Toshiba's chairman resists calls to resign, to bring in new directors
Toshiba Corp's chairman on Monday pushed back against
calls from shareholders to resign, saying he wanted to help to put things right
at the crisis-hit Japanese conglomerate and would bring in new directors.
Toshiba is
in the spotlight after an independent investigation last week alleged that
management colluded with Japan's trade ministry to block foreign investors from
gaining board influence, in what one top shareholder called the world's worst
corporate scandal in a decade.
The shareholder-commissioned investigation has marked an explosive
turn in a struggle between Toshiba management
and foreign shareholders and has revived concerns about corporate governance in Japan.
Toshiba, in response to the investigation, has said it would no
longer put forward the names of two directors for re-election and that two
other executives would also resign.
But this was not enough for proxy advisory firm Institutional
Shareholder Services Inc, which on Monday reiterated that Board Chairman Osamu
Nagayama should step down - a call echoed by other investors.
Nagayama apologised at a news conference on Monday and said there
were lapses in governance, but the former pharma executive said he wanted to
stay on and help to reconstruct Toshiba's management.
"There's different kinds of responsibility," Nagayama
said when asked if he would step down to take responsibility for the scandal.
"I want to focus on fulfilling the duties that must be fulfilled."
The company needs directors with a global perspective and a
background managing similar firms, he said, adding that Toshiba would call an
extraordinary general meeting and speed up plans for a strategic review.
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