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Livedoor President Horie's Plan to Work As Businessman/Politician is Questioned

Posted on: Sunday, 21 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 20--TOKYO -- Some people in the business community believe Livedoor Co.'s operations could be affected if its president Takafumi Horie wins a Diet seat in the upcoming general election and continues to head the Internet company.

"It's unthinkable for anyone to go through the minute-to-minute schedule of a president while being involved in national politics," a secretary to the president of a major company said.

But Horie is confident he can mix being a top manager with being a House of Representatives member. "There would be no problem at all," he said.

On Friday, the 32-year-old Internet entrepreneur said he will run in the Sept. 11 lower house election in a constituency in Hiroshima Prefecture as an independent.

The head of a listed company has rarely engaged in politics. One of the exceptions is Mitsuo Horiuchi, who was a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker while being chairman of railway and bus operator Fuji Kyuko Co. at the same time.

Some people in business circles say Horie could face trouble in Livedoor's decision-making process.

They say information-technology firms like Livedoor have to make quick business decisions, claiming presidents of such companies need to be involved in the firms' decisions more than those of other major companies.

In view of such possible difficulties, Horie, if elected, may step down to chairman or transfer a major part of his business authority to other employees, an IT industry official said.

There are no laws or regulations that forbid lawmakers from concurrently taking other jobs.

If he becomes a lawmaker, Horie could join the lower house's Committee on Internal Affairs and Communications, which is in charge of public administration concerning telecommunications.

But that would likely spark criticism that he might work at the committee for his company's interests.

During the election campaign beginning Aug. 30, some voters may question whether Horie can find sufficient time to devote himself to politics.

But Horie denies there would be any difficulty, saying on his Web blog before announcing his candidacy "I believe anyone can use their time efficiently" if they want to, indicating his intention to continue heading Livedoor.

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Source: Kyodo News International, Tokyo

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