.  In 1985, Dr. Kanai was elected Executive 
Managing Director and Group Executive of the Power Group. He assumed the position 
of Senior Executive Managing Director in 1987 and the positions of Executive Vice- 
President and Director in 1989.  Dr. Kanai received his B.S., M.S. and Ph. D. in 
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tokyo. 

During his tenure as president, Dr. Kanai accelerated the implementation of market-
oriented management by emphasizing customer satisfaction.  He has expanded 
Hitachi's international operations by significantly increasing overseas sales, off-shore 
production and international procurement.  Most recently, Dr. Kanai has been taking a 
strong leadership role to implement drastic management reforms and reduce costs.

Mr. Etsuhiko Shoyama, 62, has been Executive Vice-President and Representative 
Director of Hitachi, Ltd. since 1997.  His current responsibilities cover the Consumer 
Products Group, multimedia products operations, investment planning, production 
engineering, quality assurance, environmental issues and procurement.  He joined 
Hitachi in 1959 and started his career at the Hitachi Works as a power plant engineer.  
He was elected Board Director and General Manager of the Consumer Electronics 
Division in 1991.  He assumed the position of Executive Managing Director in 1993 
and Senior Executive Managing Director in 1995.  He graduated from the Tokyo 
Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical & Electric Engineering, in 1959.

Since his assignment to the consumer products business, he has been restructuring 
operations aggressively, which has included a realignment of audiovisual product 
operations and a merger between Hitachi Sales Corporation and Hitachi, Ltd. in April 
1995.  Through the restructuring effort and launches of various new competitive 
products, he moved the consumer products business back into profitability in 1997.  
Mr. Shoyama has also expanded the fast-growing multimedia business, such as by the 
introduction of DVD products.  Most recently, he has been pursuing further 
restructuring of consumer product operations as well as actively participating in overall 
management reforms.

Mr. Hiroshi Kuwahara, 63, has been Executive Vice-President and Representative 
Director of Hitachi, Ltd. since 1995.  His current responsibilities cover the Information 
Systems Group, Electronics Components Group, Space Systems Division and Business 
Development Office.  He joined Hitachi in 1960 at the Kokubu Works and contributed 
to the development of industrial computer systems.  He was elected Board Director 
and Group Executive of the Industrial Processes Group in 1989.  He assumed the 
position of Executive Managing Director in 1991 and Senior Executive Managing 
Director in 1993.  He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University 
of Tokyo in 1960.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global 
electronics companies, with fiscal 1997 (ended March 31, 1998) consolidated sales of 
8,417 billion yen ($63.8 billion*).  The company manufactures and markets a wide 
range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power 
and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's 
Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp.
*At an exchange rate of 132 yen to the U.S. dollar.