Japan's Nidec flags potential $1.6 billion writedown as accounting scandal widens
Japanese electric motor maker Nidec’s logo at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
TOKYO, March 3 : Japanese electric motor maker Nidec warned on Tuesday that it could face 250 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in writedowns from a deepening accounting scandal that sparked the exit of its founder and other top executives.
The company, one of the world's top makers of precision motors and a supplier to global automakers, has been battered by crisis since June, when it revealed potential lapses at an Italian subsidiary that forced Nidec to delay filing its financial results.
In September, it set up an independent committee to investigate the possible involvement of management in improper accounting, including at a Chinese subsidiary.
While that investigation is still ongoing, on Tuesday Nidec released a report from the committee that blamed founder Shigenobu Nagamori for "excessive pressure to meet performance targets", particularly profit targets, and said that many business units attempted to meet their goals using creative accounting.
Nidec said it would set up a separate investigation to determine whether current and former executives were legally responsible.
While there had been no evidence so far that Nagamori had "instructed or directed" improper accounting, the conclusion that he condoned some improper accounting "cannot be avoided", it said.
Nagamori resigned as the company's chairman emeritus last week, apologising in a written statement for the "suspected inappropriate accounting practices".
The scandal marks a stunning fall from grace for Nagamori, who has written books about his rags-to-riches life and hard-charging business philosophy. A comic about his life called "The Man Hotter Than the Sun" previously figured prominently on Nidec's website.
Nidec's shares have been dropped from the Nikkei 225 index and it now faces potential delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Chairman Hiroshi Kobe and three other senior executives resigned from their positions, it said.
CEO Mitsuya Kishida apologised at a press conference and said he would forfeit his salary until October.
($1 = 157.9400 yen)
