Toyota Motor Corp. shareholders on Tuesday approved a proposal to re-elect Chairman Akio Toyoda to the board despite investment advisories urging a vote against him following a recent series of safety test scandals in Japan.
At the carmaker's annual shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Aichi Prefecture, nine other board members, including President Koji Sato and two executive vice presidents, Hiroki Nakajima and Yoichi Miyazaki, were also reappointed.
Prior to the shareholders' meeting, U.S. proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that shareholders oppose a company proposal to reappoint Toyoda, a scion of the founding family, saying he was responsible for recent safety data rigging at group companies.
Another U.S. proxy adviser Glass Lewis also recommended rejecting the reappointment of the chairman as well as Vice Chairman Shigeru Hayakawa.
Toyota's small-car manufacturing unit Daihatsu Motor Co. said in December that safety data had been manipulated for most of its cars. In January, affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. revealed that engine data had been falsified for years.
The data fraud revelations were followed by the discovery of improper model certification at Toyota this month. The world's biggest automaker by volume said it did not fully follow government standards for collision and other vehicle tests while also rigging engine output data for seven of its models. The transport ministry has ordered a shipment ban on three of the affected models currently on the market.
All the affected models were rolled out when Toyoda was in his previous role as president.
