JAPAN: Toba reiterates that he is definitely not leaving Daiei until next May

Newspaper reports from this morning (10 November) that disgraced director Tadasu Toba is planning to walk out of Daiei by the end of the year have been rigorously denied by a company spokeswoman. The supermarket store operator is undergoing a huge corporate restructure to renew its fortunes after the emasculation of huge debts was added to with an improper trading scandal that shook investor's confidence. The share value has steadily fallen by more than 30% following last month's revelation of management problems, but Tobu has reiterated his intention to finish his term at the shareholder's meeting next May. He will not, as the Sankei Shimbun paper reported, leave in late December, when the company plans to announce the revisions to its three year restructure plan.