TOKYO (REUTERS) - The 83-year-old chairman of Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd is set to step down after decades at the helm of Japan's biggest retailer by market value, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.

A company spokesman declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Toshifumi Suzuki is a legendary figure in Japan's retail industry. He brought the 7-Eleven franchise to the country in the 1970s, and later took over the U.S. company that conceived the convenience store chain.

Sources said earlier that the company's board voted down a management proposal to replace the president of Seven & i's Seven-Eleven Japan convenience store chain, matching a recommendation from activist investor Daniel Loeb.