Toshiba president to resign over accounting scandal

An accounting scandal involving massive Japanese conglomerate Toshiba deepened on Saturday as reports said the company's president would likely be forced to resign.

The resignation of Toshiba President Hisao Tanaka will be finalised after a third-party panel tasked with investigating the scandal releases its report as early as next week, the Kyodo news agency said, citing unnamed sources.

The Japanese firm, which makes everything from batteries to nuclear reactors, has allegedly overstated around 200 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in its group operating profits for the five years to March 2014, Kyodo and Jiji Press said.

The accounting irregularities are believed to have affected its mainstay infrastructure-related, semiconductor, television and personal computer businesses.

Tanaka and former president and current Vice Chairman Norio Sasaki are among those behind the profit-padding, the reports said, as they allegedly put excessive pressure on subordinates to achieve profit targets.