Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. shareholders on Thursday approved the resignation of President Takuji Yamamoto and the appointment of new management to win back public trust after revelations that substandard earthquake shock absorber pads were fitted to buildings.

Senior Corporate Officer Takashi Shimizu, 54, will replace Yamamoto, 58, while Katsumi Komaguchi, 64, former deputy chairman of Kyocera Document Solutions Inc., will become chairman.

The personnel changes were approved at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in Osaka.

Yamamoto was present at the event. He apologized for the data falsification that led to the installation of defective earthquake shock absorbers, a Toyo Tire official said. Yamamoto also expressed his intention to leave the company at the end of the year, the official said.

Asked about the possibility of pursuing damages from former management teams, Yamamoto replied that there are no plans to do so. He believes they exercised due care, the official said.

The shareholders' meeting, which was not open to the media, came days after Toyo Tire reported a group net loss of ¥4.32 billion for January to September, as the scandal forced it to book a special loss of ¥39.50 billion.

The Osaka-based company said in March it had falsified data on quake-absorbing devices used in hospitals, schools and other buildings across the country.

In October, it came to light that the company had falsified data or skipped required tests on vibration-absorbing products used mainly in trains and ships.

Some shareholders expressed disappointment with Toyo Tire's actions.

"The company is in a severe situation but all I can do is hope that the new management will rebuild it," said a 72-year-old male shareholder from Hannan city in Osaka.

Another, in his 70s and from Hyogo Prefecture said, "I'm not satisfied with the company's explanation. We've seen one problem after another."