Toshiba blames woes on former CEO’s ‘confrontational approach’ to shareholders

Japan’s Toshiba Corp on Monday blamed its former chief executive for fomenting a “confrontational approach” to shareholders, citing that as underlying factor in its widening governance crisis.

The comment from Osamu Nagayama, the chairman of Toshiba’s board, comes after a shareholder-commissioned investigation revealed the company colluded with the Japanese government to “beat up” foreign shareholders.

One shareholder has described the scandal as the biggest corporate scandal in a decade.

Nagayama, who apologised to shareholders, also told a news conference broadcast online that it will hold an emergency general meeting to appoint new board members and wants to include two foreigners among new directors.