Nagoya Railroad Co. said Thursday that it has accepted the resignation of a director who admitted he was informed of a coverup that involved one of the company's drivers who was driving without a license.
According to the firm, popularly called Meitetsu, Director Ryokichi Takeuchi, 56, was informed Feb. 22 that a bus driver working in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, was driving with an expired license when his bus was rear-ended by a passenger car the previous day.
The driver's superior asked another driver to tell authorities that he was behind the wheel at the time of the incident.
Meitetsu President Misao Kimura told a news conference Thursday that the coverup was first reported to a 59-year-old section chief at Meitetsu's head office. The section chief in turn told Takeuchi, asking the director to pretend he never heard it, and that he would take complete responsibility.