Toshiba shareholders oust chairman Nagayama

SHAREHOLDERS of Japanese conglomerate Toshiba voted the chairman Osamu Nagayama out on Friday (25).

Nagayama's ousting comes after the company was found to have colluded with the government to suppress the interests of foreign investors.

One of Toshiba's largest shareholders, 3D Investment Partners, which had previously called for Nagayama's resignation, welcomed the result.

"We hope that today's (25) AGM (annual general meeting) marks the beginning of a new era at Toshiba - one that will be marked by a focus on value creation, transparency to all stakeholders and a renewed commitment to building trust with shareholders," it said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Toshiba shareholders won a battle to secure an investigation into allegations that overseas investors were pressured to vote in line with management board's nominees.

The inquiry revealed that the troubled industrial conglomerate "devised a plan to effectively prevent shareholders from exercising their shareholder proposal right and voting rights" at a meeting in July 2020.

Nagayama joined Toshiba's board in the middle of 2021 after the lobbying of foreign shareholders allegedly took place.

The newly-elected board will meet later on Friday (25) to discuss a potential new chairman.