Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) today announced that the company is implementing 
fundamental management reforms to meet the escalating challenges of global 
megacompetition and full-blown consolidated management.  As part of this, Hitachi today 
announced the new company officer system to be introduced from April 1, 1999.  By 
reducing the number of board directors and explicitly defining authority and job responsibility, 
the new system will speed up management response and enable Hitachi to move ahead more 
rapidly with the restructuring needed for an early business recovery.  

A new Advisory Board to be established will include knowledgeable and experienced 
persons from Japan and overseas.  The Board's function will be to offer objective advice 
to management regarding changes in the way society views and evaluates the activities of 
businesses.  

With the new company officer and management systems, Hitachi will be able to push 
aggressively forward with management reform under the banner of "Reliability and 
Speed."

<New company officer system>
1. Overview
The extensive authority being delegated to Hitachi's individual groups will make them 
essentially independent companies.  Against this backdrop, Hitachi is drawing a sharp line 
between decision-making at the corporate level and the management of the individual groups. 
 One key aspect of the change, aimed particularly at ensuring effective and timely decisions, 
is a reduction in the number of board directors in charge of companywide decision-making 
and supervision, from the current 30 to 14.  Another is the creation of Senior Corporate 
Officer and Corporate Officer positions to be held by persons who are not simultaneously 
board directors responsible for companywide management and can therefore devote 
themselves entirely to group management.

These measures will allow Hitachi to more rapidly implement its far-reaching restructuring 
program and restore its business results.

2. New company officer system (Effective April 1, 1999)
- Current position in parenthesis.
- Provisional names in italics.
<Board Directors>
Tsutomu Kanai (President and Director; Representative Director) to Chairman of the 
Board and Director; Representative Director
Estuhiko Shoyama (Executive Vice-President & Director; Representative Director) to 
President and Director; Representative Director
Hiroshi Kuwahara *1(Executive Vice-President & Director; Representative Director) to 
Vice Chairman of the Board and Director; Representative Director
Yoshiki Yagi (Senior Executive Managing Director) to Executive Vice President and 
Director; Representative Director
Shigemichi Matsuka (Senior Executive Managing Director) to Executive Vice 
President and Director; Representative Director
Yoshiro Kuwata (Senior Executive Managing Director; Group Executive, International 
Business Planning & Development Group) to Executive Vice President and Director;  
Representative Director
Yuushi Samuro (Executive Managing Director; General Manager, Corporate Sales 
Planning Office) to Executive Vice President and Director; Representative Director 
Takashi Kawamura (Executive Managing Director; Group Executive, Power Group) to 
Executive Vice President and Director; Representative Director; General Manager, 
Corporate Quality Assurance Division
Kazuo Kumagai (Executive Managing Director; General Manager, Secretary's Office) 
to Senior Vice President and Director; General Manager, Secretary's Office
Tadashi Ishibashi (Executive Managing Director; Group Executive, Semiconductor & 
Integrated Circuits Group) to Senior Vice President and Director; President & CEO, 
Semiconductor & Integrated Circuits
Kaichi Murata (Board Director; General Manager, Finance Dept.) to Senior Vice 
President and Director; General Manager, Finance Dept. 
Katsukuni Hisano (Board Director; General Manager, Hitachi Works) to Senior Vice 
President and Director; President & CEO, Power & Industrial Systems
Kotaro Muneoka (Board Director; General Manager, Human Resources Development 
Dept.) to Senior Vice President and Director; General Manager, Human Resources 
Development Dept.
Toshihiko Odaka (Board Director; Group Executive, Computer Products Group) to 
Senior Vice President and Director; President & CEO, Information & 
Telecommunication Systems

<Senior Corporate Officers>
Kazuo Sato*2(Board Director; General Manager, Project Coordination Dept.) to Senior 
Corporate Officer; General Manager, Investment Planning Dept. and Production 
Engineering & Environment Policy Dept.; Deputy General Manager, Corporate Quality 
Assurance Division
Hiroshi Inomata*2(Board Director; General Manager, Instrument Division) to Senior 
Corporate Officer; President & CEO, Instrument
Takao Matsui*2(Board Director; General Manager, Kansai Area Operation) to Senior 
Corporate Officer; General Manager, Corporate Sales Division; supervisor, Kansai Area 
Operation
Masaaki Hayashi*2(Board Director; General Manager, Data Storage & Retrieval 
Systems Division) to Senior Corporate Officer; Executive Vice President, Information & 
Telecommunication Systems; Group Executive, Computer Products Group
Takao Kato*2(Board Director; General Manager, Telecommunications Division) to 
Senior Corporate Officer; Group Executive, Telecommunication Systems Group, 
Information & Telecommunication Systems 

<Corporate Officers>
Koji Hirai (General Manager, Systems Engineering Division) to Corporate Officer; 
General Manager, Systems Engineering Division
Takeo Ueno (General Manager, Materials Dept.) to Corporate Officer; General Manager, 
Materials Dept.
Seiji Suda (General Manager, Automotive Products Division) to Corporate Officer; 
President & CEO, Automotive Products
Tadamichi Sakiyama (General Manager, Accounting Controls Dept.) to Corporate 
Officer; General Manager, Internal Auditing Office
Takeji Hiramoto (General Manager, Elevator & Escalator Division) to Corporate 
Officer; President & CEO, Elevator & Escalator
Kunio Hasegawa (General Manager, System LSI Business Division; Deputy General 
Manager, Semiconductor & Integrated Circuits Group) to Corporate Officer; Executive 
Vice President, Semiconductor & Integrated Circuits; General Manager, System LSI 
Business Division
Koichi Maruyama (General Manager, Electron Tube & Devices Division) to Corporate 
Officer; President & CEO, Display
Shojiro Asai (General Manager, Corporate Research & Development Promotion Office) 
to Corporate Officer; General Manager, Research & Development Division
Toshihiro Sanematsu (General Manager, Kokubu Works) to Corporate Officer; 
Executive Vice President, Power & Industrial Systems
Katsuya Yanai (General Manager, Production Engineering Dept. and Environment 
Policy Office; Deputy General Manager, Corporate Quality Assurance Office) to 
Corporate Officer; President & CEO, Industrial Components & Equipment
Yoshihisa Uneyama (General Manager, Consumer Products Group) to Corporate 
Officer; President & CEO, Consumer Products
Teruji Yamamoto (General Manager, Information Systems Division) to Corporate 
Officer; Group Executive, Information Systems Group, Information & 
Telecommunication Systems
Eiichi Kawasaki (Deputy General Manager, Secretary's Office) to Corporate Officer; 
General Manager, Legal Affairs, Secretary's Office 
Yoshinori Fujimori (General Manager, Image & Information Media Systems Division) 
to Corporate Officer; President & CEO, Digital Media
Keisuke Ogawa (Deputy General Manager, Telecommunications Division) to Corporate 
Officer; General Manager, Telecommunication Systems Group, Information & 
Telecommunication Systems
Masahiro Maeda (Deputy General Manager, Secretary's Office) to Corporate Officer; 
General Manager, Corporate Communications, Secretary's Office


*1	Kuwahara is to assume new post following the Ordinary General Meeting of 
Shareholders in June 1999.
*2	Sato, Inomata, Matsui, Hayashi and Kato are to remain Board Directors up to the 
Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders in June 1999.

As of April 1, 1999, Katsushige Mita (Chairman of the Board and Director; Representative 
Director) is to become Chairman Emeritus and Director and Shiro Kawate (Executive Vice-
President), Tadahiko Shinohara (Executive Vice-President), Kunio Hamada (Executive Vice-
President), Yasutsugu Takeda (Senior Executive Managing Director), Tetsuo Kobayashi 
(Executive Managing Director) and Kenichi Furumaya (Executive Managing Director) are to 
become Board Directors.  Mita, Kawate, Shinohara, Hamada, Takeda, Kobayashi and 
Furumaya are to retire as Board Directors when their terms expire at the end of the Ordinary 
General Meeting of Shareholders in June 1999. After retirement, Mita is to become Chairman 
Emeritus, Kawate is to become Senior Adviser at Hitachi, Ltd., Shinohara is to become 
President of Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd., Hamada is to become President of Hitachi Plant 
Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., Takeda is to become President of Hitachi Koki Co., 
Ltd., Kobayashi is to become President of Hitachi Information Network, Ltd. and Furumaya 
is to become President of Hitachi Electronics Services Co., Ltd.

Tsugio Makimoto, Kyohei Kasaba, Jushi Ide and Kosei Nomiya will also retire from their 
current positions as Board Directors when their terms expire at the end of the Ordinary 
General Meeting of Shareholders.  Following retirement, Makimoto is to assume the 
position of Associate Corporate Chief Engineer at Hitachi, Ltd., Kasaba is to become 
President of Yagi Antenna Co., Ltd., Ide is to become Vice President of ShinMaywa 
Industries, Ltd. and Nomiya is to serve exclusively as Chairman of Hitachi Semiconductor 
(America) Inc.

<New management system>
Establishment of new Advisory Board
Businesses everywhere are experiencing a fundamental transformation of the economic 
and social environment in which they operate. The way people view and appraise the 
activities of businesses changes constantly and is also rapidly diversifying. This poses the 
danger of gaps arising between a company's self-evaluation and how it is seen by the 
community. Hitachi's Advisory Board, which is to include authorities in various fields 
selected from outside the company, will be able to provide the company with the 
objective advice it needs to avoid this pitfall.
(1) Position: Presidential advisory body
(2) Members: 
- External: Five or so highly qualified members are being sought internationally in order 
   to assemble a Board of persons with diverse experience in various fields
- Internal: Chairman, Vice Chairman, President, others concerned with current issues
(3) Meetings: Semiannually


<Additional information>
1. Reforming the decision-making process
(1) Changes in Board of Directors
The membership of the Board is being reduced. This will help to enhance the quality of 
deliberations and decision-making from the perspective of the whole company and will 
also speed up the process of making management decisions.

(2) Establishment of Senior Executive Committee 
The Committee will focus on corporate strategies related to restructuring, intercompany 
alliances and other high-level affairs. The Executive Committee, Vice-President 
Committee and the like will be abolished and their functions taken over by the Senior 
Executive Committee.
- Position: Advisory body to the president responsible for deliberating and deciding 
high-priority strategic matters, including M&A, and other topics of high importance 
to corporate management.
- Members: Chairman, Vice Chairman, President and Executive Vice Presidents
- Meetings: Semimonthly or as circumstances require

2. Management system 
- See attachment.
(1) Reorganization into ten groups
The present five groups and two divisions are being reorganized into ten business groups 
with consideration to best scale for quick response to changing market conditions and the 
nature of the company's businesses.
To expedite business management, each group will be headed by its own President & 
CEO and be essentially an independent company, with considerable decision-making 
powers and responsibilities.

(2) Simplifying Head Office of Hitachi, Ltd. organization and functions
The Head Office is being extensively restructured and the role of the Head Office staff 
sharply defined. Specifically, personnel required for management functions and the 
minimum functions legally required by a corporation will be defined as the "corporate 
staff."  The corporate staff will be kept to the minimum number of personnel required. 
Personnel needed to provide the groups with services of a high-level technical nature will 
be defined as the "business staff."

3. Change in President and new post of Vice Chairman of the Board
The new top-management lineup from April 1 is shown below. A new post, Vice 
Chairman of the Board, is being created to provide a company officer specifically 
responsible for vigorously promoting the consolidated management of the Hitachi Group.

Effective from April 1, 1999
Tsutomu Kanai (President and Director; Representative Director) to Chairman of the 
Board and Director; Representative Director
Estuhiko Shoyama (Executive Vice-President and Director; Representative Director) to 
President and Director; Representative Director
Katsushige Mita (Chairman of the Board and Director; Representative Director) to 
Chairman Emeritus and Director

Appointment scheduled for late June 1999
Hiroshi Kuwahara (Executive Vice-President and Director; Representative Director) to 
Vice Chairman of the Board and Director; Representative Director

Mita is to retire as Board Director when his term expires at the end of the Ordinary 
General Meeting of Shareholders in June 1999.