Olympus Corp. won approval Friday to appoint new management, including Yasukuki Kimoto as chief executive officer and Hiroyuki Sasa as president, despite opposition from foreign shareholders.
The result effectively means banks and insurance companies that hold shares in the camera and endoscope maker could overpower the non-Japanese shareholders, including Michael C. Woodford, the ousted president and CEO who attended Friday's meeting in Tokyo, as well as some individual Japanese investors who are not convinced the new directors will regain the public's trust.
"The damage to this country is done. SMBC and other large shareholders are damaging this nation in the eyes of the world," Woodford said after the meeting. "The only way to stop it is for the Japanese people to rise up and say, 'I'm sick of this.' "