Current Toshiba chief executive and president Hisao Tanaka will be replaced by chairman Masashi Muromachi, with vice-chairman Norio Sasaki also stepping down.

Toshiba released a report yesterday which said the company’s misreporting of profits began after the financial crash seven years ago, when senior managers began imposing unrealistic performance targets.

The report said: ‘Within Toshiba, there was a corporate culture in which one could not go against the wishes of superiors. Therefore, when top management presented “challenges”, division presidents, line managers and employees below them continually carried out inappropriate accounting practices to meet targets in line with the wishes of their superiors.’

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