Toyota chairman's pay hits record ¥1.9 billion despite scandals
Toyota Motor Corp said Wednesday its chairman received a pay package worth around 1.95 billion yen for fiscal 2024, the largest in the company's history and up 20 percent from the previous year, despite a reduction tied to a series of quality scandals.
Akio Toyoda still received record-high compensation for the fourth straight year, reflecting the Japanese automaker's strong performance.
"Compensations for the chairman, vice chairman and president were reduced to reflect their responsibility on the issues," Toyota said, referring to the scandals involving the firm and its subsidiaries.
President Koji Sato was paid 826 million yen, while former Vice Chairman Shigeru Hayakawa, who resigned on June 12 following an annual shareholders' meeting, received 365 million yen, according to an annual securities report.
Companies in Japan are required to disclose information on executives who receive 100 million yen or more in annual compensation.
Following the scandals, the automaker also said in its report that it would work to prevent a recurrence.
© KYODO
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
US Steel's strategic importance growing: Nippon Steel CEO
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nippon Steel Corp. CEO Eiji Hashimoto said Thursday that United States Steel Corp. is of growing strategic importance as higher U.S. tariffs on steel products introduced by President Donald Trump are likely to remain in place. At a news conference in Tokyo, Hashimoto said while his company's acquisition of U.S. Steel should help the world's largest economy, trade levies will not revive its manufacturing sector. "I believe President Trump came to the conclusion that it is necessary to utilize our power to revive the U.S. steel industry," Hashimoto said, adding the Japanese steelmaker aims to bolster its U.S. unit's overseas operations as well. Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker by volume, said Wednesday it had finalized a $14.1 billion deal to make U.S. Steel a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal came after Trump reversed his initial opposition to the acquisition plan, which was announced in December 2023 but blocked by his predecessor, Joe Biden, citing national security concerns. Nippon Steel has concluded a National Security Agreement with the U.S. government, pledging to invest around $11 billion by 2028 in the iconic but struggling company and keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh. During the news conference, Hashimoto shrugged off the possibility that the security pact will hamper its U.S. business. U.S. Steel will also issue a golden share to the U.S. government that grants veto power over key management decisions. Based on the security agreement and the share, the U.S. president or a designated official will have the right to approve certain management decisions, including the closure or idling of U.S. Steel's existing manufacturing facilities in the country. Hashimoto also defended the $11 billion investment, much higher than Nippon Steel initially planned, saying it will be needed to improve U.S. Steel's corporate value.
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Nippon Steel's Purchase of U.S. Steel Closes, with Big Role for Trump
Reuters file photo The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area plant in Kimitsu, east of Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2025. June 18 (Reuters) – Nippon Steel's 5401.T $14.9-billion acquisition of U.S. Steel X.N closed on Wednesday, the companies said, confirming an unusual degree of power for President Donald Trump after the Japanese company's 18-month struggle to close the purchase. Under the deal terms, Nippon bought 100% of U.S. Steel shares at $55 per share, as it first laid out in its December 2023 offer for the well-known but struggling steelmaker. The companies also disclosed details of a national security agreement inked with the administration, which gives Trump the authority to name a board member as well as a non-economic golden share. White House spokesman Kush Desai called the deal historic and said the golden share would 'safeguard America's national and economic security.' Eiji Hashimoto, Nippon Steel's chairman and CEO, thanked Trump for his role, adding that 'Nippon Steel is excited about opening a new chapter of U.S. Steel's storied history.' The agreement contains an unusual level of control conceded by the companies to the government to save the deal, after a rocky path to approval spurred by high-level political opposition. The inclusion of the golden share in particular to win approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which scrutinizes foreign investment for national security risks, could drive overseas investors away from U.S. companies, national security lawyers have said. 'The optics of a golden share – they suggest that it's a little bit harder to divorce pure national security analysis from political decision-making,' said Josh Gruenspecht, a national security lawyer at Wilson Sonsini. The press release announcing the deal notes the golden share gives the U.S. government rights, including, 'The right to appoint one independent director; and Consent rights of the President of the United States, or his designee, on specific matters.' The U.S. government will have veto authority over a raft of corporate decisions, from idling plants to cutting production capacity and moving jobs overseas, as previewed in a weekend social media post by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The share also gives the government a veto over a potential relocation of U.S. Steel's headquarters from Pittsburgh, a transfer of jobs overseas, name change, and any potential future acquisition of a rival business, the release shows. The United Steelworkers union, which has vehemently opposed the deal, said it would 'continue watching, holding Nippon to its commitments,' adding that the golden share gives Trump a 'startling degree of personal power over a corporation.' 86 MILLION TONS OF PRODUCTION CAPACITY For Nippon Steel, securing a foothold in the U.S. is key to its global growth strategy. The American steel market, including demand for high-grade steel, Nippon Steel's specialty, is growing amid rising global trade tensions. The acquisition will involve $11 billion in investment in U.S. Steel through 2028, including $1 billion for a new U.S. mill that will increase by $3 billion in later years as first reported by Reuters. It will also allow Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest steel company, to capitalize on a host of American infrastructure projects while its foreign competitors face steel tariffs of 50%. The Japanese firm also avoids $565 million in breakup fees it would have had to pay if the companies had failed to secure approvals. Nippon Steel said on Wednesday its annual crude steel production capacity is expected to reach 86 million tons, bringing it closer to the company's goal of 100 million tons of global crude steel production capacity. Kim Ward, a Republican state senator in Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is headquartered, said the deal 'marks a new era for domestic steel and reaffirms our position as a global leader in the industry.' A ROCKY PATH The deal's closing was hardly guaranteed, though many investors saw approval as likely after Trump headlined a rally on May 30, giving his vague blessing to an 'investment' by Nippon Steel, which he described as a 'great partner.' After the United Steelworkers union opposed the deal last year, both then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, expressed their opposition as they sought to woo voters in Pennsylvania, a key swing state, in the presidential election campaign. Shortly before leaving office in January, Biden blocked the deal on national security grounds, prompting lawsuits by the companies, which argued the national security review they received was biased. The Biden White House disputed the charge. The steel companies saw a new opportunity in the Trump administration, which opened a fresh 45-day national security review into the proposed merger in April. But Trump's public comments, ranging from welcoming a simple 'investment' in U.S. Steel by the Japanese firm to floating a minority stake for Nippon Steel, spurred confusion. Trump's May 30 rally spurred hopes for approval, and his sign-off finally came on Friday with an executive order giving the companies permission to combine if they signed an NSA giving the U.S. government a golden share, which they did.
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan firm supporting refugees to donate glasses to war-torn Ukraine
MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- A Japanese company that makes glasses will donate 5,100 pairs of spectacles to people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fuji Megane Co., which has been supporting refugees for more than 40 years, will distribute the glasses through the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The glasses, which include 1,670 pairs for children, will be given to the beneficiaries following an onsite eye examination. The Sapporo-based company's dedication to helping refugees stems from the experience of its 82-year-old president, Akio Kanai. Born in Japan-ruled Sakhalin, Kanai was 2 years old when on Aug. 16, 1945, the day after Japan's surrender in World War II, he, fled to Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido along with his mother and older brother due to an advance by the Soviet military on Sakhalin. In a recent telephone interview, Kanai said, "I want to support people in Ukraine," citing his experience as an evacuee. Fuji Megane has supported refugees around the world since 1983, donating a total of 180,000 pairs of glasses to people in countries such as Thailand, Nepal and Azerbaijan. Kanai became the first Japanese person to receive the Nansen Refugee Award, dubbed the Nobel Prize for refugee support, from the U.N. refugee agency in 2006. The prize honors individuals and groups that have taken extraordinary actions to protect refugees.
