Top 2 Nomura Officers Quit in Japan Scandal

The two top executives of Nomura Securities Co., the world’s largest brokerage, quit in disgrace Monday in the second round of resignations over a scandal that has troubled Tokyo’s stock market for more than a month.

The resignations came as trading in the normally frenetic Tokyo stock exchange shriveled to its puniest level in nearly seven years, reflecting a growing sense of investor anxiety over where the scandal may lead next.

Nomura said through a spokesman that Chairman Setsuya Tabuchi and Vice Chairman Yoshihisa Tabuchi resigned because of intensifying criticism that the company had not sufficiently taken responsibility for the scandal.

The two officials, who are not related, will become company advisers, a largely honorary post, Nomura said.

Critics said even those resignations would not be enough to end the scandal and reform the securities industry.

Nomura and three other major brokerages have admitted that they compensated major customers for billions of yen in market losses. In addition, Nomura and another company, Nikko Securities, have acknowledged financial ties with an organized crime figure.

Bowing to the cameras, Setsuya Tabuchi told a news conference that he had decided to resign to take responsibility for troubling investors and the securities industry. Ten days earlier, he had vowed he would not step down.

Yoshihisa Tabuchi was Nomura president until he resigned June 24 after the scandal was disclosed. He became vice chairman.