Nippon Chairman Resigns Post in Scandal
The chairman of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Co., the world's biggest company, resigned today under fire for alleged involvement in a scandal that has spread throughout Japan's political and business world.</br></br>The minister of posts and telecommunications, Masaaki Nakayama, told a news conference he had accepted the resignation of Hisashi Shinto as NTT chairman.</br></br>Nakayama said Shinto had denied any personal involvement in dubious share trading but had accepted responsibility for actions by his personal secretary.</br></br>Japanese press reports said prosecutors had traced some 10 million Japanese yen, or around $81,000, to Shinto's bank account from proceeds of the sale of shares in Recruit-Cosmos Co., a real estate subsidiary of the Recruit conglomerate.</br></br>Shinto on Tuesday had issued a statement denying involvement in the share transaction, which was carried out by his personal secretary, Kozo Murata, in 1986. Murata has since resigned as Shinto's aide.