Three Toshiba executives to step down

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba on Tuesday said its president and two other executives will step down over accounting irregularities.

The company's chief executive officer (CEO) and president Hisao Tanaka will step down, Japan's NHK news portal reported.

Tanaka has served as the CEO since June 2013 and president since June 2009. He will be succeeded by chairman Masashi Muromachi

His predecessor Norio Sasaki will resign from his post of vice chairman while Atsutoshi Nishida, who served as president before Sasaki, will resign from the advisor's post.

Toshiba made the announcement at an emergency meeting of directors on Tuesday.

The move follows a third-party panel report accusing the company's top management of systematic involvement in irregularities on the company's balance sheet.

An inquiry found that the misreporting of profits began after the financial crash seven years ago, when senior managers began imposing unrealistic performance targets.