'Toyota' Accused of 'Certification Fraud', Chairman Toyoda Reappointed at General Meeting

At the shareholders' meeting on the 18th, Toyota Motor Corporation's Chairman Akio Toyoda and other executives involved in fraudulent activities during the quality certification acquisition process were reappointed as directors.

According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) and AP News, Toyota held its regular shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, on the morning of the same day.

Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

All three proposals put forward by the company, including the appointment of 10 directors such as Chairman Toyoda, were approved.

Proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis recommended opposing the reappointment, stating that "the responsibility for the group's misconduct lies with Chairman Toyoda." The California Public Employees' Retirement System and the New York State Common Retirement Fund also opposed Toyoda's reappointment.

Foreign media analyzed that while opposition to Toyoda's reappointment is strong among overseas investors, he remains popular among individual investors.

On the 3rd, Toyota announced that fraudulent activities were found in a total of seven models, including three recently discontinued models and four previously produced models. It was reported that false data was submitted for pedestrian protection tests and fraudulent activities occurred in crash tests. The number of affected vehicles is estimated to be about 1.7 million units as of the end of April.

A shareholder proposal from European institutional investors to add provisions for the preparation and publication of reports on climate change to the company's articles of incorporation was submitted but rejected due to opposition from the company and shareholders.

According to Nikkei, shareholders continued to ask questions about future management directions and governance at the meeting. Chairman Toyoda said, "I will lead Toyota Group's journey to conduct proper manufacturing and transform into a mobility company."

President Koji Sato of Toyota said, "I sincerely apologize for causing trouble to customers and shareholders." He also stated, "Currently, Chairman Toyoda is leading as the group's responsible person and is conducting improvement efforts rooted in the field," adding, "I am also working on preventing recurrence on-site."

Nikkei commented, "The current management system has gained shareholders' trust, but the demand for regaining trust continues," and questioned whether corporate governance can be reorganized to dispel shareholders' concerns about the recurrence of misconduct.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.