Kobe Steel Ltd.'s incoming president and CEO, Mitsugu Yamaguchi, indicated that the company may seek mergers or external partners for one or more of its business units as the company faces an uphill struggle to re-establish its reputation following a product data falsification scandal that led to his predecessor resigning.
"I will fully carry out my responsibilities to prevent any recurrences and regain trust," Yamaguchi said during a press conference, according to a March 16 Reuters report.
Yamaguchi will replace Hiroya Kawasaki as Kobe Steel's president and CEO on April 1, after the latter stepped down earlier this month following the scandal that affected some of Japan's biggest automakers and bullet train operators.
Yamaguchi said the company is less likely to look for a full merger.
Kobe Steel's and Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. consumers filed a lawsuit against the companies for allegedly engaging in fraud by concealing the use of substandard metal components in vehicles and violating consumer protection laws.
