Nikko Cordial Corp. said Monday that Shoji Kuwashima, its chief information technology officer, will replace President Junichi Arimura, who is stepping down to take the blame for the falsification of the group's 2004 earnings.
Nikko Cordial Chairman Masashi Kaneko will also resign over the earnings falsification at Japan's third-largest securities house, as will Nikko Principal Investments Japan Ltd. Chairman Hirofumi Hirano and President Kazuyuki Kido, according to the company.
The improper accounting "is attributed to not only one individual, but was caused by insufficient organizational management," Arimura said at a news conference after a special board meeting in the morning approved his resignation and that of Kaneko.