Japan's Obayashi to replace president amid antitrust probe

OBAYASHI

23/01/2018 05:42

TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Japan's Obayashi Corp  1802.T  
said it was replacing its president amid an investigation by 
Tokyo prosecutors into it and three other major construction 
companies for suspected antitrust breaches in a high-speed rail 
project. 
    President Toru Shiraishi, 70, will be replaced by 
64-year-old senior executive Kenji Hasukawa, effective March 1, 
the company said in a statement on Tuesday.     
    Prosecutors launched a probe into Obayashi, Taisei Corp 
 1801.T , Shimizu Corp  1803.T  and Kajima Corp  1812.T  in 
December for possible antitrust violations, raising concerns 
that legislation in recent years had not helped stamp out 
bid-rigging in the industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1OK075 
    "The authorities' decisions and other matters are not yet 
decided, but we have taken into consideration the current 
situation and decided to overhaul our executive structure 
including the president as of March 1," the company said. 
 
 (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Himani Sarkar) 
 ((Ritsuko.Ando@reuters.com; +81 3 6441 1743; Reuters Messaging: 
ritsuko.ando.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: JAPAN RAILWAY/OBAYASHI