After Scandal, Asahi Head Steps Down

Asahi Kasei’s president, Toshio Asano, will step down after a scandal involving the firm’s construction business. Hideki Kobori, Asahi’s chief financial officer, will replace Asano, who will remain on the board and serve as an adviser. After Yokohama, Japan, residents discovered in October that their apartment tower was leaning, Asahi admitted that its Asahi Kasei Construction Materials subsidiary had falsified piling data on hundreds of projects in Japan. A diversified chemical producer, Asahi Kasei derives about 30% of its sales from construction and construction materials.